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.
2025
Authors
Katja Karppinen Hilary Edema Muhammad Furqan Ashraf Laura JaakolaAbstract
No abstract has been registered
Authors
Adam Klimes Joseph Chipperfield Joachim Paul Töpper Marc Macias‐Fauria Marcus Spiegel Vigdis Vandvik Liv Guri Velle Alistair William Robin SeddonAbstract
A number of modelling frameworks exist to estimate resilience from ecological datasets. A subset of these frameworks seeks to estimate the whole ‘stability landscape', which can be used to calculate resilience and identify stable states and tipping points. These methods provide opportunities for insights into possible causes and consequences of variation in ecosystem resilience and dynamics. However, because such models can be complex to implement, there has so far been a substantial barrier to their application in ecological research. Here, we present the ‘mixglm' package for R software, which parametrizes stability landscapes using a mixture model approach. It provides tools for the calculation of resilience, identification of stable states and tipping points, as well as visualization functions. Flexible model specification allows the mean, precision, and probability of each mixture component to be linked to multiple predictors, such as environmental covariates. ‘mixglm' is based on Bayesian inference via NIMBLE and supports normal, beta, gamma, and negative binomial distributed response variables. We illustrate the use of ‘mixglm' with a published case of tree cover in South America, which reports a stability landscape with distinct stable states. Using ‘mixglm', we replicated the identification of these states. Moreover, we quantified the uncertainty of our estimates, and computed resilience estimates of South America's forests. We also conducted a power analysis to provide guidance regarding required sample sizes. ‘mixglm' can be readily used to describe stability landscapes and identify stable states in most spatial datasets, and it is accompanied by tools for the calculation of resilience estimates.
Authors
Catharina Caspara Vloon Rune Halvorsen Jørn-Frode Nordbakken Joachim Paul Töpper Inger Auestad Knut RydgrenAbstract
ABSTRACT Question How do vascular plant and cryptogam cover, bare peat area and species composition in different microforms on a boreal raised bog change over a 34‐year period (1988–2022)? We discuss the observed patterns in the light of ongoing climate change. Location Rønnåsmyra Nature Reserve, south‐eastern Norway. Methods We recorded total vascular plant and cryptogam cover, bare peat area and species composition in 51 permanent 0.5 × 0.5 m plots in 1988, 2004 and 2022. The plots were assigned to microform classes (carpet, lawn, hummock) based on their characteristics in 1988 and 2022. We analysed changes over time and explored the relationship between change in species composition and change in the relative distance from the bog surface to the groundwater table (rDWT) in each microform using linear mixed‐effect models and ordination (GNMDS). Results No shifts between microforms had occurred during the 34‐year period, but the number of observed taxa had decreased from 51 to 38. While the vegetation changed very little between 1988 and 2004, substantial changes occurred from 2004 to 2022. During this period, carpets showed a substantial increase in bare peat at the cost of cryptogam and vascular plant cover. Lawns showed a similar but less strong trend. Hummocks showed no such changes. The species composition of all microforms changed towards vegetation typical of wetter bog surfaces. In hummocks, this implied a shift from dominance by lichens to dominance by strongly peat‐producing Sphagnum species of section Acutifolia , coupled with an increase in rDWT. Conclusion We demonstrate that bog vegetation can change substantially within two decades. The observed, divergent successions—retrogressive in carpets and lawns and progressive in hummocks—may result from the responses of the cryptogam layer to a combination of increased temperature and increased precipitation. Extreme weather events may have contributed to the increase in bare peat.
Authors
Arne SteffenremAbstract
No abstract has been registered
Authors
Marius Filomeno Maurstad Iris Bea Ramiro Jan Philip Øyen Andy Sombke Sebastian Büsse Pedro Gabriel Nachtigall Kjetill Sigurd Jakobsen Eivind Andreas Baste UndheimAbstract
Abstract Venom has independently evolved across many lineages, yet relatively few have been studied in detail, particularly among insects. Of these, Neuroptera (lacewings, antlions and relatives) remain largely unexplored, despite being widespread with agriculturally important groups such as green lacewings. While adults are non-venomous, neuropteran larvae are ferocious predators that use pincer-like mouthparts to inject paralysing and liquefying venom to subdue and consume their prey. Here, we provide a comprehensive investigation of the venom system in Neuroptera by integrating a high-quality genome, long-read transcriptomes spanning all life stages, microCT-reconstruction of venom glands, tissue-specific expression analyses, venom proteomics, and functional assays of the common green lacewing Chrysoperla carnea. We provide a re-description of the neuropteran venom system, demonstrate the venom’s insecticidal and cytotoxic activity, and show the venom comprises diverse toxin gene families and is richer and more similar to the venom of antlions than previously proposed. We show that this toxin arsenal is the result of a multitude of evolutionary events that include co-option, recruitment following gene duplication, diversification of toxin-paralogs by gene duplication, and functional innovation of new paralogs through both small structural and large architectural changes. In addition, we find that alternative splicing of toxin genes is an important contributor to the biochemical arsenal, which is a mechanism rarely documented among venomous animals. Our results demonstrate how multiple genomic and evolutionary mechanisms together contribute to the emergence and evolution of a complex molecular trait, and provide new insights into the evolution of venom in insects.
