NIBIO Svanhovd is a hub for genetics-based research and monitoring of arctic and subarctic ecosystems. The activity is strongly committed to collaborative environmental research in the Barents region, and cooperates extensively with all countries in the region. The station disseminates knowledge and performs R&D based upon the local natural environment, and runs active outreach and environmental education programs.
Helena Klöckener is doing her Master's thesis at NIBIO Svanhovd, working on moose populations in Pasvik
Moose cow with two calves in the Pasvik valley. (Photo: NIBIO Svanhovd).
Helena is using camera traps and scat collections to estimate the population size of the regional moose population.
If you would like to know more about her research, go here.
Svanhovd is located in the village of Svanvik beside the Pasvik river, in the middle of the wedge of Norwegian land that separates Russia and Finland in the north. The region represents a transition zone where the eastern Siberian taiga meets the western Boreal forest, and where northern mountain birch forests transition into arctic tundra. Numerous characteristic species of plants, mammals, birds and insects are found at this intersection of different ecosystems.
Research Projects
Svanhovd is home to NIBIO’s Department of Ecosystems in the Barents Region, which specializes in the use of molecular-genetic methods for applied and basic environmental research. Svanhovd’s combination of a location in the middle of a rich nature and availability of a modern DNA laboratory provides a unique setting for such work: it is literally possible to proceed from field sampling to laboratory analyses within a few minutes.
Svanhovd lies within the core habitat of the brown bear, and the station has been at the forefront of genetic monitoring of bear populations based on non-invasive samples such as scats and hair. Other ongoing projects focus on, for example, population genetics of polar bears in Svalbard and lynx in Finland, effects of stocking and hydroelectric dams on genetic structure of fish species, inference of diet and gut microbiomes in small mammals, and communities of herbivorous insects and pollinators in subarctic and arctic habitats.
Because of the diverse research activities, many different molecular-genetic methods and marker systems are in use at Svanhovd. For example, microsatellites/STRs and ddRADseq markers are used for population-genetic analyses of vertebrate species, and barcoding and metabarcoding approaches are used for inference of insect communities as well as surveys of microbiomes or environmental DNA.
The Svanhovd Conference Centre and Other Activities
In addition to NIBIO’s Department of Ecosystems in the Barents Region and the Molecular Ecology Laboratory, the station complex encompasses the Svanhovd Conference Centre, which is ideal for arranging both large and small meetings, gatherings and conferences. The centre has a spacious auditorium and a range of different-sized meeting rooms, 50 sleeping places, attractive local food, exciting exhibitions, and beautiful surroundings.
A fertile and exciting botanical garden with Nordic and alpine perennials, food plants and summer flowers frame the Svanhovd station, while a permanent exhibition presents the unique nature, culture and history of the Øvre Pasvik National Park and the Pasvik River valley. One section of the exhibition presents facts about the life of brown bear, and about bear-related research projects and management.
Services
DNA Laboratory Svanhovd
We are offering a range of genetic analyses of mammals, fish, insects and microorganisms. The data can be used for individual discrimination, sex and species determination, population genetics and detection of selected genetic markers. We also provide development of new marker sets in new species or study systems.
The Molecular Ecology Laboratory at NIBIO-Svanhovd in northern Norway applies genetic and genomic technologies to address basic and applied research problems spanning a wide range of ecological, evolutionary, and environmental questions at the individual, population, and ecosystem level.
The lumpfish Cyclopterus lumpus is commercially exploited in numerous areas of its range in the North Atlantic Ocean, and is important in salmonid aquaculture as a biological agent for controlling sea lice. Despite the economic importance, few genetic resources for downstream applications, such as linkage mapping, parentage analysis, marker-assisted selection (MAS), quantitative trait loci (QTL) analysis, and assessing adaptive genetic diversity are currently available for the species. Here, we identify both genome- and transcriptome-derived microsatellites loci from C. lumpus to facilitate such applications. Across 2,346 genomic contigs, we detected a total of 3,067 microsatellite loci, of which 723 were the most suitable ones for primer design. From 116,555 transcriptomic unigenes, we identified a total of 231,556 microsatellite loci, which may indicate a high coverage of the available STRs. Out of these, primer pairs could only be designed for 6,203 loci. Dinucleotide repeats accounted for 89 percent and 52 percent of the genome- and transcriptome-derived microsatellites, respectively. The genetic composition of the dominant repeat motif types showed differences from other investigated fish species. In the genome-derived microsatellites AC/GT (67.8 percent), followed by AG/CT (15.1 percent) and AT/AT (5.6 percent) were the major motifs. Transcriptome-derived microsatellites showed also most dominantly the AC/GT repeat motif (33 percent), followed by A/T (26.6 percent) and AG/CT (11 percent). Functional annotation of microsatellite-containing transcriptomic sequences showed that the majority of the expressed sequence tags encode proteins involved in cellular and metabolic processes, binding activity and catalytic reactions. Importantly, STRs linked to genes involved in immune system process, growth, locomotion and reproduction were discovered in the present study. The extensive genomic marker information reported here will facilitate molecular ecology studies, conservation initiatives and will benefit many aspects of the breeding programmes of C. lumpus.
