​This January, I had the privilege of participating in the Waterbird Society and Pacific Seabird Group 2025 Joint Meeting. During the conference, I presented a talk titled "Feast of Change: How Little Auk Diet Reveals the Health of a Warming Arctic Ocean". The presentation highlighted the latest findings from the ORANGE and new ZOOM projects, both funded by the National Science Centre (NCN). I am deeply grateful to have received a travel award from the organizers to attend this inspiring gathering.

Photo of a beaver in its natural habitat, resembling a "polish jungle", has been recognized in the competition organized by the Nasz Bóbr Association.  

I’ve received a research grant from the National Science Centre (NCN) under the latest Opus 27 competition for my new project, "Zooming in on the mercury cycle: zooplankton in seabird diets as an indicator of contamination in Arctic ecosystems (ZOOM)" no. 2024/53/B/NZ8/03196 . This project will explore the role of zooplankton in the mercury cycle in Arctic food webs, focusing on how mercury moves from small organisms to higher trophic levels like seabirds.
There’s a gap in research on zooplankton as the primary vector of contamination, and the ZOOM project aims to fill it by examining mercury contamination across different Arctic regions influenced by climate change. The findings will provide important insights into the environmental and health risks of mercury in these sensitive ecosystems.

It was a pleasure to participate as an opponent in inspiring PhD defense at the University of Tromsø. Christine Gawinski presented her thesis, "Spatial and Temporal Patterns of Mesozooplankton Secondary Production in the Northern Barents Sea. Are Small Copepods Important?" – a work that offers valuable insights into the ecology of small copepods and the complexities of secondary production in the context of climate change. Congratulations, Christine, on this impressive achievement!

The latest research results from the ORANGE project, funded by the National Science Centre Poland (2021/41/B/NZ8/03830), were recently presented at the 57th European Marine Biology Symposium in Naples. The findings revealed significant differences in carotenoid and mercury levels in the diet and blood of little auks from various colonies in Greenland and Svalbard, sparking our interest in further exploration of this topic. We hope to publish the results of this research soon and will be sure to keep you updated.