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October 2024
The secret of Juniper
Together with Ass. Prof. Agata Buchwal we headed to the research station in Kobbefjorden to sample some precious old Juniper branches for tree-ring growth reconstruction and the investigation of 'blue-rings'. Agata and I previously collaborated on similar projects, tracking the environmental drivers that control & synchronize plant growth.
September 2024
Nuuk life
One can feel stuck in Nuuk in the frequent bad weather days, but when the sun shines for consecutive days and the winds dies, it is a chance to grasp. September offered some freedom to explore the fantastic fjords and islands surrounding the office. When the winds picks up, alternatives activities are also great with the diverstiy of cultural events one find in Nuuk - such a blend of northern cultures!
Aurelien and Arthur became Masters of Science, defending brilliantly their theses in France.
August 2024
Let's visit highly grazed landscapes - workshop on the Faroe Islands.
Laura and I participated in the GLISFO-workshop to strengthen regional ties between the research communities of the Faroe Islands, Iceland and Greenland. In this cross-disciplinary audience, we presented our ongoing work on herbivory.
It was also the occasion to visit this archipelago where puffin and sheep overlap their habitats.
July 2024
Baseline vegetation measurements for an upcoming experiment!
We packed our bags and went living with the muskox, caribou, hares and ptarmigans for a couple of weeks, studying their diet. We conducted baseline measurements for an upcoming herbivore exclosure experiments: "Implications of changes in tundra herbivore diversity - West Greenland in a multiscale circumpolar experiment", financed by UArctic. We aim to study how medium and large herbivores shape plant communities. For this, we targeted two productive grasslands, one dominated by muskox and the other one by caribou. Read more on TexNet protocols: we applied the one-time observational protocol and baseline experimental protocol.
We also hiked across this breathtaking landscape to resight some GPS collared caribou, monitoring the calving success and group structure of large herbivores on our way.
And, despite the consent afternoon winds from the icecap and even snow falling on the last days of July - we had a great time!
June 2024
Discovering Denmark and resighting GPS females on calving grounds, this time in Greenland.
Visit of different research institutions in Denmark, including the Greenland representation offices where colleagues of GINR sit (picture below).
Back in Greenland and straight in the field to monitor calving rates of caribou and muskox and observing some GPS collared females, now trotting around with their calves! The best school is out there!
It was also time to inspect the vegetation communities across the landscape with colleagues from Cambridge University before starting projects next month.
May 2024
Norwegian cabin work-retreat and calving of villrein!
Time to work from my little corner of the 'Norwegian woods' and meet my Norwegian collaborators / former colleagues. I could explore parts of Dovrefjell and Hardangervidda, two regions with populations of wild reindeer. Pictures are from the same location, just 800m elevation difference. The sign indicates 'VILLREIN kalvingsområdet Vis hensyn !". Calving time is a critical time of year for caribou, so one should move unnoticed in the landscape. Same applies to next field work in Greenland.
April 2024
Caribou capture!
We inspected the health and body conditions of 78 caribou in the region of Kangerlussuaq/Sisimiut! On 40 of them, we deployed GPS collar to learn more on the habitat they use across seasons and over the years. For instance, we can see where they go during calving, hunting, rutting, hot summer days or icy winter conditions. We captured them with a net launched from an helicopter. The procedure is quick and they are calm under handling.
March 2024
Muskox population and structure counts in South Greenland, Nanortalik.
Muskox were translocated to the peninsula East of Nanortalik in 2014. It is now ten years, and it is time to check how the population has developed and potentially reached the defined size to start a sustainable hunting. The count was conducted in collaboration with Kujalleq commune and local hunters. Check the KNR article.
If you are a climber, it is hard not to be fascinated over the granite cliffs of Tasermiut ...
Herbivory workshop in Kangerlussuaq.
We gathered with collaborators for inspiring discussions and planning exciting studies ahead.
February 2024
Muskox population and structure counts in Maniitsoq and Sisimiut management areas.
Can you see the muskox on the first picture?
