• Learning Arctic Biology •
Want to learn about Arctic terrestrial biology?
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360° Virtual Field Guides
Explore a variety of locations and learn about its biology, history and more. All in 360 degrees!
ArtsApp - Digital Key
A digital key for Svalbard’s flora, with specific keys for vascular plants and grasses.
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Life cycle of bryophytes
Like other plants, bryophytes change between two generations with different morphology and function (heteromorphy). Unlike vascular plants, in bryophytes the haploid gametophyte (1n) is the dominating generation.
Arctic invertebrate habitats
Invertebrates in Svalbard can be found just about anywhere, flying, under rocks, in the soil, crawling on the vegetation, in the streams and ponds, even
Ecosystem functions of invertebrates
The group invertebrate contains a great diversity of taxa and groups; from hard-bodied insects to soft bodied organisms such as worms. Given this diversity it
LGM and postglacial migration
During the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), biodiversity was significantly reduced throughout the Arctic (Willerslev et al., 2014); however, the extent of this biodiversity loss varied. The
Archaea
Compared to Bacteria and Eukaryotes, Archaean diversity, physiology and ecology is still very little explored. Many Archaea are extremophiles – living in extreme environments –
What are bryophytes?
Evolutionary origin Bryophytes belong to the embryophytes, which include all land plants. Evidence from structural, biochemical, and molecular data supports the view that bryophytes and all
Diversification of Arctic flora and fauna during the Pleistocene
On an evolutionary time-scale, the arctic flora and fauna have had very short time to develop. This partly explains the low number of truly endemic
Focus Area: Svalbard
Even though this site aims to cover the entire Arctic, the presented material concentrates on the European Arctic. In particular Svalbard which is one of the
Microbiology in the Arctic
Since the turn of the previous century, when Arctic explorers began to return samples of microbes for culture and study, our understanding of the microbiology
Systematics of fungi
Modern fungal systematics is based upon genetic analysis. However, and structure of the hyphal cells are also important. Below you will find an overview of
Fungi in Svalbard
A large number of mushroom species grow in Svalbard. Most are small, some are poisonous, while others are edible and tasty. Fungi have most of
Parasitic fungi
Parasitic and pathogenic fungi obtain their nutrition from other living organisms, and have a negative effect upon the individuals – hosts – they are parasites
Diversity of bryophytes
Bryophytes are the second most diverse group among land plants after the flowering plants (Magnoliophyta, ~350 000 described species; Glime 2007). Defining the number of species of
Ecosystem role of bryophytes
Bryophytes have many important ecosystem functions in the Arctic. These include: Regulation of hydrology In many habitats, bryophytes control soil and vegetation hydrology (Beringer et
Mutualistic fungi
Mutualistic fungi live on other organisms, however in contrast to parasitism, mutualism benefits all involved organisms. The fungi get nutrition, mainly carbohydrates, from their partners,
Bryophyte habitats
Bryophytes are found throughout the world from the harsh environments of Antarctica to the lush conditions of the tropical rainforests. Despite their small size, they
Useful learning resources
bioCEED resource for learning statistics, tutorials for the statistical computing language R and more!
How do you start with academic writing? This is the prefect resources for those who are about to write their first thesis/poster/essay etc. or looking for new tips when it comes to academic writing.
Svalbox is all about Svalbard geology. Svalbox aims to compile and acquire key data sets and publications to provide an interactive 3D geoscientific database of Svalbard.
The UNIS Executable Books page provides an overview of all eBooks available and/or used for teaching at the University Centre in Svalbard (UNIS).
