Conditional support from below? Understanding the dynamics of municipal amalgamation preferences among local politicians

Municipal amalgamations are commonly undertaken with promises of scale effects. But territorial reforms also invoke issues of local identity and democracy, which may be negatively impacted by upscaled local government. This article explores how these frames play out as drivers of amalgamation preferences among local representatives. Utilizing survey data of Norwegian local politicians during the 2014–2020 Local Government Reform, this article shows that local politicians are more likely to support amalgamation when prioritizing and supporting functional scale considerations. Conversely, they are less likely to support amalgamation when invoking issues of local belonging, democracy, and citizens’ influence. But these attitudes are not static. Sources of support and aversion towards amalgamation are at times conditional; the characteristics of the municipality, the individual's status in the local political environment, and the views of the population may both enhance and weaken the degree to which functional or communitarian frames are rallied to support or oppose amalgamation.publishedVersio

Modelling chemical releases from fish farms: impact zones, dissolution time, and exposure probability

Tarpaulin bath treatments are used in open net-pen finfish aquaculture to combat parasitic infections, in particular sea lice. After treatment, the toxic wastewater is released directly into the ocean, potentially harming non-target species in the vicinity. We model the dispersion of wastewater chemicals using a high-resolution numerical ocean model. The results are used to estimate the impact area, impact range, dissolution time, and exposure probability for chemicals of arbitrary toxicity. The study area is a fish-farming intensive region on the Norwegian western coast. Simulations are performed at 61 different release dates, each on 16 locations. In our base case where the chemical is toxic at 1% of the treatment concentration, the release of a 16000 m³ wastewater plume traverses a median distance of 1.9 km before being completely dissolved. The median impacted area is 0.9 km² and the median dissolution time is 6.8 hours. These figures increase to 5.9 km, 7.0 km², and 21 hours, respectively, if the chemical is toxic at 0.1 % of the treatment concentration. Locations within fjords have slower dissolution rates and larger impact zones compared to exposed locations off the coast, especially during summer.publishedVersio

Impact of variable physical conditions and future increased aquaculture production on lice infestation pressure and its sustainability in Norway

Salmon lice infestation is a challenge for wild post-smolt salmon during migration from their natal river to the sea in several regions of Norway. The traffic-light management system regulates growth in the aquaculture industry, where growth in production (6%) is only allowed if the impact of salmon lice on wild fish can be kept at a minimum and up to 10% mortality of wild salmonids are considered within the sustainability goal. We used a numerical ocean model, combined with an individual-based model for salmon lice, to evaluate the interannual variability in salmon lice concentrations in Production Zone 7, which was granted permission for production growth in 2017. Salmon lice releases were kept constant for 3 yr, while the physical conditions, e.g. wind and ocean circulation, varied. The total area of elevated lice infestations varied between 3.2 and 8.4% of the area within 5 km from the coast, due only to interannual physical variability mainly caused by variable wind patterns. Modeled post-smolts migrating out from the Namsen River (64.5°N, central Norway) towards the open ocean experienced mortality between 5 and 9%. Since Production Zone 7 was granted growth, we have simulated increased production and corresponding increases in lice releases. After 5 to 8 increments of 6% increase in production, the increase in salmon post-smolt mortality was of the same order of magnitude as the interannual variability. Information regarding migration route and time is crucial input to the model calculating post-smolt mortality, and inadequate information can affect the results significantly. These 2 methods (determining area of elevated lice infestations and estimating post-smolt mortality) provide complementary information and should be used in combination when the overall assessment of a production zone is made.publishedVersio

