Lotte Dahlmo
Who I am
I am a marine biologist with a background in aquaculture (Bachelor’s) and fisheries ecology (Master’s) at the University of Bergen. My PhD project in marine biology focused on marine fish recruitment, in which I studied whether fish larvae, which have a relatively limited capacity to swim, exhibit specific movements in response to external stimuli. By conducting lab experiments, I showed that both cod and herring larvae exhibit behavioural response to light and temperature, and that this behaviour can depend on stomach fullness, meaning that whether a larva has recently eaten or not can impact its behaviour. Since my PhD work, I have moved towards working with fish that spawn in fresh water and migrate to the ocean (anadromous) like Atlantic salmon and brown trout. I am on the scientific committee for Salmon Management (Vitenskapsrådet for lakseforvaltning) in Norway, and I was the leader for the Norwegian Expert Group for the Traffic Light System (a national committee for Atlantic salmon farm management) for several years. I am currently responsible for the Bergen Telemetry Network, where we are using a method for tracking aquatic animals, particularly fish, to study the behaviour and movement of different species like salmon, trout, cod, wrasse, lobster, spiny dogfish and thornback ray in the wild.
Where I work
I work as a researcher at NORCE (Norwegian Research Centre), in Bergen, Norway, in the group for Freshwater Ecology and Inland fisheries (LFI). LFI works mostly on anadromous fish like Atlantic salmon and brown trout, with a focus on habitat mapping and the restoration of rivers, stock assessment of spawning salmon and trout, the effects of hydropower and climate change, interactions with marine fish farming, and biodiversity based on invertebrates found in the freshwater system. In more recent years we have expanded the research focus by initiating the Bergen Telemetry Network, where we employ tracking tools to study fish in their natural habitat. By using acoustic telemetry, we are investigating, for instance, the effect of hydropower on the behaviour of anadromous salmon and trout in different life stages in both rivers and lakes (LaKES project), and the effect of habitat restoration, like the capping of Bergen’s harbour seabed, on the behaviour of Atlantic cod, pollock, wrasse and European lobster (BOATS). One of our ongoing projects is LOST, in which we are tracking the most common shark species found in Norway, the spiny dogfish, and the effect of de-oxygenation on its behaviour.
What I do
My main role is overseeing the Bergen Telemetry Network and its various projects that use tracking tools to study aquatic animals. My work usually entails designing, planning and making applications for projects for which acoustic telemetry is an important element. Together with colleagues at NORCE LFI and researchers from other institutions, I spend quite a lot of time developing ideas and research questions that we are interested in, and together we design a project outline by writing an application in the hope of receiving funding to conduct the project at a later stage. I also go into the field and conduct field work for our projects, which usually entails tagging fish, sharks or lobsters, and I occasionally take part in other NORCE LFI field work like conducting spawning count surveys. In addition to overseeing the Bergen Telemetry Network, I do data analysis and modelling, and write papers on the research that we have conducted. As a researcher and the leader of several projects, I also do a lot of administrative tasks, such as leading the animal welfare group at NORCE LFI to ensure that we handle with care the animals we work with and provide the best care for them. I am also an expert on wild Atlantic salmon in Norway, and my work for the scientific committee for Salmon Management involves writing reports, with other salmon researcher experts, about the status of the Norwegian populations of salmon and anadromous brown trout and identifying threats to these populations.