This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Several non-invasive methods for assessing stress responses have been developed and
validated for many animal species. Due to species-specific differences in metabolism and excretion of
stress hormones, methods should be validated for each species. The aim of this study was to conduct
a physiological validation of an 11-oxoaetiocholanolone enzyme immunoassay (EIA) for measuring
faecal cortisol metabolites (FCMs) in male reindeer by administration of adrenocorticotrophic hormone
(ACTH; intramuscular, 0.25 mg per animal). A total of 317 samples were collected from eight male
reindeer over a 44 h period at Tverrvatnet in Norway in mid-winter. In addition, 114 samples were
collected from a group of reindeer during normal handling and calf marking at Stjernevatn in Norway.
Following ACTH injection, FCM levels (median and range) were 568 (268–2415) ng/g after two hours,
2718 (414–8550) ng/g after seven hours and 918 (500–6931) ng/g after 24 h. Levels were significantly
higher from seven hours onwards compared to earlier hours (p < 0.001). The FCM levels at Stjernevatn
were significantly (p < 0.001) different before (samples collected zero to two hours; median: 479 ng/g)
and after calf marking (eight to ten hours; median: 1469 ng/g). Identification of the faecal samples
belonging to individual animals was conducted using DNA analysis across time. This study reports
a successful validation of a non-invasive technique for measuring stress in reindeer, which can be
applied in future studies in the fields of biology, ethology, ecology, animal conservation and welfare.
Tommi NymanRenske E OnsteinDaniele SilvestroSaskia WutkeAndreas TaegerNiklas WahlbergStephan Martin BlankTobias Malm
Abstract
The insect order Hymenoptera originated during the Permian nearly 300 Mya. Ancestrally herbivorous hymenopteran lineages today make up the paraphyletic suborder ‘Symphyta’, which encompasses c. 8200 species with very diverse host-plant associations. We use phylogeny-based statistical analyses to explore the drivers of diversity dynamics within the ‘Symphyta’, with a particular focus on the hypothesis that diversification of herbivorous insects has been driven by the explosive radiation of angiosperms during and after the Cretaceous. Our ancestral-state estimates reveal that the first symphytans fed on gymnosperms, and that shifts onto angiosperms and pteridophytes – and back – have occurred at different time intervals in different groups. Trait-dependent analyses indicate that average net diversification rates do not differ between symphytan lineages feeding on angiosperms, gymnosperms or pteridophytes, but trait-independent models show that the highest diversification rates are found in a few angiosperm-feeding lineages that may have been favoured by the radiations of their host taxa during the Cenozoic. Intriguingly, lineages-through-time plots show signs of an early Cretaceous mass extinction, with a recovery starting first in angiosperm-associated clades. Hence, the oft-invoked assumption of herbivore diversification driven by the rise of flowering plants may overlook a Cretaceous global turnover in insect herbivore communities during the rapid displacement of gymnosperm- and pteridophyte-dominated floras by angiosperms.
Jukka SuhonenJaakko J. IlvonenTommi NymanJouni Sorvari
Abstract
Interspecific brood parasitism is common in many animal systems. Brood
parasites enter the nests of other species and divert host resources for producing
their own offspring, which can lead to strong antagonistic parasite–host
coevolution. Here, we look at commonalities among social insect species that
are victims of brood parasites, and use phylogenetic data and information on
geographical range size to predict which species are most probably to fall
victims to brood parasites in the future. In our analyses, we focus on three
eusocial hymenopteran groups and their brood parasites: (i) bumblebees,
(ii) Myrmica ants, and (iii) vespine and polistine wasps. In these groups,
some, but not all, species are parasitized by obligate workerless inquilines
that only produce reproductive-caste descendants.We find phylogenetic signals
for geographical range size and the presence of parasites in bumblebees,
but not in ants and wasps. Phylogenetic logistic regressions indicate that the
probability of being attacked by one or more brood parasite species increases
with the size of the geographical range in bumblebees, but the effect is statistically
only marginally significant in ants. However, non-phylogenetic
logistic regressions suggest that bumblebee species with the largest geographical
range sizes may have a lower likelihood of harbouring social
parasites than do hosts with medium-sized ranges. Our results provide
new insights into the ecology and evolution of host–social parasite systems,
and indicate that host phylogeny and geographical range size can be used to
predict threats posed by social parasites, as well to design efficient conservation
measures for both hosts and their parasites.
