Kristina Øie Kvile

An ecosystem evaluation framework for global seamount conservation and management.

In the last twenty years, several global targets for protection of marine biodiversity have been adopted but have failed. The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) aims at preserving 10% of all the marine biomes by 2020. For achieving this goal, ecologically or biologically significant areas (EBSA) have to be identified in all biogeographic regions. However, the methodologies for identifying the best suitable areas are still to be agreed. Here, we propose a framework for applying the CBD criteria to locate potential ecologically or biologically significant seamount areas based on the best information currently available. The framework combines the likelihood of a seamount constituting an EBSA and its level of human impact and can be used at global, regional and local scales. This methodology allows the classification of individual seamounts into four major portfolio conservation categories which can help optimize management efforts toward the protection of the most suitable areas. The framework was tested against 1000 dummy seamounts and satisfactorily assigned seamounts to proper EBSA and threats categories. Additionally, the framework was applied to eight case study seamounts that were included in three out of four portfolio categories: areas highly likely to be identified as EBSA with high degree of threat; areas highly likely to be EBSA with low degree of threat; and areas with a low likelihood of being EBSA with high degree of threat. This framework will allow managers to identify seamount EBSAs and to prioritize their policies in terms of protecting undisturbed areas, disturbed areas for recovery of habitats and species, or both based on their management objectives. It also identifies seamount EBSAs and threats considering different ecological groups in both pelagic and benthic communities. Therefore, this framework may represent an important tool to mitigate seamount biodiversity loss and to achieve the 2020 CBD goals.

Disentangling the mechanisms behind climate effects on zooplankton

Significance Underlying mechanisms behind observed associations between zooplankton dynamics and climate are often unclear. We investigate how drift patterns, temperature, mixed layer depth, and wind influence the biomass of Calanus finmarchicus, a dominant North Atlantic copepod. To address the underlying mechanisms, we include drift modeling results in statistical analyses of survey data, analyze spatial and interannual variability, and investigate effects across trophic levels. Chlorophyll biomass in spring and C. finmarchicus biomass in summer relate positively to shallow mixed layer depth and high wind speed in spring, suggesting climate effects on zooplankton through food availability. High temperatures increase C. finmarchicus biomass in spring but not summer. The results imply how climate change might influence future feeding conditions for predators on zooplankton. Understanding how climate influences ecosystems is complicated by the many correlated and interrelated impacting factors. Here we quantify climate effects on Calanus finmarchicus in the northeastern Norwegian Sea and southwestern Barents Sea. By combining oceanographic drift models and statistical analyses of field data from 1959 to 1993 and investigating effects across trophic levels, we are able to elucidate pathways by which climate influences zooplankton. The results show that both chlorophyll biomass in spring and C. finmarchicus biomass in summer relate positively to a combination of shallow mixed layer depth and increased wind in spring, suggesting that C. finmarchicus biomass in summer is influenced by bottom-up effects of food availability. Furthermore, spatially resolved C. finmarchicus biomass in summer is linked to favorable transport from warmer, core areas to the south. However, increased mean temperature in spring does not lead to increased C. finmarchicus biomass in summer. Rather, spring biomass is generally higher, but population growth from spring to summer is lower, after a warm compared with a cold spring. Our study illustrates how improved understanding of climate effects can be obtained when different datasets and different methods are combined in a unified approach.

Trends in marine climate change research in the Nordic region since the first IPCC report

Oceans are exposed to anthropogenic climate change shifting marine systems toward potential instabilities. The physical, biological and social implications of such shifts can be assessed within individual scientific disciplines, but can only be fully understood by combining knowledge and expertise across disciplines. For climate change related problems these research directions have been well-established since the publication of the first IPCC report in 1990, however it is not well-documented to what extent these directions are reflected in published research. Focusing on the Nordic region, we evaluated the development of climate change related marine science by quantifying trends in number of publications, disciplinarity, and scientific focus of 1362 research articles published between 1990 and 2011. Our analysis showed a faster increase in publications within climate change related marine science than in general marine science indicating a growing prioritisation of research with a climate change focus. The composition of scientific disciplines producing climate change related publications, which initially was dominated by physical sciences, shifted toward a distribution with almost even representation of physical and biological sciences with social sciences constituting a minor constant proportion. These trends suggest that the predominantly model-based directions of the IPCC have favoured the more quantitatively oriented natural sciences rather than the qualitative traditions of social sciences. In addition, despite being an often declared prerequisite to successful climate science, we found surprisingly limited progress in implementing interdisciplinary research indicating that further initiatives nurturing scientific interactions are required.

