Modelling the spatial shifts of functional groups in the Barents Sea using a climate-driven spatial food web model

We built a dynamic, spatial food web model for the Barents Sea, developed with Ecospace by including species’ habitat requirements and ecological interactions. The model was used to test the spatial shifts of different functional groups due to warming. We compared model-predicted and field-surveyed biomass of functional groups (FGs) spatial distributions in relatively cold and warm years. The Ecospace model included habitat foraging capacities for environmental parameters such as water temperature and bottom depth for 74 FGs out of a total of 108 FGs. We created two plausible scenarios, one representing a relatively cold year (2004) and another representing a warm year (2013) with differences of ca. 0.3 °C in bottom temperature, 0.6 °C in surface temperature, and 7% less ice coverage between them. Comparison of centre of gravity, inertia, and spatial overlap of the modelled and surveyed spatial distributions in warm and cold years showed that the model represented the past distributions of the functional groups satisfactorily. We observed poleward shifts of 41 and 68 km for the modelled and observed distributions, respectively, in the average centre of gravity position for the 35 FGs with lowest sampling uncertainty. The model predicted that the whole community had shifted distribution towards the northeast at an average rate of 4.4 km year−1 and 67 km °C-1 between 2004 and 2013. We conclude that our Ecospace model represents past observed species distributions in the Barents Sea satisfactorily, and may predict the direction and magnitude of temperature-driven changes in spatial distributions. This ability may be useful for predicting the impact of climate changes on species and FG distributions in future scenarios.publishedVersio

Fine-scale spatial variation of northern shrimp and Atlantic cod across three Norwegian fjord systems and implications for management

The spatial complexity of coastal ecosystems represents a challenge for the management of inshore resources. Here we compared two large fjord systems in northern Norway that have been closed for all bottom trawling for 50 years to a fjord with continuous shrimp fishery with bottom trawls. No significant differences were found between fjords with and without commercial trawling in population density and stock composition of northern shrimp (Pandalus borealis) and their main predator, Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua). Shrimp density was instead linked with bottom depth, while shrimp size and stage composition as well as cod density were explained by seasonal effects and shrimp density. For shrimp, a large degree of the observed variation was captured by spatial correlation that could not be explained by other covariates. The results underline the complex ecology in heavily structured coastal habitats and indicate that coastal shrimp dynamics are shaped by an interplay of multiple ecological and environmental drivers, possibly in concert with local genetic adaptations. The substantial fine-scale spatial variation adds to the challenges of assessing and managing fisheries resources in these fjord ecosystems. Because shrimp are an important forage species, notably as prey for cod, there are potential management conflicts between rebuilding cod stocks and reopening closed shrimp trawling areas.publishedVersio

Fish diversity data from the Barents Sea Ecosystem Survey 2004-2019

Assessing and improving the status of biodiversity are main targets of international agreements such as the Convention on Biological Diversity and the associated Aichi Biodiversity Targets for 2020. Here we present fish data from the Barents Sea Ecosystem Survey 2004-2019 on a format suitable for biodiversity assessments. The Barents Sea Ecosystem Survey is run jointly by the Institute of Marine Research (IMR, Norway) and the Polar Research Institute of Marine Fisheries and Oceanography (PINRO, Russia) - since 2019 - Polar Branch of Russian Federal Research Institute of Fisheries and Oceanography (VNIRO). We present a Barents Sea Fish Species Reference List that we use with the software StoX version 3.0 to translate and export data from raw data xlm -files in the NMDBiotic v3 format stored at IMR to a format suitable for diversity analysis. Finally, we present some example results based on the fish data from the Barents Sea ecosystem survey 2004-2019.publishedVersio

Panel-based Assessment of Ecosystem Condition of the Norwegian Sea Pelagic Ecosystem