Abstract
No abstract has been registered
Authors
Petter D. Jenssen Trond Mæhlum Melesse Eshetu_Moges Bente Føreid Trine Hvoslef-Eide Jihong Liu Clarke Arve Heistad Manoj Kumar PandeyAbstract
Urban agriculture requires resources such as growth media, nutrients, and water. This report demonstrates how these resources can be locally sourced through a circular economy approach, in which waste materials are recovered and reused. Recycling helps reduce or eliminate the discharge of pollutants into water and air. Examples presented show how to convert waste from households—such as human excreta, wastewater, and organic household waste—into biogas, compost/growth media, biochar, and solid and liquid fertilizer for urban agriculture and urban greening. The solutions presented have been explored through desktop evaluations, practical trials, or full-scale demonstrations to see how the technologies can be improved or adapted for urban use. Products like liquid and solid fertilizers, compost, aquaponic fish feed, irrigation water, and energy (methane) can be used in urban food production or recreational areas. Regulations for the use of waste resources in the production of growth media, fertilizers, irrigation water, fodder, and energy vary between countries but are generally restrictive due to the risk of disease transmission and pollutant build-up. For urban agriculture to become more circular, there is a need for documentation of good waste treatment routines, changes in legislation, and changes in attitudes towards the use of local waste resources.
Abstract
In Norway, the spruce bark beetle (Ips typographus) has been monitored for several decades. By tracking beetle population levels, the monitoring program can alert forest owners about rising risks of forest damage so they can take preventive measures. In 2025, trap catches of the spruce bark beetle in southern Norway remained at a moderate level compared to the average for all the years with monitoring. Beetle numbers decreased in five of the 12 counties included in the Norwegian bark beetle monitoring program (Akershus including Oslo, Østfold, Vestfold, Telemark, and Sør-Trøndelag) and remained stable in one county (Buskerud). The six counties with increasing trap catch either showed a moderate increase (Oppland and Hedmark) or an increase from very low levels (Aust-Agder, Vest-Agder, Nord-Trøndelag, and Nordland). The 2025 monitoring season started with slightly warmer and drier conditions than normal in May in Southeastern Norway, favoring early bark beetle flight in this region. In contrast, cool and wet weather in Mid- and Northern Norway delayed beetle flight and led to very low trap catches in the first two trapping periods. In July, temperatures rose across the whole country, with extreme drought developing in parts of Mid- and Northern Norway. This contributed to high trap catches in the third trapping period in the three northernmost counties (Sør-Trøndelag, Nord-Trøndelag and Nordland). The highest trap catches in 2025 were recorded in Telemark, Buskerud, and Oppland, where beetle numbers remained high compared to the long-term average. Several municipalities in these counties exceeded the trap catch threshold for moderate risk of bark beetle damage, and Sør-Aurdal, Etnedal, and Tokke also exceeded the high-risk threshold. As in 2023 and 2024, the highest trap catches were concentrated in regions of Southeastern Norway that were heavily affected by a major windthrow in November 2021. In the two municipalities that were hit the hardest by the 2021 storm, Sør-Aurdal and Etnedal, trap catches continued to increase in 2025 and reached very high levels. A temperature-based development model suggests that by September 30, conditions were warm enough for the beetles to complete two generations in areas along the southeastern coast and in low-lying inland valleys. However, the model results do not necessarily mean that two generations actually occurred in the field.
Abstract
Background: Campylobacter is an important water- and food-borne pathogen with notable genetic similarity among strains isolated from humans, animals, and environmental sources. This systematic review and meta- analysis synthesized available evidence on the prevalence, antimicrobial resistance, and associated risk factors of Campylobacter in humans, animals, and the environment in Ethiopia. Methods: Articles published from 1997 to 2024 were systematically searched and retrieved from PubMed, Science Direct, Web of Science, and Google Scholar. The review was conducted in accordance with the PRISMA guidelines, and data from eligible articles were extracted using a standardized data extraction template. Heterogeneity was evaluated using Cochran’s Q statistic, the I² statistic, and Egger’s test for small-study effects. Data extraction and analysis were conducted using Microsoft Excel and Stata 14. Results: Of the 11,573 samples analyzed across 26 studies, 3204 were positive for Campylobacter, yielding a pooled prevalence of 19.9 %. The highest prevalence was observed in environmental samples (33.4 %), followed by humans (31.4 %) and animals (24 %). Regionally, Oromia showed the highest prevalence (30.4 %), while Addis Ababa and Tigray reported the lowest (11.0 %). Cephalothin and ampicillin exhibited the highest antimicrobial resistance (100 %), whereas gentamicin showed the lowest (7.1 %). Campylobacter jejuni and Campylobacter coli were the most frequently identified species and demonstrated the highest resistance levels. Major risk factors for campylobacteriosis included frequent animal contact, consumption of undercooked or contaminated food and water, and low parental education levels among affected children. Conclusion: This study highlights the distribution and increasing prevalence of Campylobacter and associated antimicrobial resistance within a One Health framework. Future research should encompass wider geographic coverage and include diverse sources such as poultry, companion animals, vegetables, and wastewater to generate more comprehensive epidemiological data. Such efforts will help address existing knowledge gaps and support the development of targeted interventions to reduce foodborne infections and mitigate antimicrobial resistance.
Abstract
No abstract has been registered