Lack of population genetic structure of lumpfish along the Norwegian coast: A reappraisal based on EST-STRs analyses

Lumpfish is now the single most important cleaner fish species to date and there is an extensive lumpfish translocation along the Norwegian coast. A reliable baseline information about the population genetic structure of lumpfish is a prerequisite for an optimal managing of the species to minimize possible genetic translocation and avoid possible hybridisation and introgression with local populations. The current study is a follow up of the study of Jónsdóttir et al. (2018) using expressed sequence tag-short tandem repeats (EST-STRs) markers. Samples (N = 291) were analysed from six sample locations along the Norwegian coastline from south to north, with additional 18 samples of first-generation (from wild fish) reared fish from a fish farm outside Tromsø (North Norway). Present findings show a lack of population differentiation among lumpfish sampling population along the Norwegian coast using EST-STRs, which is in accordance with the findings of Jónsdóttir et al. (2018) where genomic STRs (g-STRs) were analysed. Present findings indicate that should translocated lumpfish escape from salmon sea pens in Norway, this will probably have little impact on the genetic composition of the local lumpfish population.publishedVersio

Population structure discovered in juveniles of Greenland halibut (Reinhardtius hippoglossoides Walbaum, 1792)

Understanding the genetic differentiation among populations of most marine fish requires investigating the differences among spawning grounds. However, this can be challenging as spawning grounds for some species are not well known, or spawning fish are difficult to collect. An alternative is to collect juvenile fish in nursery habitats closely associated with potential spawning grounds. Greenland halibut is a deep-dwelling, commercially important species with at least two identified major offshore spawning grounds in the North Atlantic and weak genetic differentiation across the Atlantic. In this study, we sampled juveniles from three sites representing the Davis Strait spawning area in the northwest Atlantic and one site in the northeast Atlantic representing the primary spawning area along the western slope of the Barents Sea. We applied genotype by sequencing and discovered 90 genetic markers that could be used to assess genetic differentiation among the four sites. The northeast and northwest Atlantic showed major genetic differentiation, supporting the existence of the two primary spawning clusters. Additionally, we found genetic differentiation between the three northwest Atlantic samples implying the existence of more than one spawning area in the northwest.publishedVersio

Adaptive introgression facilitate adaptation to high latitudes in European aspen (Populus tremula L.)

Understanding local adaptation has become a key research area given the ongoing climate challenge and the concomitant requirement to conserve genetic resources. Perennial plants, such as forest trees, are good models to study local adaptation given their wide geographic distribution, largely outcrossing mating systems and demographic histories. We evaluated signatures of local adaptation in European aspen (Populus tremula) across Europe by means of whole genome re-sequencing of a collection of 411 individual trees. We dissected admixture patterns between aspen lineages and observed a strong genomic mosaicism in Scandinavian trees, evidencing different colonization trajectories into the peninsula from Russia, Central and Western Europe. As a consequence of the secondary contacts between populations after the last glacial maximum (LGM), we detected an adaptive introgression event in a genome region of ∼500kb in chromosome 10, harboring a large-effect locus that has previously been shown to contribute to adaptation to the short growing seasons characteristic of northern Scandinavia. Demographic simulations and ancestry inference suggest an Eastern origin - probably Russian - of the adaptive Nordic allele which nowadays is present in a homozygous state at the north of Scandinavia. The strength of introgression and positive selection signatures in this region is a unique feature in the genome. Furthermore, we detected signals of balancing selection, shared across regional populations, that highlight the importance of standing variation as a primary source of alleles that facilitate local adaptation. Our results therefore emphasize the importance of migration-selection balance underlying the genetic architecture of key adaptive quantitative traits