The System for Assessment of Ecological Condition, coordinated by the Norwegian Environment Agency, is intended to form the foundation for evidence-based assessments of the ecological condition of Norwegian terrestrial and marine ecosystems not covered by the EU Water Framework Directive. The reference condition is defined as “intact ecosystems”, i.e., a condition that is largely unimpacted by modern industrial activities. An ecosystem in good ecological condition does not deviate substantially from this reference condition in structure, functions or productivity. This report describes the first operational assessment of the ecological condition of the pelagic ecosystem in the Norwegian Sea. The assessment method employed is the Panel-based Assessment of Ecosystem Condition (PAEC1) and the current assessment has considered to what extent the Norwegian Sea pelagic ecosystem deviates from the reference condition2 by evaluating change in trajectories.Panel-based Assessment of Ecosystem Condition of the Norwegian Sea Pelagic EcosystempublishedVersio

The One Ocean Expedition: Science and Sailing for the Ocean We Want

The One Ocean Expedition (OOE) was a 20-month long circumnavigation of the globe by the Norwegian sail training vessel Statsraad Lehmkuhl, and a recognised part of the UN decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development. The ship was equipped with modern instrumentation to collect high-quality data on ocean physics, chemistry, and biology. Many of the data series were available in near real time from an open repository. The scientific programme was executed along the sailing route of Statsraad Lehmkuhl, with occasional stops for stationary work. The aim of the data collection on board the vessel was to improve knowledge about the state of the world's ocean with regards to the distribution and diversity of organisms, environmental status, climate, and human pressures on the marine ecosystem. Another aim of the expedition was to educate ocean scientists and strengthen ocean literacy. The main types of instrumentation are sensors that measure continuously underway including echosounder, hydrophone, temperature and salinity probes, and various instruments that collect and analyse water sampled from an inlet in the ship's hull, including for environmental DNA and microplastic. Here, we describe the scientific instrumentation onboard Statsraad Lehmkuhl and present preliminary results from the Atlantic part of the expedition. While there are many challenges to using a sail ship for scientific purposes, there are also some key benefits as the vessel is quiet and has a low footprint. Furthermore, the use of a common set of instruments and procedures across the ocean also removes an uncertainty factor when comparing data between ocean areas.The One Ocean Expedition: Science and Sailing for the Ocean We WantpublishedVersio

Panel-based Assessment of Ecosystem Condition of the North Sea Shelf Ecosystem

The System for Assessment of Ecological Condition, coordinated by the Norwegian Environment Agency, is intended to form the foundation for evidence-based assessments of the ecological condition of Norwegian terrestrial and marine ecosystems not covered by the EU Water Framework Directive. The reference condition is defined as “intact ecosystems”, i.e., a condition that is largely unimpacted by modern industrial anthropogenic activities. An ecosystem in good ecological condition does not deviate substantially from this reference condition in structure, functions or productivity. This report describes the first operational assessment of the ecological condition of the marine shelf ecosystem in the Norwegian sector of the North Sea and Skagerrak. The assessment method employed is the Panel-based Assessment of Ecosystem Condition (PAEC1) and the current assessment has considered to what extent the North Sea and Skagerrak shelf ecosystem deviates from the reference condition2 by evaluating change trajectories.Panel-based Assessment of Ecosystem Condition of the North Sea Shelf EcosystempublishedVersio

Panel-based Assessment of Ecosystem Condition of the North Sea Shelf Ecosystem - Appendices

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The One Ocean Expedition: Science and Sailing for the Ocean We Want

Source at https://www.hi.no/hi.The One Ocean Expedition (OOE) was a 20-month long circumnavigation of the globe by the Norwegian sail training vessel Statsraad Lehmkuhl, and a recognised part of the UN decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development. The ship was equipped with modern instrumentation to collect high-quality data on ocean physics, chemistry, and biology. Many of the data series were available in near real time from an open repository. The scientific programme was executed along the sailing route of Statsraad Lehmkuhl, with occasional stops for stationary work. The aim of the data collection on board the vessel was to improve knowledge about the state of the world's ocean with regards to the distribution and diversity of organisms, environmental status, climate, and human pressures on the marine ecosystem. Another aim of the expedition was to educate ocean scientists and strengthen ocean literacy. The main types of instrumentation are sensors that measure continuously underway including echosounder, hydrophone, temperature and salinity probes, and various instruments that collect and analyse water sampled from an inlet in the ship's hull, including for environmental DNA and microplastic. Here, we describe the scientific instrumentation onboard Statsraad Lehmkuhl and present preliminary results from the Atlantic part of the expedition. While there are many challenges to using a sail ship for scientific purposes, there are also some key benefits as the vessel is quiet and has a low footprint. Furthermore, the use of a common set of instruments and procedures across the ocean also removes an uncertainty factor when comparing data between ocean areas

