For its location, Svalbard has a long history of invertebrate research beginning in the 1860s and 70s. This has led to Svalbard being acknowledged as having the best species inventory for any location within the Arctic. But see the discussion of this inventory, and completeness, in Learningarcticbiology here.

Current projects are, for example, assessing the biodiversity, effects of climate change and the functions of the fauna including soil processes or as food items for nesting birds.

Examples of ongoing projects;

• SnowAphid. Re-survey of the endemic aphid in Ny-Ålesund and comparison with local distribution as determined in 1992 and the response of this aphid to 34 years of rapid climate change
• ParArctic Parasites of the Arctic: harnessing genomic tools for elucidating cascading loss of genetic diversity in climatically challenged food webs, NFR project no. ES760362 (RiS ID 12874) (Tommi Nyman, NIBIO)
• Activities Light, Time, Clock and Clime: seasonal and clime effects on Lepidurus arcticus. ES759757 – Project number: 363918 – SVALBARDSF Coordination and Support Activity Support for Network-related. Vittorio Pasquali (University of Salento), Hanna-Kaisa Lakka (University of Jyväskylä, Finland) & David Hazlerigg (UiT)
• SOILDIV-protect Novel Soil Biodiversity and Social Indicators for Assessing the Effectiveness of Protected Areas. (Anna Seniczak; University of Inner Norway)  HORIZON-CL6-2026-01-BIODIV-05.

Examples of recent research articles with UNIS staff involved

(a list (as an Excel file) of all publications into the insects and their relatives up to and including 2025 can be obtained here but also in GBIF here )

Seniczak, S., A. Seniczak, S. Kaczmarek, J. C. Iturrondobeitia, T. Marquardt, and S. J. Coulson (2026) Determinants of Soil Microarthropod Community Biodiversity in the Svalbard High Arctic: Locality or Vegetation Community? Ecology and Evolution 16, no. 5: e73440. https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.73440.

Simoncini A., Cantera I., Giachello S., Valle B., Gobbi M., Fontaneto DA., Zawierucha K., Laniecki R., Coulson SJ., Lencioni V., Cauvy-Frauni S., Ordóñez AM., Losapio G., Falaschi M., Marta S. & Ficetola G.F. (2026). The global diversity and decline of glacier animals. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 123 No. 25 e2514455123 https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2514455123

Zhemchuzhnikov, M. K., T. Roslin, S. J. Coulson, J. Bêty, and A. Traveset (2026). Assessing the ecological network of Svalbard through scaled interaction strength data: insights from a century of research. Ecology and Evolution 16, no. 4. e73318  https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.73318.

Jónsson J.E., Carlton C., McCracken K., Seniczak A., Seniczak S., Gwiazdowicz D.J., Fjellberg A., Kristjánsson Þ.Ö., Owens B., Coulson, S.J., Afton A.D. and Alisauskas R. (2026). Historic data on Microarthropod communities in nests of colonial-nesting Arctic geese at Karrak Lake, Nunavut, Canada. Arctic 78, 343 – 360 https://doi.org/10.14430/arctic83965

Moerman, T.M., Wetherbee, R., Renčo, M., Stien, A, Coulson, S.J., and Loe, L.E. (2026). Moisture but not temperature manipulations influence abundance of the free-living larvae of a parasitic nematode infecting Svalbard reindeer. Polar Biology 49:10 https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-026-03451-8

Wieczorek, K., Chłond, D., Chajec, L., Malik, K., Świątek, P., Coulson, S.J. and Jousselin, E. Revisiting the taxonomy of a rare endemic Svalbard aphid species Macrosiphum calvulum (Hemiptera, Aphididae) through integrative insights from molecular data, morphological characterization, and reproductive system analysis. Scientific Reports 15, 26960 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-12913-8

Moerman, T.M., Tahmin, K.K., Coulson, S.J., Loe, L.E. and van der Wal R. (2025) Parasite-host contact in the Arctic – Range and mode of dispersal of free-living parasitic nematode larvae from Svalbard reindeer faecal pats. Biological Letters.21:20240715.  http://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2024.0715

Seniczak, A., Klütsch, C.F.C., Seniczak, S., Hagen, S.B. and Coulson, S.J. (2025) Five new records of oribatid mite species (Acari, Sarcoptiformes, Oribatida) from the Norwegian Arctic and Subarctic. Norwegian Journal of Entomology  https://doi.org/10.61698/nje.v72n1.6

Coulson, S.J., Gillespie, M.A.K., Loonen, M.E.E., Fossøy, F., Sørensen, J.G., Gwiazdowicz, D.J., Seniczak, A. & Convey P. (2025) The state of terrestrial invertebrate science in Svalbard and the role in understanding ecosystem complexity and response in a changing climate: upscaling from regional to pan-Arctic scales. SESS report chapter 2025 In: Runge, E., Neuber, R., Łupikasza, E., Hübner, C. & Holmén, K. (eds) 2025. SESS report 2024, Svalbard Integrated Arctic Earth Observing System, Longyearbyen, pp182-197. ISBN 978-82-93871-17-0 https://zenodo.org/records/14425803. Peer reviewed report including Summary for Stakeholders.