Greining erfðamengja í fjöllitna meltegundum

Meltegundir er samheiti yfir tegundir sem tilheyra ættkvísl Leymus Hochstetter en til hennar teljast um 30 fjöllitna og fjölærar tegundir. Einkennistegund ættkvíslarinnar er melgresi, [L. arenarius (L.) Hochst.] og er hún áttlitna (2n=8x=56) tegund. Flokkunarfræðilega tilheyra meltegundir undirætt hveitis, grasaætt, ættbálki grasa og hópi einkímblöðunga. Meltegundir hafa talsvert verið rannsakaðar sem möguleg erfðaauðlind við kynbætur í hveiti og hafa mikilvægir eiginleikar melgresis, til dæmis þol gagnvart þurrki, söltum jarðvegi og sveppasjúkdómum, verið í brennidepli. Með sameinda- og frumuerfðafræðilegum aðferðum hefur verið sýnt fram á að meltegundir innihalda aðeins grunn Ns erfðamengi og að þær séu hálfvíxlfjöllitna með dæmigerða Ns1Ns2 erfðamengja samsetningu í ferlitna tegundum. Lítið er vitað um uppruna mismunandi Ns erfðamengja og skyldleika meðal Ns tegunda. Markmið þessarar rannsóknar var að skilgreina breytileika innan Ns erfðamengis og nota þann breytileika til að rekja uppruna þess. Nýlega einagruð fjölskylda af samfellt endurteknum satellite-röðum, nefnd Lt1, var skilgreind í þessari rannsókn. Hún hafði verið einangruð úr C0t-1 erfðaefni L. triticoides sem er norður amerísk meltegund Uppbygging Lt1 fjölskyldunnar innan L. triticoides og útbreiðsla hennar meðal Ns tegunda var könnuð með Southern þáttatengingu og staðsetning hennar á litningum kortlögð með flúrljómandi þreifurum. Í ljós kom að Lt1 fjölskyldan einkennist af samfellt endurteknum 380-bp SacI-einingum. Jafnframt var undirhópur innan Lt1 skilgreindur sem einkennist af metýleruðum 120-bp MspI einingum. Lt1 fjölskyldan finnst einungis í norður amerískum meltegundum og er hún ávallt staðsett í AT ríkjandi þéttlitnis böndum nærri endum flestra litninga sem er einkennandi fyrir þessar tegundir. Í þessari rannsókn var í fyrsta skipti sýnt fram á breytileika í metýleringu staðbundinna satellite-raða innan þéttlitnissvæða við litningaenda en þau svæði eru mjög mikilvæg fyrir uppbyggingu litninga. Lt1 er fyrsta tegundasérhæfða satellite-fjölskyldan sem aðskilur amerískar meltegundir frá evrópskum og asískum meltegundum. Ljóst er að aukin þekking á erfðafræði villtra grastegunda eykur notkunarmöguleika á erfðaauðlindum fyrir kynbætur kornjurta og þar af leiðandi öflugri landbúnaði og getur stuðlað að aukinni fæðuframleiðslu í veröld þar sem hluti jarðarbúa sveltur.Rannís, Orkurannsóknasjóður Landsvirkjuna