Toktrapport fra det norsk/russiske økotoktet i Barentshavet og nærliggende områder

The aim of the joint Norwegian/Russian ecosystem survey in the Barents Sea and adjacent waters, August-October (BESS) is to monitor the status and changes in the Barents Sea ecosystem and provide data to support stock advice and research. The survey has since 2004 been conducted annually in the autumn, as a collaboration between the Institute of Marine Research (IMR) in Norway and the Polar branch of the VNIRO (PINRO) in Russia. The general survey plan and tasks were agreed upon at the annual IMR-PINRO Meeting in March 2022. Ship routes and other technical details are agreed on by correspondence between the survey coordinators. BESS aims at covering the entire Barents Sea. Ecosystem stations are distributed in a 35×35 nautical mile regular grid, and the ship tracks follow this design. Exceptions are the area around Svalbard (Spitsbergen), some additional bottom trawl hauls for demersal fish survey indices estimation, and additional acoustic transects for the capelin stock size estimation. Survey start for the Russian vessel was significantly delayed, resulting in REEZ being covered two-three months later than NEEZ. This resulted in reduced area coverage, decrease in the numbers of trawl hauls, and lack of standard pelagic trawl sampling. In NEEZ, RV “Kronprins Haakon” was cancelled due to difficult economic situation, making it necessary to allocate one of the two remaining vessels to the area west and north of Svalbard (Spitsbergen). This resulted in low coverage in this area, and problems with synoptic coverage in north-east of Svalbard (Spitsbergen) and thus increased uncertainty in assessment of demersal fish (e.g. Greenland halibut) and capelin. The 19-th joint Barents Sea autumn Ecosystem Survey (BESS) was carried out in two periods. The Norwegian research vessels “G.O. Sars” and “Johan Hjort” covered NEEZ in the period 16-th August to 03-th October, providing data to stock assessment, 0-group fish abundance indices, and state and changes descriptions which is comparable with earlier survey years in NEEZ. The Russian research vessel “Vilnyus” covered REEZ in the periods 20-th to 30-th September and 22-th October to 3-rd December. Survey coordinators in 2022 were Dmitry Prozorkevich (PINRO) and Geir Odd Johansen (IMR). Exchange of Russian and Norwegian experts between each country’s respective vessels did not take place in 2022. We would like to express our sincere gratitude to all the crew and scientific personnel onboard RVs “Vilnyus”, “G.O. Sars” and “Johan Hjort” for their dedicated work, as well as all the people involved in planning and reporting of BESS 2022. This report is a summary of observations and status assessment based on the survey data. Even though the survey was not well completed, the data obtained are the main source of knowledge about the ecosystem of the Barents Sea.Survey report from the joint Norwegian/Russian Ecosystem Survey in the Barents Sea and the adjacent waters August- December 2022publishedVersio

Panel-based Assessment of Ecosystem Condition of Norwegian Barents Sea Shelf Ecosystems

The System for Assessment of Ecological Condition, coordinated by the Norwegian Environment Agency, is intended to form the foundation for evidence-based assessments of the ecological condition of Norwegian terrestrial and marine ecosystems not covered by the EU Water Framework Directive. The reference condition is defined as “intact ecosystems”, i.e., a condition that is largely unimpacted by modern industrial anthropogenic activities. An ecosystem in good ecological condition is defined as a system that does not deviate substantially from this reference condition in structure, functions or productivity. This means that, in practice, what is assessed here is the extent to which an ecosystem is impacted by anthropogenic drivers. This report describes the first operational assessment of the ecological condition of Norwegian Arctic and Sub-Arctic marine shelf ecosystems in the Barents Sea. The assessment method employed is the Panel-based Assessment of Ecosystem Condition (PAEC1), and the current assessment has considered to what extent the Barents Sea shelf ecosystems deviate from the reference condition2 by evaluating change trajectories