On last minute notice, I could undertake, together with the help of professional hunters and a hunter officer (GFLK), a muskox population count of the Kangerlussuaq-Sisimiut management area. We counted muskox over 700 km of transects by distance-sampling and photographed over 1600 muskox along separate structure-count routes for sex and age identification. This extensive monitoring was followed by long nights of picture classifications and listening of recordings with the previous help of Arthur, Aurélien and hunters - this to give in time recommendations to the Government on the winter hunt, starting imminently. Read more here (Danish and Kalaallisut).
January 2024
Stay at the Laboratoire d'Ecologie Alpine (LECA) and ski race with my Greenlandic club in Italie!
Gathering at LECA, Universtiy Savoie-Mont-Blanc, to meet collaborators and meet with the team who will travel to Nuuk this spring! Read more on Laura, Arthur and Aurélien projects in Team.
Exotically, I met my Greenlandic ski club team and we raced in cross-country skiing in Italie! It was colder than in Nuuk!
December 2023
Greenland shark outreach
When you work at the Greenland Institute of Natural Resources, you have to be polyvalent! Assisting one of my colleagues, we did an improvised outreach science when a Greenlandic shark got washed ashore in the harbor at the center of Nuuk! Fascinating creature
November 2023
Greenland Science Week and Svalbard Science Conference!
Both events happen every second year, aiming at increasing interactions between researchers working across disciplines on a same study-system. This November the events happened a week after the other and I could attend both, catching up with many colleagues!
October 2023
Closure-gathering of the Centre for Biodiversity Dynamics
As one of the first PhD from CBD ten-years ago, I have 'grown-up' as a scientist together with the expansion of this 'centre for excellence'. I travelled back to Trondheim for the last gathering and reflecting on what will be its legacy.
You can read one of its last report, overwhelmed by Svalbard field-work pictures.
September 2023
PhD scholarship on spatial patterns of plant-herbivore feedback in Greenland
Come work with me & insightful colleagues and collaborators! See the call below:
https://natur.gl/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/PhD-TerrEco-position-description_300823.pdf
See also the press release article of our latest genomic study on Svalbard reindeer purging of deleterious alleles: These reindeer survived, isolated for 7000 years — but will they survive climate change? (norwegianscitechnews.com)
Picture: F. Ugarte
August 2023 South Greenland - the land of contrasts: studying sheep diet with jumping arctic foxes, rundball lost in the sea / or icebergs, broccoli fields and innlandis!
July 2023 Greenland - UNESCO ecosystem vulnerability assessment.
Just landed in Greenland and headed out to the field, inside a valley system passed the Sarfannguit community. Perfect way to discuover one of my potential future field sites, with sightings of most terrestrial vertebrates I'll work with. GReat co-worker team!
June 2023 Transition
Transition from Alaska, packing from my beloved cabin in the Norwegian woods and heading to Greenland! A new chapter starts as terrestrial ecologist at the Greenland Institute of Natural Resources.
Revision of an in-depth study of Svalbard reindeer current genetic structure using whole-genome-sequencing. Naturally recolonised populations (e.g. Mitrahalvøya [MTR] of South Svalbard[STH]) turned out more inbreed than translocated populations (e.g. Ny-Ålesund region [Reintro1] and Daudmannsøyra [Reintro 2]). Funders of the translocated populations came from the most genetically diverse region of Svalbard (Adventdalen [ADV]), while the populations naturally recolonized typically experienced a serie of bottleneck from a stepping stone recolonization pattern. The study is now out in Evolutionary Applications, read it here: Burnett et al. 2023
Mai 2023 Alaska
The Arctic Ungulate Conference happening each 4 years, took place in Anchorage, Alaska. Scientists, natives and stakeholders, all related to caribou and/or muskox gathered for an impressive meeting. My contribution was to give three talks:
1. Including ancient DNA to understand implications of historical overharvest, recolonization, and climate change for the genetic diversity and structure of wild Svalbard reindeer
2. Seasonal and spatial variation in climate change impacts on wild Svalbard reindeer, with implications for community dynamics
3. Finding ancient reindeer/caribou remains on high Arctic tundra: Summary of data and ongoing project on Svalbard (and Greenland) - Workshop on Paleoconservation.