Að lægja öldurnar : mikilvægi stiglækkandi aðferða lögreglu

Markmið þessarar ritgerðar er að skoða áherslur og mikilvægi stiglækkandi aðferða (e. de-escalation techniques) í þjálfun lögreglumanna. Með stiglækkandi aðferðum er átt við að ráða úr aðstæðum án valdbeitingar eða með vægustu mögulegu úrræðum. Oftast eru aðferðirnar í formi samskipta til að draga úr ógnun og hættu á ofbeldi og opna fyrir aðrar leiðir til að ná farsælli úrlausn mála. Með stiglækkandi aðferðum er tilgangurinn einnig að draga úr hættu á meiðslum bæði hjá borgurum og lögreglumönnum. Á Norðurlöndunum er tíðni meiðsla há meðal lögreglumanna en þau meiðsli koma til að stærstum hluta vegna lögregluafskipta. Í dag fær valdbeiting, framkoma og framganga lögreglu í vestrænum samfélögum mikla athygli í fjölmiðlum og hjá almenningi almennt. Sú athygli er aðallega sprottin af sláandi birtingarmynd valdbeitingar hjá bandarísku lögreglunni. Sem dæmi má nefna hið þekkta mál lögreglumannsins Derek Chauvin, en harkaleg framganga hans við handtöku George Floyd er talin hafa valdið dauða hans. Mál George Floyd og önnur lík hafa leitt til mikils óróleika í bandarísku samfélagi og mótmæla á götum úti en einnig háværrar kröfu um breytingar á löggæsluaðferðum. Í þessari ritgerð er greint frá notkun og þjálfun stiglækkandi aðferða í Bandaríkjunum, Íslandi og hinum Norðurlöndunum. Niðurstöður rannsóknar okkar sýna að grunnþekking stiglækkandi aðferða er sótt að miklu leyti til bandarísku lögreglunnar þar sem mikill þrýstingur hefur undanfarið verið á frekari innleiðingu aðferðanna og að lögreglulið marki sér betra verklag og nýja stefnu með aukinni áherslu á að vernda mannslíf. Þá eru stiglækkandi aðferðir rauði þráðurinn í lögreglunámi á Norðurlöndunum og kemur sterkt fram bæði í bóklegu námi og verklegri þjálfun. Niðurstöður okkar sýna að lögð er mikil áhersla á notkun stiglækkandi aðferða á Íslandi og hinum Norðurlöndunum en undir öðrum formerkjum og heitum. Þetta eru í raun aðferðirnar sem gera lögregluliðin á Norðurlöndum mannúðlegri en víðast annars staðar og skilar sér meðal annars í miklu trausti almennings. Í Bandaríkjunum er hin mikla krafa á frekari notkun stiglækkandi aðferða tilkomin vegna afstöðu flestra aðila til þess að koma í veg fyrir óhóflega valdbeitingu og ofbeldi en í því liggur mikilvægi stiglækkandi aðferða. Lykilorð: lögregla, stiglækkandi aðferðir, meðalhóf, þjálfun, samskipti.The aim of this thesis is to examine how de-escalation techniques shape police training and their importance. De-escalation techniques are skills police officers use to resolve situations without force or using the least amount of force possible. Usually that involves communication to reduce threats and the risk of violence and finding other successful solutions. The main purpose of de-escalation techniques is to prevent injuries to both citizens and police. Rates of injury within Nordic police services are quite high. Injuries are mainly due to citizen-police interaction. These days police use of force and police misconduct in Western societies receives a great deal of attention in the media and by the general public. This stems in large part from shocking news coverage of police misuse of force in the United States. Well known in this regard is the case of police officer Derek Chauvin, whose brutal tactics are believed to have killed George Floyd as he was being arrested. The case of George Floyd and other similar incidents have led to unrest in American society, street protests and loud demands for police reform. This thesis explores the use and training of de-escalations in the United States, Iceland and the other Nordic countries. Our results show that knowledge of de-escalation techniques is mostly drawn from US law enforcement. There the emphasis has been further implementing de-escalation techniques and police reform with an increased emphasis on protecting human lives. De-escalation techniques are a common thread in Iceland and Nordic police training in general and this is strongly reflected in both theoretical and practical training, but under different pretexts and label. This method is considered to make Nordic policing more humane than most elsewhere and foster high public trust in the police. In the United States, the call for more emphasis on de-escalation methods aims to decrease misuse of force and police violence, which highlights the importance of de-escalation techniques. Keywords: police, de-escalation techniques, proportionality, police training, communication

Transnational cooperation to develop local barley to beer value chains

Transnational cooperation is a common strategy for addressing research and development (R&D) issues resulting from similar challenges that cut across administrative borders. Value chains for food and drinks are complex, and transdisciplinary work is recognised as a method for solving complex issues. The Northern Cereals project ran from 2015 to 2018, and its goal was to increase cereal production and the value of grain products in four regions in the Northern Periphery programme area. The project included both R&D, but the main emphasis was on development, and was carried out by transdisciplinary cooperation between R&D partners and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). By reviewing the project’s methods, outcomes and composition, we discuss if a framework of transnational and transdisciplinary cooperation can help to develop the value chain from local barley to beer. We found that transnational cooperation was achieved successfully, that stakeholder involvement was crucial, but that academic disciplines such as marketing and innovation could have been included. In addition, we recognised that much work remains to further increase cereal production and the use of local grain in the Northern Periphery region, but believe that this project has laid a good foundation for further progress.publishedVersio

Chloroplast markers for the Malvaceae and the plastome of Henderson’s checkermallow (Sidalcea hendersonii S.Wats.), a rare plant from the Pacific Northwest

