Knubbsälar på klippa — Why are harbour seal populations declining in the Kattegat and Skagerrak? Researchers at the University of Gothenburg will investigate this question in a new project funded by the Swedish Research Council.

Photo: Daire Carroll

Eight marine research projects awarded funding

Published

2 November 2026

at

Declining seal populations, melting sea ice and non-indigenous microscopic species. These are three examples of marine-related research projects at the University of Gothenburg that have been awarded a combined total of more than SEK 39 million in funding from the Swedish Research Council and Formas.

Funding from the Swedish Research Council

Mechanisms behind population decline in a marine top predator: the harbour seal in the Kattegat–Skagerrak

Daire Carroll, Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences
Starting grant: SEK 4,800,000

Heat and freshwater feedbacks between the AMOC and Arctic sea ice loss: How great is the tipping point risk?

Céline Heuzé, Department of Earth Sciences
Project grant: SEK 4,200,000

The pulse of the Weddell Sea: Drivers of sea ice dynamics and seal diving energetics

Karin Hårding, Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences
Project grant: SEK 5,136,000

Mechanisms promoting or constraining genetic variation in supergenes

Kerstin Johannesson, Department of Marine Sciences
Project grant: SEK 4,248,000

Thermal acclimation across levels of biological organisation

Fredrik Jutfelt, Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences
Project grant: SEK 4,200,000

Is Arctic carbon sequestration underestimated? Alkalinity-driven carbon fluxes at the cryosphere–land–ocean interface

Isaac Santos, Department of Marine Sciences
Project grant: SEK 4,664,000

Funding from Formas

NEMESIS: Non-Indigenous Microscopic Eukaryotes – What Drives Their Successful Invasions of Coastal Waters?

Jean-Charles Pavard, Department of Marine Sciences
Career grant: SEK 5,998,822

Predicting the effects of climate warming across fish life stages

Patrice Pottier, Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences
Career grant: SEK 5,999,109

About the funding calls

The Swedish Research Council and Formas issue annual calls for research funding. The projects supported by the Swedish Research Council have been awarded funding through the calls for natural and engineering sciences. The projects supported by Formas have been awarded funding through the Career Grant for Early-career Researchers call.

Area

Sustainability and environment Ocean Science and Information Technology