Wieczorek, K., Chłond, D., Jousselin, E. and Coulson, S.J. (2024) The lost generation of Pemphigus populiglobuli (Hemiptera, Aphididae) – taxonomic position of the Svalbard aphids of the genus Pemphigus. Zoology Letters 10:21 https://doi.org/10.1186/s40851-024-00245-w

Coulson S J, Bartlett J, Boström S, Brittain J, Christoffersen K S, Convey P, de Smet W, Dózsa-Farkas, K, Ekrem T, Fjellberg A, Füreder L, Gillespie M A, Gustafsson D, Gwiazdowicz D J, Kaczmarek Ł, Kolicka M, Laniecki R, Moerman T M, Seniczak S, Seniczak A, Simon J, Stur E, Søli G, Wieczorek K, Zawierucha K, and Zmudczynska-Skarbek K. (2024) On the terrestrial and freshwater invertebrate diversity of the High Arctic archipelago of Svalbard: a revised species inventory and synopsis of the community composition. Arctic Science 10: 799–814 dx.doi.org/10.1139/as-2024-0017. Published data set.

Coulson S J, Bartlett J, Boström S, Brittain J, Christoffersen K S, Convey P, de Smet W, Dózsa-Farkas K, Ekrem T, Fjellberg A, Füreder L, Gillespie M A, Gustafsson D, Gwiazdowicz D J, Kaczmarek Ł, Kolicka M, Laniecki R, Moerman T M, Seniczak S, Seniczak A, Simon J, Stur E, Søli G, Wieczorek K, Zawierucha K, Zmudczynska-Skarbek K (2024). Inventory of the terrestrial and freshwater fauna of the Svalbard archipelago. Version 1.4. The University Centre in Svalbard. Checklist dataset https://doi.org/10.15468/mfcetc accessed via GBIF.org on 2026-06-01

Moerman, T.M., Albon, S., Coulson, S.J., and Loe, L.E (2023) Climate change effects on parasitic nematodes – where are the knowledge gaps? J. Helminthol. 97, e94,1–11. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0022149X23000652

Coulson, SJ., Convey, P., Schuuring S. & Lang S. (2023) Interactions between winter temperatures and duration of exposure may structure Arctic microarthropod communities. J. Therm. Biol. 114:103499.  https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0306456523000402

Burns, C.T., Burns, M.L., Cannings, S., Carlson, M.L., Coulson, S., Gillespie, M.A.K., Höye, T., MacNearney, D., Oberndorfer, E., Rykken, J.J. and Sykes, D. (2023). Arctic Pollinators. NOAA Arctic Report Card: Update for 2022. DOI: 10.25923/3zy4-th20 https://library.oarcloud.noaa.gov/noaa_documents.lib/OAR/GOMO/Tech_Rpts/TR_OAR_ARC_22_13.pdf. Peer-reviewed report published on-line as part of the NOAA Arctic Program.

Krab E.J. Lundin E.J., Coulson, S.J., Dorrepaal E. and Cooper EJ. (2022) Snow accumulation affects Arctic microarthropod communities inconsistently over two consecutive winters. Scientific Reports 12:18049 | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-22591-5

Pedersen Å.Ø., Convey P., Fuglei E., Ravolainen V., Newsham K.K., Augusti A., Biersma E.M., Cooper E.J., Coulson, S.J., Gabrielsen G.W., Gallet J.C., Jensen T.C., Karsten U., Kristiansen S.M., Svenning M.M., Tveit A.T., Uchida M., Baneschi I., Calizza E., Cannone N., de Goede E.M., Doveri M., Elster J., Giamberini M.S., Hansen B.B., Hayashi K., Lang S.I., Lee Y.K., Mosbacher J.B., Nakatsubo T., Pasquali V., Pedersen C., Peng F., Provenzale A., Pushkareva E., Sandström C.A.M., Sklet V., Stach A., Tojo M., Tytgat B., Tømmervik H., Velazquez D., Verleyen E., Welker J.M., Yao Y-F. and Loonen M.J.J.E. (2022) High Arctic terrestrial research in Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard: A synthesis. Polar Research 2022, 41, 6310, http://dx.doi.org/10.33265/polar.v41.6310

