Skip to content

Topics: Water/Ocean environment

Genes controlling eye development and light sensitivity differed between the Northern krill from the Atlantic Ocean versus the Mediterranean Sea. Photographer: Andreas Wallberg

Krill provide insights into how marine species can adapt to warmer waters

Krill in our northern waters show how key marine species can adapt genetically to cope with climate change. This is the discovery made by researchers at Uppsala University in collaboration with an international research group. According to the researchers, their study, published in Nature Communications, provides important knowledge that can help protect marine ecosystems when the climate changes.

Eight new deep-sea species of marine sponges discovered

Eight new deep-sea species of marine sponges discovered

Despite marine sponges being widespread on our planet, their biodiversity and distribution is still poorly known. Even though the Mediterranean Sea is the most explored sea on Earth, a study by Díaz et al. (2024) reveals the presence of new sponge species and new records in unexplored habitats such as underwater caves or mountains around the Balearic Islands.

Climate resilient microalgae could help restore coral reefs

Coral species exhibit different temperature tolerances. This is in part due to the composition of their microalgae symbionts. With a new method, researchers from Uppsala University were able to predict how individual microalgae might behave under future temperature stress and identify more tolerant coral symbionts. In combination with forthcoming single cell selection and growth experiments, the

Glass eel. Photo: Håkan Wickström, SLU

European eels – one gene pool fits all

European eels spend most of their adult life in a range of fresh- and brackish waters, across Europe and Northern Africa. Using whole-genome analysis, a new study finds that all European eels belong to a single panmictic population, an extraordinary finding for a species living under such variable environmental conditions. The study is published in PNAS.

Pool frog along the Uppland coastline. Photo: Gustav Wikström

​Fungal infection hinders frog’s mobility

Pool frogs infected with the parasitic chytrid fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis range over shorter distances. This is the conclusion of a study conducted by researchers at Uppsala University and the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), who have investigated how the fungus affects the mobility of the red-listed pool frog along the Uppland coast.

The genetic basis for timing of reproduction in the Atlantic herring revealed

In a study published today in PNAS, scientists in Sweden and Canada have studied the genetic basis of reproduction in 25 populations of herring from both sides of the North Atlantic. They revealed a number of genes associated with the timing of reproduction, and the genetic variants associated with spring or autumn spawning were found to be largely shared between geographically distant populations

Measurements by school pupils paved way for key research findings

With their measurements and samples, nearly 3,500 schoolchildren have assisted a research study on lakes and global warming, now published in the journal Scientific Reports. The results show that water temperatures generally remain low despite the air becoming warmer. This helps to curb the emission of greenhouse gases.

The herring genome provides new insight on how species adapt to their environment

The herring genome provides new insight on how species adapt to their environment

How species genetically adapt to their environment is a central question related to the evolution of biodiversity. In a new study scientists at Uppsala University and their colleagues report that whole genome sequencing of Atlantic and Baltic herring revealed hundreds of loci underlying adaptation to the brackish Baltic Sea or timing of reproduction. The study is published today in eLife.

​Northern lakes act as CO2 chimneys in a warming world

Many of the world’s approximately 117 million lakes act as wet chimneys releasing large amounts of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. The most recent estimates show that CO2 emissions from the world’s lakes, water courses and reservoirs are equivalent to almost a quarter of all the carbon dioxide produced by burning fossil fuels.

Greenland map facilitates climate research

Greenland map facilitates climate research

For the first time a high-resolution map over the ground below the Greenland ice sheet is available. Researchers at Uppsala University have developed the map that will be of great importance for future possibilities to predict how the Greenland ice sheet melts and moves and that in turn has an impact on rising sea levels as a result of climate change.

Nature’s chemical diversity reflected in lakes

It’s not only the biology of lakes that varies with the climate and other environmental factors, it’s also their chemistry. More knowledge about this is needed to understand the ecology of lakes and their role in the carbon cycle and the climate. A comprehensive study, led from Uppsala Univeristy, Sweden, is today published in the prestigious journal Nature Communications.

Uppsala University - quality, knowledge, and creativity since 1477

Founded in 1477, Uppsala University is the oldest university in Sweden. With more than 50,000 students and 7,500 employees in Uppsala and Visby, we are a broad university with research in social sciences, humanities, technology, natural sciences, medicine and pharmacology. Our mission is to conduct education and research of the highest quality and relevance to society on a long-term basis. Uppsala University is regularly ranked among the world’s top universities.

Uppsala University

Dag Hammarskjölds väg 7
BOX 256, 751 05 Uppsala
Sweden

Visit our other newsrooms