UArctic Congress last week and contributed with talk; Ecological consequences of less sea-ice and more light. Collaboration with @tomlangbehn.bsky.social & Trond Kristiansen. @bjerknes.uib.no A few main points follow:
Springtime in Western Norway. Primula vulgaris flowering. #Phenology #Seasonality #Heterostyly
Many processes are involved and an altered light regime, combined with ocean warming, can have complex and interacting consequences for fish. Kristiansen et al. 2025: www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Bridge for pedestrians in the making. Looking forward to using it. The UiB BIO-department in the background. #Bergen
A new light environment is emerging in Arctic waters as sea ice declines, allowing much more light to penetrate instead of being reflected by snow-covered ice. It becomes easier for fish to spot their prey.
Varpe et al 2015: doi.org/10.1093/ices...
From a zooplankton perspective, we find the large individuals in areas where visual search is less efficient. For a Barents Sea case this is in the north where sea ice, or in the deeper parts of the southern part. Langbehn et al. 2023: doi.org/10.1002/lno....
Visual range in fish can be modelled as a function of light conditions. Here for an Arctic context with sea ice, and sea-ice reductions. Langbehn and Varpe 2017: doi.org/10.1111/gcb....
Leaving the Faroe Islands after an amazing week of UArctic Congress and magic impressions from land, sea, and society. Ocean connectivity was the main conference topic.
