ecology

Salmon becomes what it eats

August 20, 2012 in Agriculture & Fisheries

The diet of farmed salmon is no small-fry issue. The quality of the fats and proteins in feeds has quite an impact on the taste of the fish.

Mountain plants crowd at the peaks

September 25, 2012 in Natural Sciences

A warmer climate is enabling hardy lowland vegetation to ascend mountains and thrive at higher altitudes. When they can’t get any higher, they’ll crowd together on peaks.

Falling lemming populations

July 27, 2012 in Agriculture & Fisheries

Due to irregular winters, the lemming cycle has stopped. This might in time change the whole ecosystem in the Arctic.

Alien reindeer thrive in the Antarctic

April 13, 2012 in Natural Sciences

Almost 100 years ago, Norwegian whalers were the first to introduce reindeer to Antarctica; now it is impossible to get rid of them.

Disappearing palsas

April 2, 2012 in Environment

There used to be many hummocks in the bogs around Neiden in northern Norway. But these hills, called palsas, are now disappearing as a result of climate change.

Bacteria that eat greenhouse gases

April 1, 2012 in Environment

Biologists have found a special bacterium in the wetlands of an Arctic archipelago that gobbles up the worst greenhouse gas of them all: methane.

How much food do seabirds need?

December 23, 2011 in Natural Sciences

Many seabirds begin to suffer when the food available for them in the ocean declines below a critical level. This level is about one-third of the maximum amount of food available.