Bilde av Frainer, André
Bilde av Frainer, André
Department of Arctic and Marine Biology andre.frainer@uit.no +4777645561 You can find me here

André Frainer


Associate Professor - Freshwater and terrestrial ecology

Job description

In my research I aim at disentangling how modern industrial disturbances to, for example, climate and land-use, are affecting the composition, diversity, and distribution of plants and animals in natural ecosystems. As in computers, where change in some components will affect their functionality, so will the ongoing changes in species affect the way nature works, including its multiple characteristics that we heavily depend on. I also analyse how species characteristics (their functional traits) and changes to biodiversity can affect ecosystems, in terms of functionality and direct provision to humans.

I focus mostly on the connections across ecosystems, as between freshwater and terrestrial ecosystems, where I run field and lab-based experiments, or analyse time series data to find long-term changes in nature.

I also pay attention to approaches, strategies, language, and collaborations that support a strong decolonization of science, ensuring a safe and supportive working structure that welcomes all backgrounds, and being conscious about the multitude of ways by which science has been used as a tool for colonialism, instead of for true human enlightment and progress of all societies.


  • Brendan G. McKie, Kristina Tattersdill, Frauke Ecke, André Frainer , Ryan A. Sponseller :
    A long-established invasive species alters the functioning of benthic biofilms in lakes
    Freshwater Biology 2023 ARKIV / DOI
  • Brendan G. McKie, Astrid Taylor, Tobias Nilsson, André Frainer, Willem Goedkoop :
    Ecological effects of mosquito control with Bti: evidence for shifts in the trophic structure of soil- and ground-based food webs
    Aquatic Sciences 08. February 2023 ARKIV / DOI
  • Zina Asnah Kebir, Catherine Chambers, André Frainer, Vera Helene Hausner, Ann Eileen Lennert, Jennifer Lento et al.:
    Fifteen research needs for understanding climate change impacts on ecosystems and society in the Norwegian High North
    Ambio 2023 ARKIV / DOI
  • David M. Costello, Scott D. Tiegs, Luz Boyero, Cristina Canhoto, Krista A. Capps, Michael Danger et al.:
    Global Patterns and Controls of Nutrient Immobilization on Decomposing Cellulose in Riverine Ecosystems
    Global Biogeochemical Cycles 2022 ARKIV / DOI
  • Maidul I. Choudhury, Sara Hallin, Frauke Ecke, Valerie Hubalek, Jaanis Juhanson, André Frainer et al.:
    Disentangling the roles of plant functional diversity and plaint traits in regulating plant nitrogen accumulation and denitrification in freshwaters
    Functional Ecology 2022 ARKIV / DOI
  • André Frainer, Scott D. Tiegs :
    A stream-to-sea experiment reveals inhibitory effects of freshwater residency on organic-matter decomposition in the sea
    Limnology and Oceanography Letters 2022 ARKIV / DOI
  • Eirik Haugstvedt Henriksen, André Frainer, Robert Poulin, Rune Knudsen, Per-Arne Amundsen :
    Ectoparasites population dynamics are affected by host body size but not host density or water temperature in a 32-year long time series
    Oikos 2022 ARKIV / DOI
  • Stephanie Brodie, André Frainer, Maria Grazia Pennino, Jiang Shan, Laura Kaikkonen, Jon Lopez et al.:
    Equity in science: advocating for a triple-blind review system
    Trends in Ecology & Evolution 2021 DOI
  • Luz Boyero, Javier Pérez, Naiara López-Rojo, Alan M. Tonin, Francisco Correa-Araneda, Richard G. Pearson et al.:
    Latitude dictates plant diversity effects on instream decomposition
    Science Advances 2021 ARKIV / DOI
  • André Frainer, Brendan G. McKie :
    The legacy of forest disturbance on stream ecosystem functioning
    Journal of Applied Ecology 2021 ARKIV / DOI
  • André Frainer, Raul Primicerio, Andrey V. Dolgov, Maria Fossheim, Edda Johannesen, Sigrid Lind et al.:
    Increased functional diversity warns of ecological transition in the Arctic
    Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Biological Sciences 2021 ARKIV / DOI
  • Maria Grazia Pennino, Stephanie Brodie, André Frainer, Priscila F.M. Lopes, Jon Lopez, Kelly Ortega-Cisneros et al.:
    The Missing Layers: Integrating Sociocultural Values Into Marine Spatial Planning
    Frontiers in Marine Science 2021 ARKIV / DOI
  • Andre barbosa Frainer, Tero Mustonen, Sutej Hugu, Tamara Andreeva, Elle-Maarit Arttijeff, Inka-Saara Arttijeff et al.:
    Cultural and linguistic diversities are underappreciated pillars of biodiversity
    Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 2020 ARKIV / DOI
  • Laurene Pecuchet, Marie-Anne Blanchet, Andre barbosa Frainer, Berengere Husson, Lis Lindal Jørgensen, Susanne Kortsch et al.:
    Novel feeding interactions amplify the impact of species redistribution on an Arctic food web
    Global Change Biology 2020 ARKIV / DOI
  • Eirik Haugstvedt Henriksen, André Frainer, Rune Knudsen, Roar Kristoffersen, Armand M. Kuris, Kevin D. Lafferty et al.:
    Fish culling reduces tapeworm burden in Arctic charr by increasing parasite mortality rather than by reducing density-dependent transmission
    Journal of Applied Ecology 2019 ARKIV / DOI
  • Andreas Bruder, André Frainer, Thibaut Rota, Raul Primicerio :
    The importance of ecological networks in multiple-stressor research and management
    Frontiers in Environmental Science 2019 ARKIV / DOI
  • Marie-Anne Blanchet, Raul Primicerio, André Frainer, Susanne Kortsch, Mette Skern-Mauritzen, Andrey V. Dolgov et al.:
    The role of marine mammals in the Barents Sea foodweb
    ICES Journal of Marine Science 2019 ARKIV / DOI
  • Sahadevan Seena, Felix Bärlocher, Olímpia Sobral, Mark O. Gessner, David Dudgeon, Brendan G. McKie et al.:
    Biodiversity of leaf litter fungi in streams along a latitudinal gradient
    Science of the Total Environment 2019 DOI
  • Scott D. Tiegs, David M. Costello, Mark W. Isken, Guy Woodward, Peter B. McIntyre, Mark O. Gessner et al.:
    Global patterns and drivers of ecosystem functioning in rivers and riparian zones
    Science Advances 2019 ARKIV / DOI
  • André Frainer, Lina E Polvi, Roland Jansson, Brendan G. McKie :
    Enhanced ecosystem functioning following stream restoration: The roles of habitat heterogeneity and invertebrate species traits
    Journal of Applied Ecology 2018 DOI
  • André Frainer, Brendan G. McKie, Per-Arne Amundsen, Rune Knudsen, Kevin Lafferty :
    Parasitism and the Biodiversity-Functioning Relationship
    Trends in Ecology & Evolution 2018 ARKIV / DOI
  • Luz Boyero, Manuel A S Graca, Alan M Tonin, Javier Perez, Andrew J Swafford, Veronica Ferreira et al.:
    Riparian plant litter quality increases with latitude
    Scientific Reports 2017 ARKIV / DOI
  • Kristina Tattersdill, Frauke Ecke, André Frainer, Brendan G. McKie :
    A head start for an invasive species in a strongly seasonal environment? Growth of Elodea canadensis in boreal lakes
    Aquatic Invasions 2017 ARKIV / DOI
  • André Frainer, Raul Primicerio, Susanne Kortsch, Magnus Aune, Andrey V. Dolgov, Maria Fossheim et al.:
    Climate-driven changes in functional biogeography of Arctic marine fish communities
    Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 2017 ARKIV / DOI
  • Anna Siwertsson, Birgitte Refsnes, André Frainer, Per-Arne Amundsen, Rune Knudsen :
    Divergence and parallelism of parasite infections in Arctic charr morphs from deep and shallow lake habitats
    Hydrobiologia 2016 DOI
  • Jesper Andreas Kuhn, André Frainer, Rune Knudsen, Roar Kristoffersen, Per-Arne Amundsen :
    Effects of fish species composition on Diphyllobothrium spp. infections in subarctic brown trout - is three-spined stickleback a key species?
    Journal of Fish Diseases 2016 ARKIV / DOI
  • André Frainer, Jeremy Jabiol, Mark O. Gessner, Andreas Bruder, Eric Chauvet, Brendan G. McKie :
    Stoichiometric imbalances between detritus and detritivores are related to shifts in ecosystem functioning
    Oikos 2016 DOI
  • André Frainer, Kristin M. Sommerseth Johansen, Anna Siwertsson, Seyed Ali Mousavi, John Edward Brittain, Anders Klemetsen et al.:
    Variation in benthic invertebrate functional trait diversity and composition across depths and seasons in a subarctic lake
    Fundamental and Applied Limnology 2016 ARKIV / DOI
  • Anna Siwertsson, Berengere Husson, Per Arneberg, Karen Assmann, Philipp Assmy, Magnus Aune et al.:
    Panel-based Assessment of Ecosystem Condition of Norwegian Barents Sea Shelf Ecosystems - Appendices
  • Anna Siwertsson, Berengere Husson, Per Arneberg, Karen Assmann, Philipp Assmy, Magnus Aune et al.:
    Panel-based Assessment of Ecosystem Condition of Norwegian Barents Sea Shelf Ecosystems
  • Brendan G. McKie, Astrid Taylor, Tobias Nilsson, André Frainer, Willem Goedkoop :
