Greenland under the microscope: 3 innovative research projects receive funding

Current research into microbiomes is shaking up our understanding of fundamental events in evolution.

For a long time, there has been a view in microbiome research that only the environment controls which microorganisms are found in the gut of animals.

While the environment is important, this view has led many researchers to fail to recognize the importance of animals and plants co-evolving with good bacteria.

But it is precisely the mechanisms by which animals and plants select for the bacteria that give them increased potential to adapt that is the subject of this project.

Greenland char have a unique evolutionary history where one strain has evolved into different ecotypes that specialize in eating different food items such as zoo plankton or fish.

This phenomenon has resulted in the same strain evolving into these two ecotypes independently in several lakes.

This makes the Arctic char a fantastic natural laboratory where the evolution of new food types adapted to different diets has happened repeatedly.

We will utilize this phenomenon to test the importance of the Arctic char's associated bacteria to adapt to new feeding conditions.

By shedding new light on the basic evolutionary process, the project will also help our understanding of how different species will respond to new climate conditions.

Arctic marine ecosystems are reaching a tipping point caused by global temperature changes.

Populations of marine mammals at the top of the Arctic food chain are beginning to show signs of change.

After a long hiatus caused by commercial whaling, bowhead whales have started to reappear in Disko Bay (West Greenland), an area of high biological productivity.

In contrast, the narwhal population is currently undergoing a sharp decline in Scoresbysund (East Greenland), one of the most extensive fjord systems in the world.

At the same time, in the last 5 years, beluga whale populations have appeared along the east coast of Greenland, where they have otherwise been absent.

This study will map the demographic changes each population has undergone since 2000.

This will be done through genetic analysis of thousands of tissue samples that have been collected annually by the project partner, Greenland Institute of Natural Resources.

By comparing the genetic data for each year, we will shed light on significant changes in population size, diversity, relatedness between individuals, ratio of females to males, etc.

Our results will provide important new knowledge on how population changes affect fundamental demographic processes at the top of the Arctic food chain.

The project has great application potential as it will provide the necessary data for future knowledge-based biodiversity monitoring of marine species in the Arctic.

The Greenlandic sled dog has been an integral part of Thule Inuit cultural history for the past 2000 years and remains part of the Greenlandic identity.

Research conducted by several of the co-applicants has shown that the sled dog originated in Siberia and has followed the Inuit on the long journey to Greenland.

In addition, the genome studies reveal that the sled dog has different food preferences than Western European dogs and that there has been increased selection for endurance and strength.

The sled dog's adaptations are thus shaped by the collaboration with the Inuit.

Today, the sled dog is widespread throughout Greenland except Southwest Greenland.

In recent years, the sea ice season has become shorter due to climate change.

This means that the period for dog sledding has been reduced and thus also the use of sled dogs.

As a result, the number of sled dogs in Greenland has halved in the last 20 years, making the future of the sled dog uncertain.

In Southwest Greenland, the distribution of sea ice has been unstable for centuries, and we know that sled dogs and Thule Inuit coexisted in this area for more than 500 years.

During this period, the sled dog and its use have adapted to the climatic conditions, which is why this knowledge may be important for the future of the sled dog in Greenland.

We have assembled an international, interdisciplinary team of researchers who will explore the genomes of the Southwest Greenlandic dogs for adaptations that can shed light on the interaction with the Thule Inuit and how the dog has been used in that region and time period.