This article is part of the theme issue ‘The coevolutionary biology of
brood parasitism: from mechanism to pattern’.
Alexander KopatzOddmund KlevenJonas KindbergIlpo KojolaJouni AspiGöran SpongNiclas GyllenstrandLove DalénIda Marie Luna FløystadSnorre HagenØystein Flagstad
1. Large-scale pattern-oriented approaches are useful to understand the multi-level
processes that shape the genetic structure of a population. Matching the scales of
patterns and putative processes is both a key to success and a challenge.
2. We have developed a simple statistical approach, based on variogram analysis, that
identifies multiple spatial scales where the population pattern, in this case genetic
structure, have highest expression (i.e. the spatial scales at which the strength of patterning
of isolation-by-distance (IBD) residual variance reached maximum) from empirical
data and, thus, at which scales it should be studied relative to the underlying
processes. The approach is applicable to any spatially explicit pairwise data, including
genetic, morphological or ecological distance or similarity of individuals, populations
and ecosystems. To exemplify possible applications of this approach, we analysed
microsatellite genotypes of 1,530 brown bears from Sweden and Norway.
3. The variogram approach identified two scales at which population structure was
strongest, thus indicating two different scale-dependent processes: home-rangerelated
processes at scales <35 km, and subpopulation division at scales >98 km.
On the basis of this, we performed a scale-explicit analysis of genetic structure
using DResD analysis and compared the results with those obtained by the
Bayesian clustering implemented in structure.
4. We found that the genetic cluster identified in central Scandinavia by Structure is
caused by IBD, with distinct gene flow barriers to the south and north. We discuss
possible applications and research perspectives to further develop the approach.
We describe Arge bella Wei & Du sp. nov., a large and beautiful species of Argidae
from south China, and report its mitochondrial genome based on high-throughput
sequencing data. We present the gene order, nucleotide composition of proteincoding genes (PCGs), and the secondary structures of RNA genes. The nearly complete
mitochondrial genome of A. bella has a length of 15,576 bp and a typical set of 37
genes (22 tRNAs, 13 PCGs, and 2 rRNAs). Three tRNAs are rearranged in the A. bella
mitochondrial genome as compared to the ancestral type in insects: trnM and trnQ
are shuffled, while trnW is translocated from the trnW -trnC-trnY cluster to a location
downstream of trnI. All PCGs are initiated by ATN codons, and terminated with TAA,
TA or T as stop codons. All tRNAs have a typical cloverleaf secondary structure, except
for trnS1. H821 of rrnS and H976 of rrnL are redundant. A phylogenetic analysis
based on mitochondrial genome sequences of A. bella, 21 other symphytan species, two
apocritan representatives, and four outgroup taxa supports the placement of Argidae
as sister to the Pergidae within the symphytan superfamily Tenthredinoidea.
Dominique GravelBenjamin BaiserJennifer A. DunneJens-Peter KopelkeNeo D. MartinezTommi NymanTimothee PoisotDaniel B. StoufferJason M. TylianakisSpencer A. WoodTomas Roslin
Abstract
Biogeography has traditionally focused on the spatial distribution and abundance of species. Both are driven by the way species interact with one another, but only recently community ecologists realized the need to document their spatial and temporal variation. Here, we call for an integrated approach, adopting the view that community structure is best represented as a network of ecological interactions, and show how it translates to biogeography questions. We propose that the ecological niche should encompass the effect of the environment on species distribution (the Grinnellian dimension of the niche) and on the ecological interactions among them (the Eltonian dimension). Starting from this concept, we develop a quantitative theory to explain turnover of interactions in space and time – i.e. a novel approach to interaction distribution modeling. We apply this framework to host–parasite interactions across Europe and find that two aspects of the environment (temperature and precipitation) exert a strong imprint on species co-occurrence, but not on species interactions. Even where species co-occur, interaction proves to be stochastic rather than deterministic, adding to variation in realized network structure. We also find that a large majority of host-parasite pairs are never found together, thus precluding any inferences regarding their probability to interact. This first attempt to explain variation of network structure at large spatial scales opens new perspectives at the interface of species distribution modeling and community ecology.