Abstract Objective Sidalcea is a genus of flowering plants restricted to the west coast of North America, commonly known as checkermallows. Remarkably, of the ~ 30 recognized species, 16 are of conservation concern (vulnerable, imperilled or critically imperilled). To facilitate biological studies in this genus, and in the wider Malvaceae, we have sequenced the whole plastid genome of Sidalcea hendersonii. This will allow us both to check those regions already developed as general Malvaceae markers in a previous study, and to search for new regions. Results By comparing the Sidalcea genome to that of Althaea, we have identified a hypervariable circa 1 kb region in the short single copy region. This region shows promise for examining phylogeographic pattern, hybridization and haplotype diversity. Remarkably, considering the conservation of plastome architecture between Sidalcea and Althaea, the former has a 237 bp deletion in the otherwise highly conserved inverted repeat region. Newly designed primers provide a PCR assay to determine presence of this indel across the Malvaceae. Screening of previously designed chloroplast microsatellite markers indicates two markers with variation within S. hendersonii that would be useful in future population conservation genetics

Detection and distribution of the North Atlantic capelin (Mallotus villosus) using environmental DNA—comparison with data from the main fishery management survey

Abstract Capelin (Mallotus villosus) is both an important commercial and ecological resource of the North Atlantic subpolar region. Two decades ago, the stock distribution around Iceland drastically changed. During autumn, which corresponds to the main feeding period, the capelin stock was previously located between the North of Iceland and the Jan Mayen area. Since the beginning of 2000s, the feeding aggregation has been located at the east coast of Greenland, inducing slight changes in the timing and route of the capelin spawning migration along the Icelandic shelf, and therefore in the catches. Changes in the distribution of capelin around Iceland made it both more difficult and expensive to assess the distribution of the stock with current survey methods. Here, we compare environmental DNA (eDNA) data to the acoustic data collected during the autumn monitoring survey, which leads to a preliminary estimation of the stock size. eDNA samples were collected at five different depths and were analyzed both horizontally across latitudes and longitudes and vertically across depth profiles. We detected eDNA in most of the locations where acoustic data detected capelin. Generalized linear models suggested that eDNA concentrations can be used as a proxy for the detection and quantification of capelin. The horizontal distribution of eDNA observed during both years corresponds with the horizontal distribution of capelin registered with the acoustic approach, while the vertical distribution indicated both effects of oceanic currents and diel vertical migration on eDNA detection and quantification

Transnational cooperation to develop local barley to beer value chains

Transnational cooperation is a common strategy for addressing research and development (R&D) issues resulting from similar challenges that cut across administrative borders. Value chains for food and drinks are complex, and transdisciplinary work is recognised as a method for solving complex issues. The Northern Cereals project ran from 2015 to 2018, and its goal was to increase cereal production and the value of grain products in four regions in the Northern Periphery programme area. The project included both R&D, but the main emphasis was on development, and was carried out by transdisciplinary cooperation between R&D partners and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). By reviewing the project’s methods, outcomes and composition, we discuss if a framework of transnational and transdisciplinary cooperation can help to develop the value chain from local barley to beer. We found that transnational cooperation was achieved successfully, that stakeholder involvement was crucial, but that academic disciplines such as marketing and innovation could have been included. In addition, we recognised that much work remains to further increase cereal production and the use of local grain in the Northern Periphery region, but believe that this project has laid a good foundation for further progress

Transnational cooperation to develop local barley to beer value chains

Transnational cooperation is a common strategy for addressing research and development (R&D) issues resulting from similar challenges that cut across administrative borders. Value chains for food and drinks are complex, and transdisciplinary work is recognised as a method for solving complex issues. The Northern Cereals project ran from 2015 to 2018, and its goal was to increase cereal production and the value of grain products in four regions in the Northern Periphery programme area. The project included both R&D, but the main emphasis was on development, and was carried out by transdisciplinary cooperation between R&D partners and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). By reviewing the project’s methods, outcomes and composition, we discuss if a framework of transnational and transdisciplinary cooperation can help to develop the value chain from local barley to beer. We found that transnational cooperation was achieved successfully, that stakeholder involvement was crucial, but that academic disciplines such as marketing and innovation could have been included. In addition, we recognised that much work remains to further increase cereal production and the use of local grain in the Northern Periphery region, but believe that this project has laid a good foundation for further progress