The project consists of three work packages (WPs):

In WP 1, plankton species dynamics and role of light in vertical migration in Arctic will be determined by combining automatically acquired light data from the Arc-Light observatorium in Svalbard with species data gained by echolocation, net sampling and latest technologies around DNA metabarcoding.

WP 2 concentrates on the natural functional light regime in key species with emphasis on latitudinal effects. In this WP we determine the intensity scope for visual functions and its acclimation capacity in certain zooplankton species by behavioral experiments and laboratory studies on visual physiology.

In WP 3, the contribution of bioluminescence as a light source and its role in the ecological interactions will be studied by state-of-the-art techniques both in the laboratory and in the field. The WP will also lead to a tool for identifying bioluminescent species by their luminous fingerprint.

The project is funded by the Research Council of Norway (project number 315728 and Arctic field grants numbers 342247 and 342273).