Bottom trawling is harmful to life on the ocean floor. Many people agree with this. But we still need to learn more about how and why it causes damage. Mason Kenny wanted to better understand the impact of bottom trawling gear on the seafloor. During his Master’s in Environmental and Natural Resources at The […]
Bottom trawling gear and its impact on the seafloor Read More »
What are fish nursery grounds? Nursery grounds are places where young fish find food, favourable temperature and protection from predators during their early life stages. Different species of fish, including Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) and saithe (Pollachius virens) juveniles, settle in nearshore areas at different times and depths, depending for example on the
What swims between the algae of the rocky intertidal zone? You can find a very lively ecosystem in the rocky intertidal zones along Iceland‘s coastlines. One highly abundant species using this habitat is the brown algae Ascophyllum nodosum, also commonly known as knotted wrack in English and Klóþang in Icelandic. This species is harvested for
What swims between the algae of the rocky intertidal zone? Read More »
Nursery grounds are habitats mainly used by juvenile (baby) fish. As the name suggests these habitats are like nurseries for fish. Nursery grounds are very important for the fish species using them. Since they provide protection and food for the young. Therefore, knowing where they are and how they are holding up is important.
Where are the baby Brown trout and Arctic charr? Read More »
Have you ever wondered where the flounder found in Iceland has come from? It is well known that alien European flounder has been officially documented in Icelandic waters in 1999. For a long time, the question remained where the flounder came from. Over the years, people have debated whether the flounder came from the Faroe
The tale of the founder flounder Read More »
Marcos Lagunas and his collaborators from the University of Iceland and the Marine and Freshwater Institute teamed up for a project on the genetics of brown trout. Last year, they published an article where they looked into the genetic structure of different trout populations in Thingvallavatn and Ölfusá. The decline of trout in Thingvallavatn
The brown trout of Thingvallavatn and Ölfusá Read More »
But what is biodiversity, and why do we need to protect it? „Biodiversity“, a term that we are confronted with every day, whether we hear about it in the media or read about it in scientific articles. Simply said, biodiversity describes the variety of all living things on Earth, from plants and animals, to fungi
Can we protect biodiversity with fisheries laws? Read More »
Have you ever wondered about all the kinds of fish are out there in the deep oceans? Have you ever heard of the glacier lantern fish? In July, we introduced you to Charlotte Matthews, a marine biologist with a passion for the mesopelagic zone of the ocean. Since then, Charlotte has not only moved
The Icelandic glacier lantern fish Read More »
Anja Nickel and her co-authors, Dr. Steven Campana and Dr. Guðbjörg Ásta Ólafsdóttir, published a paper this past summer in Journal of Fish Biology about the movement of juvenile Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) and saithe (Pollachius virens) in the shallow coastal waters. With the use of acoustic telemetry, Anja and her team, investigated the effect
Effects of size and temperature on cod movement Read More »
In the picture above Rakel is drilling a hole in the ice covering lake Garðsvatn in winter time. She collected a water sample and took basic measurements like temperature. Rakel Þorbjörnsdóttir is a curious and bubbly person that I have had the pleasure of working with throughout my PhD. Her curiosity and boundless
How fertiliser can harm fish Read More »