An article from Norwegian Biodiversity Information Centre

The lush vegetation under bird cliffs provides the basis for a rich insect fauna. Here is used a insect net in a steep slope at Nilspynten in Lilliehöökfjord. (Photo: Geir Søli, Natural History Museum in Oslo)

The aquatic net is an important tool when collecting insects under water. Here at Blomstrand peninsula, Kongsfjord. (Photo: Geir Søli, Natural History Museum in Oslo)

An insect trap (malaise trap) at Fjortende Juli glacier by Krossfjord. The vegetation is lush and the insect fauna rich even quite close to the glacier. At this location we collected a Scathophagidae ("dung-flies”) species, never before found on Svalbard or on the Norwegian mainland.(Photo: Geir Søli, Natural History Museum in Oslo)

(Photo: Snorre Henriksen, Norwegian Biodiversity Information Centre)

Flies and mosquitoes dominate the Svalbard archipelago

Global climate change is expected to cause major alterations in the years to come to the arctic ecosystems on the Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard. These environmental changes will most likely be detected early through changes in the insect fauna.

Snorre Henriksen

Article from Norwegian Biodiversity Information Centre

saturday 20. December 2014 - 06:00

Norwegian Biodiversity Information Centre

The NBIC is a national source of information on biodiversity. The centre supplies updated and accessible information on Norwegian species and ecosystems.

There is relatively little knowledge on the diversity of many important insect groups on Svalbard. This is true for flies and mosquitoes (Diptera), the most common insect group in the archipelago, and one that has particularly has adapted to an Arctic environment.

Worldwide, Diptera represent around 15 per cent of species diversity among insects, while those on Svalbard constitute about 60 per cent. That makes Diptera an important group to study to be able to detect changes in the fauna on land and in fresh water.

The “Svalbard Diptera” project will compile a list of all known Diptera from Svalbard, prepare identification keys and build good reference collections. These will be useful tools for biological monitoring and for scientists working with arctic ecology. The project is supported by the Norwegian Biodiversity Information Centre (the Norwegian Taxonomy Initiative) and is a collaboration between the Natural History Museum at the University of Oslo, the NTNU University Museum and the University Centre in Svalbard (UNIS).

Translated by: Nancy Bazilchuk

Red listed species on Svalbard

Red List assessment has been conducted for five groups of species on Svalbard. Overall, 270 species of vascular plants, springtails, freshwater fish, birds and mammals were evaluated. Of these, 71 species were red listed, of which 47 are considered to be threatened.

Blue mussels à la Svalbard on the menu?

Back when the Vikings ruled, blue mussels had a natural habitat in Svalbard. They disappeared when the climate cooled, but today blue mussels have re-established themselves at 78 degrees North. The Svalbard blue mussel is thus a clear and present climate indicator of a warming Arctic.

Deciphering Svalbard’s climate history

At most times of year, you have to be prepared for very low temperatures when staying in Norway’s Arctic archipelago, Svalbard. But the weather is in fact much milder there today than it was in the 1800s. Ice cores drilled from Svalbard’s glaciers are providing important information on the history of its climate.