Frontpage MOSJ is a governmental system that monitors the environment on Svalbard and Jan Mayen Climate Atmosphere (3) Land (3) Ocean (5) Influence Fishery and freshwater fishing (1) Hunting and trapping (5) Pollution (14) Traffic (5) Fauna Marine fauna (18) Terrestrial fauna (3) Flora Landbased flora (1) Newly updated indicators Influence Pollution Pollutants in Brünnich’s guillemots The population of Brünnich’s guillemot (Uria lomvia) is in steep decline. This species feeds on a range of key stone species in the ecosystem and serves as an important indicator of the state… Flora Landbased flora Biomass of vascular plants The biomass of plants in Svalbard varies from year to year, partly because of summer temperature fluctuations. Humidity, snow cover duration and grazing also impact the biomass. Fauna Marine fauna Polar bear The polar bear (Ursus maritimus) in the Barents Sea lives on disappearing sea ice. Climate warming is the main threat to polar bears. The polar bear habitat is changing rapidly, and… Influence Hunting and trapping Svalbard reindeer bag The bag of Svalbard reindeer (Rangifer tarandus platyrhynchus) is monitored as part of the effort to ensure that the hunting will not have undesirable effects on the population. The annual bag is… Fauna Marine fauna Brünnich’s guillemot Since the Brünnich’s guillemot (Uria lomvia) feeds on key species in the ecosystem and is so abundant, it may be a good indicator for the productivity of the ecosystem. The Brünnich’s… Influence Hunting and trapping Polar bear take Polar bears (Ursus maritimus) used to be hunted extensively in Svalbard, but the species has been totally protected since 1973. Few are now killed. Polar bears killed after 1973 have mainly been…