Påvirkning fra lakselus på vill laksefisk - ROC

Vi har utviklet en metode som oversetter luselarver i vannmassene til lus per fisk i smoltbur. Resultatene presenteres som horisontale kart i tre kategorier og tidsserier. Resultatene fra ROC-metoden kan lettest tolkes som en rekke virtuelle smoltbur i et finmasket nett langs kysten og inne i fjordene. Fargene på kartene skal tolkes som: villfisk som oppholder seg i røde områder i 30 dager vil mest sannsynlig bli smittet med mer enn 6 lus, mens de som oppholder seg i grønne områder mest sannsynlig vil bli smittet med mindre enn 2 lus og i gule områder med mellom 2 og 6 lus. For å ha et objektivt mål på lakseluspåvirkningen på ville laksefisk i hvert av de 13 produksjonsområdene er det definert en ROC-indeks. Indeksen er definert til å være lav (I 30%). Det er laget tidsserier for ROC-indeksen (2012 - 2020) per produksjonsomåde, og det er gjort en sammenligning med resulatene fra reelle smoltbur i Hardangerfjorden 2020. Rapporten inngår i Havforskningsinstituttets bidrag til ekspertgruppen for trafikklyssystemet og grunnlaget for vurdering av lakselusindusert dødelighet per produksjonsområde i 2020.publishedVersio

Impact of thermoclines on the vertical distribution of salmon lice larvae

Salmon louse Lepeophtheirus salmonis, a key parasite of salmonids, is managed by multiple methods at both salmon farm- and ecosystem-scale that are informed by an understanding of the abundance and distribution of the infective, planktonic stage of the lice. Dispersal modelling using hydrodynamic models relies on accurately estimating larval depth and how environmental variables modify distributions. Larval responses to temperature could modify dispersal distances by altering their depth in the water column and thus exposure to depth-dependent oceanographic processes and the duration of their temperature-dependent development. Using column experiments, we tested how L. salmonis nauplii and copepodids responded to different thermoclines by establishing a bottom layer of 12°C with an overlaying layer varying from 6 to 18°C in 2°C steps. Nauplii moved upwards in high proportions and aggregated in the surface layer when the overlying layer was 10°C or cooler. In contrast, nauplii moved downwards and aggregated at the thermocline when the overlying layer exceeded 12°C. Temperature did not influence the vertical distribution of copepodids. When nauplii behaviour towards temperature was integrated into a dispersal model, dispersal distances increased. Temperature should be considered when calculating depth distributions. Further, nauplii and copepodids behave differently and should be configured separately in dispersal models.publishedVersio

Modellering av lakseluskopepoditter langs norskekysten – sammenligning mellom gammel og ny partikkelspredningsmodell

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The development of a sustainability assessment indicator and its response to management changes as derived from salmon lice dispersal modelling

Aquaculture is providing an increasingly larger proportion of the world’s protein for human consumption; however, its environmental impact is a bottleneck for sustainable expansion. In Norway, the government has enacted a framework where salmon lice-induced mortality in wild salmonid populations is used for assessing the environmental sustainability in production zones. Direct measurements of the level of lice-induced mortality on wild salmonids are difficult to acquire, thus comprehensive sustainability assessments are based on a set of evidence-based proxies. One such proxy is the infestation pressure from a bio-hydrodynamic model, from which we develop an index that summarize the sustainability of aquaculture in terms of lice infestation. This index is based on the proportion of areas with elevated lice loads, and is a novel approach used to investigate how sustainability could be achieved through scenario testing of different management strategies. The analyses identified a mismatch between legal and sustainable lice levels, but also a beneficial effect of reducing lice levels on farms. This study’s approach demonstrated how bio-hydrodynamic models might be used to assess sustainability and to predict the necessary reduction of lice larvae from farms to classify the entire Norwegian aquaculture industry as environmentally sustainable.publishedVersio

Humor i reklame - Er du overbevist?