Rixen C. Høye, TT., Macek P., Aerts, R., Alatalo, J.M., Anderson, J.T., Arnold, P.A., Barrio, I.C., Bjerke, J.W., Björkman, M.P., Blok, D., Blume-Werry, G., Boike, J., Bokhorst, S., Carbognani, M., Christiansen, C.T., Convey, P., Cooper, E.J., Cornelissen, H.C., Coulson, S.J., Dorrepaal, E., Elberling, B., Elmendorf, S.C., Elphinstone, C., T’ai, Forte, G.W., Frei, E.,R., Geange, S.R., Gehrmann, F., Gibson, C., Grogan, P., Halbritter, A.U., Harte, J., Henry, G.H.R., Inouye, D.W., Irwin, R.E., Jespersen, G., Jónsdóttir, I.S., Jung, J.Y., Klinges, D.H., Kudo, G., Lämsä, J., Lee, H., Lembrechts, J.J., Lett, S., Lynn, J.S., Mann, H.M.R.,  Mastepanov, M., Morse, J., Myers-Smith, I.H., Olofsson, J., Paavola, R., Petraglia, A., Phoenix, G.K., Semenchuk, P., Siewert, M.B., Slatyer, R., Spasojevic, Suding, K., Sullivan, P., Thompson, K.L., Väisänen, M., Vandvik, V., Venn, S., Walz, J., Way, R., Welker, J.M., Wipf, S. and Show S.Z. (2022) Changing winters: snow effects on Arctic and alpine tundra ecosystems. Arctic Science 8:572–608. dx.doi.org/10.1139/as-2020-0058

Seniczak, S., Seniczak, A., Kaczmarek., S, Marquardt, T., Ondoño, E.F. and Coulson, S.J. 2022. Morphological ontogeny and ecology of Platynothrus punctatus (Acari, Oribatida, Camisiidae), with comments on Platynothrus berlese. Systematic and Applied Acarology 27(3): 551–580 (2022) https://doi.org/10.11158/saa.27.3.12

Aronsson, M., Heiðmarsson, S., Jóhannesdóttir, H., Barry, T., Braa, J., Burns, C.T., Coulson, S.J., Cuyler, C., Falk, K., Helgason, H., Lárusson, H.K., Lawler, J.P., Kulmala, P., MacNearney, D., Oberndorfer, E., Ravolainen, V., Schmidt, N.M., Soloviev, M., Coon, C. and Christensen, T. 2021. State of the Arctic Terrestrial Biodiversity Report. Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna International Secretariat, Akureyri, Iceland. ISBN 978-9935-431-94-3. Peer reviewed report including Summary for Stakeholders.

Seniczak A., Seniczak S., Schwarzfeld, M., Coulson, S.J. and Gwiazdowicz D.J. (2020) Diversity and distribution of mites (Acari: Ixodida, Mesostigmata, Trombidiformes, Sarcoptiformes) in the Svalbard archipelago. Diversity 12;323; doi:10.3390/d12090323

Gwiazdowicz D.J., Gdula A.K., Olejniczak I., Skubała P., Zawieja B., Coulson, S.J. (2020) Changing microarthropod communities in front of a receding glacier in the High Arctic. Insects; 11;226; https://doi.org/10.3390/insects11040226

Christensen, T., Barry, T., Taylor, J.J., Doyle, M., Aronsson, M.,  Braa, J., Burns, C., Coon, C. Coulson, S. Cuyler, C., Falk, K., Heidmarsson, S. Kulmala, P. Lawler, J., MacNearney, D., Ravolainen, V., Smith, P., A., Soloviev, M., and Schmidt, N. M. (2020) Developing a circumpolar programme for the monitoring of Arctic terrestrial biodiversity. Ambio 49;655-655

Taylor, J.J., Lawler, J.P., Aronsson, M., Barry, T., Bjorkman, A.D. Christensen, T., Coulson, S.J., Cuyler, C., Ehrich, D., Falk, K., Franke, A., Fuglei, E., Gillespie, M.A., Heiðmarsson, S., Høye, T., Jenkins, L.K., Ravolainen, V., Smith, P.A., Wasowicz, P. & Schmidt N.M. (2020) Arctic terrestrial biodiversity status and trends: A synopsis of science supporting the CBMP State of Arctic Terrestrial Biodiversity Report. Ambio 49;833-847 http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s13280-019-01303-w

Gillespie, M.K.A., Alfredsson, M., Barrio, I.C., Bowden, J., Convey, P., Culler, L.E., Coulson, S.J., Krögh, P.H., Koltz, A.M., Koponen, S., Loboda, S.,  Marusik, Y., Sandstrøm, J.P., Sikes, D. & Høye, T.T. (2020) Status and trends of Arctic terrestrial arthropod diversity of the North Atlantic region: the case of the Araneae. Ambio 49;704-717. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13280-019-01185-y

Gillespie, M.K.A., Alfredsson, M., Barrio, I.C., Bowden, J., Convey, P., Culler, L.E., Coulson, S.J.,  Krögh, P.H., Koltz, A.M., Koponen, S., Loboda, S.,  Marusik, Y., Sandstrøm, J.P., Sikes, D. & Høye, T.T. (2020) Status and trends of Arctic terrestrial arthropod diversity of the North Atlantic region. Ambio 49;718–731  https://doi.org/10.1007/s13280-019-01162-5

Ávila-Jiménez, M.L., Solhøy, T., Gwiazdowicz, D.J., Fjellberg, A., Dózsa-Farkas, K., Monson, F., de Smet, W., Stur E., Ekrem T. and Coulson, S.J. (2019) The invertebrate fauna of Edgeøya, Svalbard: Arctic landscape community composition reflects pan-Arctic biogeography patterns Polar Biology, 42;837-850 https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-019-02471-x