Climate warming drives large-scale changes in ecosystem function

The Barents Sea is the continental shelf sea to the north of Scandinavia and Northwest Russia, and it supports some of the richest fisheries in Europe. Until recently, the northern Barents Sea was dominated by small-sized, slow-growing fish species with specialized diets, mostly living in close association with the sea floor. Concomitant with rising sea temperatures and retreating sea ice, these fishes are being replaced by fast-growing, large-bodied generalists moving in from the south. In PNAS, Frainer et al. (1) document these changes and investigate consequences for ecosystem functioning, a topic of interest far beyond the Barents Sea. Global climate change leads to a poleward displacement of species, with the fastest responses occurring in the oceans, where there are fewer physical barriers to movement than on land (2). All species do not move at the same pace, however; hence, new species configurations emerge. These alterations in biogeographic patterns have unknown consequences for ecosystem functioning and services. The emerging scientific field of functional biogeography addresses this knowledge gap by integrating biogeographic information on species distributions with information on how species affect ecosystem functioning (3). Functional biogeography focuses on the traits that describe the ecological roles of organisms, such as feeding type and body size of animals. Focusing on functional traits instead of species can provide new insights into how climate and other factors affect ecosystem functioning. For example, using functional biogeography to study forests on a global scale, Reich et al. (4) demonstrated that the proportion of plant biomass in foliage relative to roots was higher in warm compared with cold climate zones, with implications for how climate change may impact carbon storage in forest ecosystems. However, few studies before that of Frainer et al. (1) have used functional biogeography to investigate how climate change affects ecosystem functioning at large geographic … [↵][1]1To whom correspondence should be addressed. Email: l.c.stige{at}ibv.uio.no. [1]: #xref-corresp-1-1

Sensitivity of modelled North Sea cod larvae transport to vertical behaviour, ocean model resolution and interannual variation in ocean dynamics

Sensitivity of modelled North Sea cod larvae transport to vertical behaviour, ocean model resolution and interannual variation in ocean dynamics Kristina Øie Kvile*, Giovanni Romagnoni, Knut-Frode Dagestad, Øystein Langangen, and Trond Kristiansen Centre for Ecological and Evolutionary Synthesis (CEES), Department of Biosciences, University of Oslo, PO Box 1066 Blindern, 0316 Oslo, Norway Department of Biology, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, MA 02543, USA Norwegian Meteorological Institute, Allegaten 70, 5007 Bergen, Norway Norwegian Institute for Water Research (NIVA), Gaustadalleen 21, 0349 Oslo, Norway *Corresponding author: tel: þ1 508 289 2980; e-mail: k.o.kvile@ibv.uio.no The first two authors contributed equally to the article.

Predator‐prey interactions cause apparent competition between marine zooplankton groups

Predator-mediated apparent competition is an indirect negative interaction between two prey species mediated by a shared predator. Quantifying such indirect ecosystem effects is methodologically challenging but important for understanding ecosystem functioning. Still, there are few examples of apparent competition from pelagic marine environments. Using state-space statistical modeling, we here provide evidence for apparent competition between two dominant zooplankton groups in a large marine ecosystem, i.e., krill and copepods in the Barents Sea. This effect is mediated by a positive association between krill biomass and survival of the main planktivorous fish in the Barents Sea, capelin Mallotus villosus, and a negative association between capelin and copepod biomasses. The biomass of Atlantic krill species is expected to increase in the Barents Sea due to ongoing climate change, thereby potentially negatively affecting copepods through apparent competition. By demonstrating and quantifying apparent competition in a large marine ecosystem, our study paves the way for more realistic projections of indirect ecosystem effects of climate change and harvesting.

An Agent-Based Model To Simulate Pathogen Transmission Between Aquaculture Sites In The Romsdalsfjord.

Fish farming is an important industry along the Norwegian west coast. This industry provides labor opportunities and financial income in areas that are often thinly populated. Fish are subject to diseases carried by pathogens. The value of the fish that are lost due to disease is worrisome, and emergent diseases continue to pose a severe challenge to the aquaculture industry. We have built an agent-based model to simulate the emergence of a hypothetical fish pathogen in an aquaculture facility in the Romsdalsfjord to observe how this pathogen possibly spreads to multiple facilities within the fjord. This model enables us to observe how key parameters such as current speed, current direction, pathogen life span, contagiousness and fish density affect the disease dynamics. The model is implemented in NetLogo, and we have included three aquafarms at the Romsdalsfjord in the experiment.