Finished research projets: Ecological modeling

2020-2023 The marine algae belt is one of the most active primary producing environments in the sea. It harbors a great diversity of animals including sea squirts, ribbon/nick/serpulid and spionid worms as well as ghost shrimps. Globally there exist over 7,000 species with around 250 species from Norway. The knowledge about their taxonomy and dis-tribution is poor. Specimens in museum collections are often quite old and wrongly determined. Many of these taxa include invasive species causing high economic dam-age in aquaculture and ship transportation. This is why we urgently need a field inven-tory to collect species from the Skagerrak up to 70°N i Norway. With morphological and molecular methods, we will determine the species and learn more about their dis-tribution.

2015-2018 Human expansion of land use through agriculture and forestry is globally one of the main drivers of reduced biodiversity. This exploitation has also led to increased greenhouse gas emissions and decreased carbon sequestration. Sweden’s goal of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 means that society will need to shift towards extensive use of biofuels and bio-based materials. This will entail significant future changes in land use, requiring us to also assess the resulting environmental impacts.

2019-2024 In today’s biodiversity crisis, there is an urgent need to monitor terrestrial and aquatic species in their natural habitats, especially those that may be endangered, invasive or elusive. Studies conducted within this project will lead to a new metod of tracking down threatened species, the results will be integrated into current monitoring programmes (e.g. red-listing) and action plans.

2013-2016 Like many other lakes and wetlands, Hornborgasjön has been utilised over the past couple of centuries to expand agricultural and forestry land. At Hornborgasjön, five water level reductions were carried out, and by the 1930s, the lake was almost completely drained. It became overgrown with riparian forests, shrubs, sedge, and reeds. Following a government decision, a restoration project to recreate the bird lake began in the late 1980s. Reeds were removed, and forests and shrubs were cleared. The water level increase commenced in 1992 and was completed in 1995.

2016 Göta älv is Sweden's largest watercourse and is utilised for various purposes. It serves as a source of drinking water, is used by industries for cooling and processing water, acts as a recipient for wastewater, supports power generation, and functions as a shipping channel. Human exploitation of the river has negative impacts on aquatic ecosystems.

2008-2015 In this research project we study several of the suggested causes for the decline of great Arctic charr, using a combination of field experiments, analysis of historical data and analyses of mathematical models.

2021 Invasive alien species can affect biodiversity as they can compete with native species or spread infections. The consequences of alien species are often very costly. It is therefore important to detect invasive species as early as possible in order to control them. How is the situation in Lake Vänern? Researchers at the University of Skövde will carry out a feasibility study with the aim of taking an inventory of invasive alien crustaceans in the country's largest lake. Behind the assignment are the Lake Vänern Water Management Association and the county administrative boards around Lake Vänern.

2019-2021 Sweden and the vast majority of other countries in the world have agreed to preserve biodiversity, ie the variation of species and natural environments. Man need biodiversity as the basis for ecosystem services. Some examples of ecosystem services are carbon sequestration that slows down global warming, water purification that gives clean drinking water and pollination that increases crops.

2015 Imagine an outbreak of a contagious animal disease. Imagine those combating the disease can travel forward in time. Imagine they do so using a simulation model that shows how the disease will continue to spread.

2023-2024 In this project, researchers at the University of Skövde collaborate with Kinnekulle Energi AB, Götene Municipality and the Vänerskärgården Biosphere Reserve to strengthen biodiversity within the landscape in which Kinnekulle Energi has its power line network.

2019-2021 Imagine a bee collecting nectar and pollen from a flower. Their job as pollinators is one of the most important biological processes on our planet. Our survival depends on bees and other pollinators. But within recent years, reports show that our bees are not feeling well. To find out the wellbeing of different Swedish and Norwegian bee species we are going to compare these species in our research project, Supporting Nordic brown bees.

2013-2016 The project aims to develop the methodology for calculating targets and reference points within the International council for the Exploration of the Seas (ICES) in accordance with the new demands of achieving maximum sustainable yields (MSY) and ecosystem-based management (ESBM).

2017-2020 Industrial wastewater is usually characterized by analyses of chemical concentrations or biological toxicity tests in combination. Included is to detect if there are toxic substances or combinations of substances that are toxic and in turn will affect ecosystems negatively. In this project we aim to improve and design novel biological tests using biomarkers.