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.

We are delighted to welcome Emma Jane Critchley to the MARCIS project!

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.

We are delighted to welcome Lila Buckingham to the MARCIS project, who started her postdoc at NINA on 1 September

Have you ever visited a seabird colony in autumn or winter? Compared to the hustle-bustle during spring and summer, it is very quiet then. No sign of guillemots, kittiwakes and Co., only empty nests remain. Where do all these seabirds go after they have raised their young?

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.