The impact of climate change on Arctic marine ecosystems

The Alfred Wegener Institute is carrying out an expedition in the Arctic on the historic research vessel and icebreaker RV Polarstern. An employee from MFRI, population geneticist Dr. Áki Jarl Láruson, is participating in the expedition, working on a project called “The impact of climate change on Arctic marine ecosystems”. During this expedition multiple samples will be taken at several long-term monitoring sites in the Fram Straight between Svalbard and East Greenland. Dr. Láruson will attempt to isolate DNA from marine invertebrates to examine the links between changing environments and the inheritance of distinct genetic markers. One key goal of this study will be to identify possible bioindicator species in the Arctic.