For the coming years, I will stand as the representative for Greenland in the Arctic Ungulate Society committee.
After all these events, it was time to take a break and head into the Alaskan Range with friends to climb Denali, which mean 'the big one', and it is soooo big and majestuous. I am now ready for the new chapter of my life... Greenland!
April 2023
Publication on Svalbard reindeer habitat suitability in Global Ecology and Conservation (Pedersen et al., 2023). They really don't move much and select similar habitats across seasons.
March 2023
Msc Saria Sato Bajracharya works hard analyzing mercury content in 85 ancient and historical antlers from Svalbard reindeer! Looking forwards to see the results!
February 2023
Visiting the Centre for Palaeogenetics at the Stockholm Universtiy! Finding back the ancient Svalbard reindeer specimens collected last summer for ancient DNA extraction! Pretty cool answers when you ask your lab mates what species they work on!
January 2023
Teaching about winter warm spell effects on tundra plants and reindeer population dynamics at The University Centre in Svalbard. Together with the help from students from the Climate Change Biology course we completed the 8th winter of rain-on-snow and icing simulation on tundra vegetation plots. Despite the relatively mild temperatures, the icing went smoothly this year!
Visit of the Laboratoire d'Ecologie Alpine at the University Savoie Mont-Blanc, France, and lecturing about the conservation of Svalbard reindeer!
Above picture: Larissa Beumer
December 2022
Drone technology is not yet ready to replace ground methodologies to monitor reindeer in the remote high-Arctic. Read our latest study in Remote Sensing Paulsen et al, in press
Picture: Richard Hann
November 2022
Congratulations to Lia who is awarded the best overall performance for her Master of Science at the University of Edinburgh. Her supervisors, Isla Myers-Smith and myself can only be very proud!
Read Lia's these here: Scale determines the detection of icing effects on tundra productivity in Svalbard
Lia - best overall MSc performance
Outreach from last field season
Watch our video illustrating the ancient reindeer bone hunt from last summer with a presentation of the project ColdRein
October 2022
Annual gathering of the Centre for Biodiversity Dynamics and its advisory board in Røros for endless fruitful talks and delicious food! Yes, these are my colleagues, the same ones in and out of four walls!
Røros CBD meeting
The rest of October was otherwise a non-stop working month for an exciting ERC starting grant application. This includes working in inspiring environments, like my wonderful home-office!
ERC grant-writing view
September 2022
Greenland! Visit of the Greenland Institute of Natural Resources in Nuuk and the Kobbefjord research station (Interact research station network, buildings well camouflaged but still visible on the picture below). What an experience!
Greenland Institute of Natural Resources
Kobbefjord field station, Greenland
July-August 2022
Two months more of hunt for treasures! We complete the collection of Svalbard reindeer bones and antlers that has doubled over the summer, with 150 (very!) ancient samples more, currently being C-dated and whole genome sequenced. This is a fine art in itself, requiring hours of multiscale landscape analysis and finally hours of hiking to reach these fascinating targeted areas! Thanks to the dedicated helpers who have joint me on these explorations, with the constant hope to find the oldest specimens, even in rainy windy days! Exciting results to come soon!
Read an outreach from our work on the SEES in TROUW (Netherlands).
Juin 2022
Our Arctic gardeners, Iselin and Halvor, become Master of Science! Congrats to their excellent work! What a joyful Arctic-vegi team!
Read Iselin thesis here: Effects of Experimental Winter Warming on Trade-offs Between Growth and Reproduction in High Arctic shrubs.
Read Halvor thesis here: Winter gardening at 78° North: measuring extreme warm spell impacts on above- and below- ground biomass of vascular plant communities
Iselin and Halvor on day 1 as Master of Science, after extensive studying dwarf arctic shrubs... Halvor's words summarize it best: 'It's just another form of log-transformation'!
Iselin and Halvor on day 1 as Master of Science, after extensive studying dwarf arctic shrubs... Halvor's words summarize it best: 'It's just another form of log-transformation'!
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