Anomalous pelage colourations are not uncommon amongst pinnipeds but have not been documented in sub-Antarctic furseals (Arctocephalus tropicalis). Fur seals (Arctocephalus spp.) have been monitored on Marion Island since 1973, and aspart of the long-term monitoring programme, any atypical sightings of fur seals were recorded. Fourteen sub-Antarcti...
Published in Polar Biology
Polar cod (Boreogadus saida) and saffron cod (Eleginus gracilis) are key fishes in the Arctic marine ecosystem, serving as important trophic links between plankton and apex predators, yet our understanding of their life histories in Alaska’s Arctic is extremely limited. To improve our knowledge about their early life stages (ELS), we described the ...
Published in Polar Biology
Changes in vegetation biomass have a great impact on many aspects of the Arctic ecosystem, and historical variations of biomass in Svalbard during the Holocene remain poorly understood. In this study, we collected a palaeo-notch sediment profile in Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard, performed organic biomarker and geochemical analysis on the sediments, reconstr...
Published in Polar Biology
Nematodes are one of the key organisms in the terrestrial ecosystems of Antarctica. Their exceptional cryptobiotic adaptations against freezing and desiccation stress have attracted significant research attention. However, even today, relatively little is known about the biology of nematodes across this continent, especially in terms of their biodi...
Published in Polar Biology
At high herbivore density, herbivory can reduce forage abundance, potentially contributing to habitat degradation and driving changes in herbivore population size or range use, in accordance with the exploitation ecosystem hypothesis. The migratory Rivière-George caribou herd (RGH, Rangifer tarandus) of the Quebec-Labrador Peninsula (Canada) has ex...
Published in Polar Biology
Our knowledge on distribution, habitats and behavior of Southern Ocean fishes living at water depths beyond scuba-diving limits is still sparse, as it is difficult to obtain quantitative data on these aspects of their biology. Here, we report the results of an analysis of seabed images to investigate species composition, behavior, spatial distribut...
Published in Polar Biology
Colonisation and immigration history is often neglected as a factor when investigating community or species distribution patterns. However, for dynamic systems that are still reacting to large-scale environmental change, such as the retreat of the ice since the last glacial maximum, colonisation history may explain a large amount of the variation b...
Published in Polar Biology
Steinera (Arctomiaceae, Lecanoromycetes) is an Austral genus of lichenized fungi that form symbiotic associations with cyanobacteria, producing small and inconspicuous thalli. Most species of Steinera present a high degree of endemism restricted to sub-Antarctic islands except S. intricata which occurs from southern South America to the Antarctic P...
Published in Polar Biology
Given the importance of anadromous Northern Dolly Varden as a consumption staple for northern residents and the climate- and development-related impacts on total mercury (THg) concentrations, temporal changes in northern Dolly Varden THg concentrations were assessed between historical (1986–1988) and contemporary (2011–2013) periods from two rivers...
Published in Polar Biology
At high latitudes, the marine transitional zone between the highly productive kelp communities and the devoid of vegetation deep-waters is occupied mainly by number of red algae species, both encrusting and cespitose, which associate with rich and diverse fauna. However, zoologists and botanists never scrutinized these communities in equal manner u...
