Petter Lundberg
Who I am
Born and raised in the Swedish north, I had wilderness at my doorstep. From an early age, I followed my older siblings on their adventures. My fascination for the world around us grew with every step, especially for the animals. This escalated the first time I put my head underwater. The Bay of Bothnia might not be known for species richness, nor warm, clear water, but that did not bother me. Breath by breath I tried my best; I sank until I learned to swim, and since then I have been exploring the ‘silent world’ beneath the waves.
Fast forwarding along a winding road, I am more or less back where it all started, spending my days trying to understand what is going on under the sea. Nowadays I use more sophisticated methods, but the principle is the same: from observing to understanding – and that’s what intrigues me!
I have a broad interdisciplinary background, with an MSc in engineering, a PhD in experimental physics and heaps of courses in aquatic sciences and scientific diving. I try to use my diverse skill set to complement those of my colleagues at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, and our collaborators, so that together we can help to gain a better understanding of our world.
Where I work
I work wherever there is water, from lakes and rivers to coastal and open sea areas. Lately, my research has focused on the seas along the Swedish west coast: Skagerrak and Kattegat. This gateway between the Baltic Sea and the north-eastern Atlantic offers unique ecosystems and magnificent species, including elasmobranchs such as spiny dogfish, Greenland shark, thornback ray and small-spotted catshark. Alas, the region is under great stress, partly from an intense fishing industry, and the underwater world here is experiencing some drastic changes. To make informed decisions about management and conservation, my colleagues and I try to get baseline data about various species’ movement and behaviour patterns, as well as the connectivity between populations and the effect of human activities.
What I do
I mostly work with various telemetry and biologging methods to track fish movements, behaviour and migration and to understand why they do what they do. My work is technology-based, sensor-heavy and hands-on, and I spend many days in the field. When we tag animals we come close to the individuals we interact with. For me, this connection is very special and it gives me a sense of responsibility for them.
Another part of my work is to get the community, especially local anglers, involved. Without their knowledge and support, it would be difficult to find and secure the animals we study. Their involvement also helps us convey our findings to the public, and thereby encourage more people to become interested in conservation and management, which is extremely important.
We now set out to use a more lab-based analytical approach to understand population genetics, reproductive state and bio-accumulations, of pharmaceuticals for example, in spiny dogfish subgroups along Sweden’s west coast. Our ongoing acoustic telemetry study will complement these data and together give a more holistic view of the ‘last’ coastal predator in Swedish waters.