March 20, 2026

A productive start to 2026: celebrating new publications and achievements in our department!

The start of 2026 has been quite productive in terms of publications for the Department of Aquaculture and Fish Biology. After the first paper of Gabrielle Ladurée in her Phd work (full article), three more peer-reviewed papers were published last month, and two were significant milestones for early career scientists. Here is a brief overview of the significance of these articles:
 
Alessandra Schnider published her first paper as a first author in the Special issue on Lake Mývatn in the journal Aquatic Ecology: Juvenile feeding ecology of threespine stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus). Although stickleback are a well-established model organism, little is known about the diet of juveniles in the wild. This is one of the first studies examining whether diet and head morphology differ among juveniles from different habitats and whether these differences are associated. The results showed clear differences in diet depending on juveniles’ habitat and a shift in diet with body size. Also, head morphology was different based on what juveniles ate. These findings show how diet and body shape interact during early life stages and how diet can contribute to diversification within stickleback. 

Grant Haines, post-doctoral fellow (2023-2025) working on the  Arctic charr lava caves system: Last week, the paper Weather and catchment morphology drive thermal regime variation among subarctic ponds, and possible effects on resident Arctic charr by Grant Haines, Joe Phillips, Lizy Mittell, Bjarni Kristjánsson, and Camille Leblanc was published in a Mývatn-focused special issue of Aquatic Ecology. The paper shows that two shallow cave ponds only meters apart have very different thermal ecology. While one pond maintains a relatively consistent temperature, the other gets several degrees warmer in the summer and develops water layers of different temperatures for days to weeks at a time. This thermal stratification appears to influence dissolved oxygen dynamics by reducing the ability of the deeper water to interact with air at the surface. Mixing of these layers occurs when temperatures cool and wind speeds pick up, particularly from the SSW direction, apparently because of the orientation of the caves, and the topography of the surrounding landscape. Although we can't say for certain how these dynamics affect the Arctic charr populations living in these two ponds, larger charr in the stratifying pond appear to have higher growth rates and body condition than similarly sized fish in the other pond.
This is the first paper from Grant as part of his post doctoral work at Hólar University, and is a scientific collaboration with previous post doctoral fellows at Hólar namely Lizy Mittell and Joe Phillips. Congratulations to all!

Camille Leblanc participated in a survey on identifying important research questions for freshwater diversity for the Arctic. The works resulted in the identification of priorities for biodiversity research in Arctic and sub-Arctic freshwater systems. This assessment highlights key concern for policy makers and government funding agencies, as well as identify knowledge gaps and critical challenges for Arctic freshwater diversity.  The review was published in Ambio a journal of Environment and Society, and can be access here:  Freshwater biodiversity in a rapidly changing Arctic: An expert horizon scan of key research questions | Ambio | Springer Nature Link

​By Camille A. Leblanc, Alessandra Schnider and Grant Haines

Modified Figure 5 from the publication. This figure shows the relationship between head morphology and diet in juvenile threespine stickleback from five habitats in Lake Mývatn. There is a moderate positive association between head shape and diet. Higher PLS1 diet values indicate a greater proportion of small zooplankton. Fish with shorter, rounder heads and larger eyes tend to eat Cladocera, while those with more elongated heads and smaller eyes tend to eat midge larvae.

Lava caves system in the Vindbelgur area (Western part of of Lake Mývatn) with in the center one of the cave investigated in Haines et al. 2026. Drone picture from Kári H. Árnason.

Figure 2 in the paper: Relative importance of categories ranked by all 44 experts. Ranks range from 1 (most important) to 9 (least important). Box plots illustrate median ranks (thick lines) and quartiles (25th and 75th percentiles marked by box boundaries).