It is with huge sadness and shock that we have been informed that our colleague Ketil Skogen passed away suddenly on Saturday the 22^nd of April 2023.

Successful breeding is crucial, but climate change can make timing of breeding more demanding. A new study including data from several colonies monitored throughout the SEAPOP programme has now examined how seabirds adjust their breeding phenology.

American children have been inspired by NINA’s research on painting wind turbine rotor blades black to reduce bird collisions. This has taken them to the top of the First Lego League.

Research in languages other than English is critically important for biodiversity conservation and is shockingly under-utilised internationally, according to an international research team.

Researchers have taken over 400 DNA samples from Norwegian rivers. The aim is to analyze as many as 800 samples nationally to investigate how various forms of hydropower affect species living in the river. Ultimately, the goal is to help the hydropower industry produce more sustainable renewable energy.

Negative trends for populations with low productivity can be somewhat mitigated by adults living longer.

When the seed rich hay from traditional Norwegian hay meadows is put to use to grow flower meadows in urban areas, both pollinators and people win.  

Nature does the job for us, for free.  But, in the search for good measures to compensate for man-made greenhouse gas emissions, carbon emissions from disturbance or loss of biodiversity caused by these measures are often not included in the calculation.

With the help of genetic analyses, long time series and statistical models, scientists at the Norwegian Institute for Nature Research have documented human-induced evolution in a natural salmon population.

DNA analyses are becoming an increasingly important method in research and nature management. To meet an increased demand from government and industry, the Norwegian Institute for Nature Research (NINA) today opened NINAGEN, a national centre for conservation and biodiversity genetics in Trondheim.

Using a comprehensive set of tracking data from five seabird species in the North Atlantic and a model for estimating energy consumption, researchers have investigated how severe winter storms may impact the seabird community and eventually lead to seabird mass mortality.

In the MARCIS project we want to understand how seabirds are affected by human stressors in marine areas. To do so, we need to know where they are and how they use their habitat. Since seabirds spend the majority of their life far out at sea, this is no easy task.

Two new research projects will investigate the impacts of large-scale development of wind energy along the coast and offshore on migrating birds and marine life.

How bird-ringing can be used to determine lethal effects of marine stressors.

Human activity in the coastal zone is increasing worldwide, including Norway. Aquaculture, kelp harvesting, fisheries, increasing boat and ship traffic present sources of disturbance and pose a variety of potential threats to seabirds.

By using a more than 100-year-old record of a puffin Fratercula arctica chick harvest on Iceland, researchers have found a relationship between ocean temperatures and production of puffin chicks.

How do seabirds find enough food to survive the darkness of winter? In a study on colonies in Great Britain, Iceland and Norway, researchers used geolocators to reveal that European shags adopt various strategies to handle the winter darkness.

In response to a warming climate, many species are shifting their range norhtwards. Protected areas play an important role in helping bird species to adjust - if the sites follow a clear management plan.
 

The advantages for animals migrating to northern breeding grounds are being eroded, as the animals experience lower food availability, higher pathogen pressure and increased predation rates.