Publications
NIBIOs employees contribute to several hundred scientific articles and research reports every year. You can browse or search in our collection which contains references and links to these publications as well as other research and dissemination activities. The collection is continously updated with new and historical material.
2022
Abstract
Sled dogs helped humans venture into the high North and settle in the Arctic. What makes these dogs so special? The material was prepared for the project EDU-ARCTIC 2: from polar research to scientific passion – innovative nature education in Poland and Norway, which receives a grant of ca. 240 000 EUR received from Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway under EEA funds. View with VR goggles or look around by moving your smartphone or by dragging the image left and right with the mouse.
Abstract
Hundreds of years ago, indigenous people of the north domesticated wild reindeer and used them for food, clothing, housing and transport. See how Sami people of Norway still keep large herds of reindeer to produce meat for the market. The material was prepared for the project EDU-ARCTIC 2: from polar research to scientific passion – innovative nature education in Poland and Norway, which receives a grant of ca. 240 000 EUR received from Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway under EEA funds. View with VR goggles or look around by moving your smartphone or by dragging the image left and right with the mouse.
Abstract
Did you know Santa’s reindeer are female (…or castrated males)? Watch our 360 video to learn why! The material was prepared for the project EDU-ARCTIC 2: from polar research to scientific passion – innovative nature education in Poland and Norway, which receives a grant of ca. 240 000 EUR received from Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway under EEA funds. View with VR goggles or look around by moving your smartphone or by dragging the image left and right with the mouse.
Authors
Erling Meisingset Joar Gusevik Atle Skjørestad Øystein Brekkum Atle Mysterud Frank Narve RosellAbstract
Many wild animals perceive humans as predators, and human disturbance,especially in the form of hunting, triggers antipredatory behavior among prey.Yet, knowledge of how game species react to different types of human distur-bance and adapt to repeated disturbances is limited. We investigated howdisturbance in the form of a solitary human approacher (stalker) impactedbehavior (flight response and short-term habitat use) of 28 GPS-collared reddeer (Cervus elaphus) in two populations with contrasting population densitiesin Norway. We studied how the behavioral response differed: (1) with season(pre-hunting vs. hunting); (2) by consecutive approaches within a day;(3) among replicated experiments within the same season; and (4) betweentwo regions with contrasting densities of red deer. The average flight initiationdistance (FID) increased by 15% during the hunting season, and consecutiveapproaches within the same day caused the red deer to move 49% longerdistances. Flight initiation distance was longer in the high-density population,while escape distance was longer in the low-density population. Red deermoved out of their weekly home range after 52% approaches, and after theonset of hunting season, time spent outside the home range increased by 89%.Red deer preferred denser resting sites after the disturbance and animal siteshad shorter sighting distance and higher canopy cover than control plots.Tree density and canopy cover at animal sites increased at the onset of huntingseason, from first to second approach within day, and after replicated experi-ments within season. Our results suggest that red deer preferred dense restingsites, especially in the hunting season. However, these animal sites had thesame amount of the favorable forage plant bilberry (Vaccinium myrtillus), indi-cating no clear food–cover trade-off in selection of habitat. Our study showedthat onset of hunting initiates stronger fear responses in red deer, which mayin turn affect red deer distribution and harvesting efficiency
Authors
Svein Eilertsen Mattias Olsson Andreas Seiler Carolin Berndt Manisha Bhardwaj Aina Iren WinsvoldAbstract
No abstract has been registered
Authors
Manisha Bhardwaj Denice Lodnert Mattias Olsson Aina Iren Winsvold Svein Eilertsen Petter Kjellander Andreas SeilerAbstract
Prey species may display anti-predatory behavior, i.e., flight, increased vigilance, and decreased feeding, in response to the true presence of a predator or to the implied presence of a predator through, e.g., acoustic cues. In this study, we investigated the anti-predatory reactions of moose (Alces alces) to acoustic stimuli related to hunting, at saltlick stones, a known attractant. In before-during-after-control-impact experiments, we compared the behavioral responses of individuals to: (i) two hunting-related acoustic stimuli—hunting dog barking and human speaking; (ii) nonpredatory acoustic stimuli—bird sounds and; and (iii) no acoustic stimulus (control). We asked: (1) How does the probability of moose leaving the site differ depending on the stimulus they are exposed to?; (2) What affect do the acoustic stimuli have on the amount of time moose spend vigilant, feeding, or away from the site?; and (3) What affect do the stimuli have on the time between events at a site? We found that when exposed to the human stimulus, moose left the sites in 75% of the events, which was significantly more often compared to the dog (39%), bird (24%), or silent (11%) events. If moose did not leave the site, they spent more time vigilant, and less time feeding, particularly when exposed to a dog or human stimulus. Furthermore, moose spent the most time away from the site and took the longest to visit the site again after a human stimulus. Moose were also more likely to leave the site when exposed to the bird stimulus than during silent controls. Those that remained spent more time vigilant, but their behaviors returned to baseline after the bird stimulus ended. These findings suggest that acoustic stimuli can be used to modify the behavior of moose; however, reactions towards presumably threatening and nonthreatening stimuli were not as distinct as we had expected.
Abstract
No abstract has been registered
Authors
Camilla Risvoll Diego Galafassi Siri Veland Mats Pavall Tom Lifjell Aase-Kristine Aasen Lundberg Svein EilertsenAbstract
The categories and concepts in the existing official land-use maps have been under improvements over recent years; however, this study from Nordland, northern Norway, shows that they continue to pose several dilemmas when aiming to better capture the impacts of multiple land uses on reindeer herding. While these developments have done much to better communicate the presence of reindeer herding to developers and planners, there remain significant challenges to achieve best practices. In particular, the confluence of multiple landscape features, for instance, roads, farmland, ecoregions, tenure, pastures, tourism paths and cabins, may have interactions that create cumulative impacts that do not “add up” neatly across map layers. Migration routes, herding routes, and resting areas have been introduced in these maps. In collaboration with reindeer herders, this article analyses how to enrich mapping practices by for example including bottlenecks, parallel to increased attention to influence zones and avoidance zones, as important emergent impacts of multiple interacting features of the landscape. Our research reveals how local knowledge developed by herders through their “presence in the landscape” is better capable of accounting for interactions and cumulative dimensions of landscape features. Through our participatory mapping approach with Sámi reindeer herders, we focus on ways of combining reindeer herders’ knowledge and GIS maps and demonstrate the potential in collaborative work between herders and policymakers in generating a richer understanding of land-use change. We conclude that the practical knowledge of people inhabiting and living with the landscape and its changing character generates a rich understanding of cumulative impacts and can be harnessed for improved land-use mapping and multi-level governance.
Authors
Birgitta Åhman Minna Turunen Jouko Kumpula Camilla Risvoll Tim Horstkotte Élise Lépy Svein EilertsenAbstract
No abstract has been registered
Authors
Henriikka Salminen Helena Tukiainen Janne Alahuhta Jan Hjort Karoliina Huusko John Arvid Grytnes Laura Camila Pacheco Riano Jutta Kapfer Risto Virtanen Tuija MaliniemiAbstract
No abstract has been registered