Selective feeding on jellyfish organs by Northern Fulmars Fulmarus glacialis

Several marine animals prey extensively on jellyfish in spite of the low energy contents of this type of prey. Northern Fulmars Fulmarus glacialis observed in the Barents Sea feeding on medusae of lion’s mane jellies Cyanea capillata fed from the underside of the jellyfish, eagerly ingesting gonadal tissue as well as oral arms and tentacles, while the gelatinous tissue of the umbrella apparently was neglected by the birds. Gonads, arms and tentacles have about five times higher energetic contents than the tissue of the bell, approaching that of some species of fish. Aggressive defence of their prey and a continued feeding on jellyfish in the presence of discarded fish offal indicated jellyfish to be more than a second choice food for Northern Fulmars. The observations clearly showed that the Fulmars did not primarily feed on organisms associated with jellyfish. Their abundance and slow swimming make jellyfish an easily available prey. Scyphozoan cnidarians may be more important to pelagic seabirds than generally thought

Subtype-specific surface proteins on adipose tissue macrophages and their association to obesity-induced insulin resistance

A chronic low-grade inflammation, originating in the adipose tissue, is considered a driver of obesity-associated insulin resistance. Macrophage composition in white adipose tissue is believed to contribute to the pathogenesis of metabolic diseases, but a detailed characterization of pro- and anti-inflammatory adipose tissue macrophages (ATMs) in human obesity and how they are distributed in visceral- and subcutaneous adipose depots is lacking. In this study, we performed a surface proteome screening of pro- and anti-inflammatory ATMs in both subcutaneous- (SAT) and visceral adipose tissue (VAT) and evaluated their relationship with systemic insulin resistance. From the proteomics screen we found novel surface proteins specific to M1-like- and M2-like macrophages, and we identified depot-specific immunophenotypes in SAT and VAT. Furthermore, we found that insulin resistance, assessed by HOMA-IR, was positively associated with a relative increase in pro-inflammatory M1-like macrophages in both SAT and VAT.publishedVersio

Walleye pollock Gadus chalcogrammus Pallas, 1814 found north of Spitsbergen indicates a Pacific-Atlantic connection in the species

A small (36.5 cm) female walleye pollock Gadus chalcogrammus Pallas, 1814 was caught north of Spitsbergen in 2011. The specimen had a high number of pyloric caeca (n=109), indicating a Pacific origin. The record is the first evidence of a possible input to the small Atlantic population of walleye pollock from the large populations on the Pacific side

Lycodes adolfi Nielsen and Fosså, 1993 (Teleostei: Zoarcidae) found in the Arctic Ocean

Adolf’s eelpout, Lycodes adolfi, was found at five bottom trawl stations in 2007–2009, on the slope towards the Sofia Deep north of Spitsbergen, at depths of 970–1,220 m and water temperatures below 0°C. Previously, the species has been known from cold and deep waters south of 74°N to both sides of Greenland and in the Norwegian Sea. The present material represents the first records from the Arctic Ocean and may indicate a wider arctic distribution of this species

The distribution of the fathead sculpin species Cottunculus subspinosus Jensen, 1902

The range of the rarely caught fathead sculpin species Cottunculus subspinosus has been considered restricted to the waters off East Greenland and Northeast Iceland. For the first time the species is recorded from the east side of the Norwegian Sea, and also it is found further north in the Greenland Sea than previously known. Mapping all the corroborated specimens known indicates that the species seems confined to the continental slopes of the Nordic Seas, where it is found in waters with a temperature below zero and a depth of more than 900 m. Depth distribution shows almost no overlap with the closely related sympatric Cottunculus microps, perhaps as a result of competitive exclusio

The distribution of the fathead sculpin species Cottunculus subspinosus Jensen, 1902

The range of the rarely caught fathead sculpin species Cottunculus subspinosus has been considered restricted to the waters off East Greenland and Northeast Iceland. For the first time the species is recorded from the east side of the Norwegian Sea, and also it is found further north in the Greenland Sea than previously known. Mapping all the corroborated specimens known indicates that the species seems confined to the continental slopes of the Nordic Seas, where it is found in waters with a temperature below zero and a depth of more than 900 m. Depth distribution shows almost no overlap with the closely related sympatric Cottunculus microps, perhaps as a result of competitive exclusion

Demersal fish assemblages in the boreo-Arctic shelf waters around Svalbard during the warm period 2007–2014

The temporal and spatial resilience of abundance patterns of assemblages of organisms inhabiting transition zones between Arctic and boreal regions is an issue of concern in relation to climate change. The recognition that baseline information spanning such transition zones is required to facilitate future monitoring and assessments of temporal dynamics provided the motivation for the present study. One such transition area is the Svalbard archipelago of the Northeast Atlantic, located between the Arctic and the boreal Atlantic, where significant climate changes occur. The study aimed to utilize an existing data series from Svalbard to analyse and describe demersal fish assemblage structure and distributions. Norwegian bottom trawl surveys sampled the area annually in August–September 2007–2014, and the dataset is the first from this area which is sufficiently comprehensive to carry out assemblage analyses. The survey years analysed represent the recent unprecedented warm period in the Barents Sea–Svalbard region which started around 2004. The new baseline information improves the basis for future studies of resilience under changing environmental conditions. A key finding was that the major transition in species composition is that between deep Greenland Sea and Arctic Ocean assemblages (upper slope assemblages) and the shelf assemblages. In shallower shelf areas (<500 m depth) structuring is weaker with assemblages having many species in common. The expected association of fish assemblages with regional bathymetric and hydrographic features was confirmed. The observed patterns probably reflect a comparatively extensive Atlantic influence during the warm period