Denne bacheloroppgaven ser nærmere på hvilke faktorer som spiller inn på forholdet mellom humor og vareprat. Den går dypere inn på effekter som kommer av humor, da spesielt distraksjonseffekten som en hovedfaktor. Vi ønsket å undersøke om distraksjon, opphisselse (arousal), holdning til reklame og holdning til merkevare fungerer som medierende variabler på forholdet mellom humor og vareprat. Vi kom dermed frem til følgende problemstilling: «I hvilken grad kan humor i reklame, gjennom distraksjonseffekten, bidra til å genere mer positiv vareprat til merkevaren?» Bakgrunnen for oppgaven var å se på hvordan humor påvirker holdning til merkevare gjennom holdning til reklame. Vi fant dette interessant å se i lys av vareprat og i tillegg avdekke om distraksjonseffekten har spilt en rolle. Det teoretiske utgangspunktet for denne oppgaven fokuserer på fem hovedtemaer: holdning, følelser (arousal), vareprat, humor og distraksjonseffekten. For å gjennomføre undersøkelsen har vi valgt å benytte oss av kvantitativ metode i form av et enkelt «post» eksperiment. Dette designet ble valgt for å kunne sammenligne effekter. Det ble gjort under kontrollerte omstendigheter for å sikre at eksperimentet hadde god intern validitet. Vi gjorde også tiltak for å forsterke den eksterne validiteten. Utvalget bestod hovedsakelig av studenter ved Høyskolen Kristiania i Oslo. Vi fikk ikke støtte for noen av våre hypoteser, men fant andre interessante funn. En ting vi ble gjort oppmerksomme på var at humor i vårt eksperiment genererte mer motargumentasjon, som er motsatt av hva vi forventet. Vi fant også at noen av de medierende variablene hadde en sammenheng seg imellom, men at de ikke var generert av humor eller ledet til vareprat. Vi konkluderte med at det kreves mer forskning på fenomenet for å enten avkrefte eller bekrefte tilstedeværelse av mediatorene i forholdet mellom humor og vareprat

Modellering av smittsomme lakseluslarver - bakgrunnsdata for Havforskningsinstituttets modellprodukt til Trafikklyssystemet, 2020

Siden det er vanskelig å få en fullstendig oversikt over luseinfeksjoner på laksefisk langs hele kysten ved hjelp av tradisjonelle feltobservasjoner, har Havforskningsinstituttet utviklet en lakselusmodell som utfyller observasjonene, både i tid og rom. Les mer om overvåking på https://www.hi.no/hi/temasider/arter/lakselus/overvaking-av-lakselus Rapporten inneholder figurer som viser antall klekte nauplier per uke i de 13 produksjonsområdene. Videre beskrives og vises det figurer over hvordan tettheten av kopepoditter variere i tid og rom innen de ulike produksjonsområdene. Til slutt inneholder rapporten en diskusjon av utveksling av kopepoditter mellom produksjonsområdene. Rapporten inngår i Havforskningsinstituttets bidrag til ekspertgruppen for trafikklyssystemet og grunnlaget for vurdering av lakselusindusert dødelighet per produksjonsområde i 2020.publishedVersio

The making of a genetic cline: introgression of oceanic genes into coastal cod populations in the Northeast Atlantic

Abstract: Coastal Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) in the Northeast Atlantic has seen a continuous decline since the industrialization of the coastal fishery, and management needs to address the spatial and temporal complexities of coexisting cod stocks. Toward that end, genetic analyses and oceanographic modelling of coastal and oceanic cod larval drift patterns were combined to elucidate the mechanisms responsible for an observed genetic cline over a >1500 km stretch along the coast of Norway. The results indicate that the north­south cline in coastal cod represents an extended contact zone between genetically divergent North Sea and Northeast Arctic cod and is maintained by two-way gene flow: by northward drift of pelagic eggs and larvae and by southward spawning migrations of Northeast Arctic cod. Computer simulations verify that the genetic cline can be established rapidly if gene flow into coastal populations is substantial. The shape of the cline, on the other hand, was found to be largely insensitive to the total amount of gene flow and therefore carries little information on extent of gene flow into and among coastal populations.publishedVersio