    Correction: Ecological effects of mosquito control with Bti: evidence for shifts in the trophic structure of soil- and ground-based food webs (Aquatic Sciences, (2023), 85, 2, (47), 10.1007/s00027-023-00944-0)
    Aquatic Sciences 2023 DOI
  • Raul Primicerio, Andre Frainer Barbosa, Berengere Husson, Ulf Ove Lindstrøm, Laurene Anne Marie Pecuchet, Anna Siwertsson et al.:
    Climate driven ecosystem reorganization and cumulative risk in the High North
    2023
  • Raul Primicerio, Andre Frainer Barbosa, Berengere Husson, Ulf Ove Lindstrøm, Laurene Anne Marie Pecuchet, Anna Siwertsson et al.:
    Climate Driven Ecosystem Reorganization and Cumulative Risk in the Arctic
    2023
  • Stephanie Brodie, Charles Izuma Addey, Christopher Cvitanovic, Beatriz S. Dias, André Frainer, Sara García-Morales et al.:
    Editorial: Solving Complex Ocean Challenges Through Interdisciplinary Research: Advances from Early Career Marine Scientists
    Frontiers in Marine Science 2022 DOI
  • André Frainer, Andreas Bruder, Fanny Colas, Verónica Ferreira, Brendan G. McKie :
    Plant Litter Decomposition as a Tool for Stream Ecosystem Assessment
    Springer 2021 DOI
  • Ann Kristin Schartau, Marit Mjelde, Gaute Velle, Terje Bongard, Knut Andreas Eikland, Geir Dahl-Hansen et al.:
    ØKOFERSK delprogram Nord: Basisovervåking av utvalgte innsjøer i 2020. Overvåking og klassifisering av økologisk tilstand. Miljødirektoratet rapport M-2051 | 2021
    2021
  • Martin Biuw, Marie-Anne Blanchet, André Frainer, Sandra Hamel, Benjamin Planque, Heli Anna Irmeli Routti et al.:
    AMINOR – the Fram Centre’s Research School for Environmental Research
    Fram Forum 15. March 2020
  • Ann Kristin Schartau, Marit Mjelde, Ina Bakke Birkeland, Knut Andreas Eikland Bækkelie, Geir Dahl-Hansen, Andre barbosa Frainer et al.:
    ØKOFERSK delprogram Nord: Basisovervåking av utvalgte innsjøer i 2019. Overvåking og klassifisering av økologisk tilstand. Miljødirektoratet rapport M-1720 | 2020.
    2020
  • André Frainer, Karl Øystein Gjelland, Martin Svenning :
    Fiskebiologiske undersøkelser i reguleringsmagasin på Skjomfjellet i 2018
    2019 FULLTEKST
  • André Frainer :
    Rapid borealization of Arctic marine fish communities
    2019
  • André Frainer :
    Parasites and the relationship between Biodiversity – Ecosystem Functioning
    2019
  • André Frainer :
    Rapid borealization of Arctic marine fish communities
    2019
  • André Frainer :
    From source to sea
    2019
  • Ann Kristin Schartau, Marit Mjelde, Ina Bakke Birkeland, Knut Andreas Eikland Bækkelie, Geir A. P. Dahl-Hansen, Andre barbosa Frainer et al.:
    ØKOFERSK delprogram Nord: Basisovervåking av utvalgte innsjøer i 2018. Overvåking og klassifisering av økologisk tilstand. Miljødirektoratet rapport M-1396 | 2019.
    2019
  • Marie-Anne Blanchet, Raul Primicerio, André Frainer, Susanne Kortsch, Mette Skern-Mauritzen, Andrey V Dolgov et al.:
    Erratum: The role of marine mammals in the Barents Sea foodweb (ICES Journal of Marine Science DOI: 10.1093/icesjms/fsz136)
    ICES Journal of Marine Science 2019 DOI
  • André Frainer :
    Climate-driven changes in functional diversity of Arctic marine fish communities
    2018
  • André Frainer, Susanne Kortsch, Magnus Aune Wiedmann, Primicerio Raul, Maria Fossheim, Andrey V. Dolgov et al.:
    How is ecosystem function in the Barents Sea responding to a warming Arctic?
    2016
  • André Frainer :
    Climate warming and the functional composition of fish communities in the Barents Sea
    2016
  • André Frainer, Brendan G. McKie :
    Spatial and temporal variation in insect functional diversity effects on litter decomposition
    2016
  • André Frainer :
    The importance of species functional diversity effects on ecosystem functioning relative to other biotic and abiotic drivers
    2016

  • The 50 latest publications is shown on this page. See all publications in Cristin here →

    Publications outside Cristin

    Frainer A, McKie BG (2021) The legacy of forest disturbance on stream ecosystem functioning. Journal of Applied Ecology, 58:1511-1522. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2664.13901

    Frainer A, Primicerio R, Dolgov A, Fossheim M, Johannesen E, Lind S, Aschan M (2021) Increased functional diversity warns of ecological transition in the Arctic. Proceedings of the Royal Society B 288 (1948), 20210054. https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2021.0054

    Frainer A, Bruder A, Colas F, Ferreira V, McKie BG (2021) Litter decomposition as a tool for stream ecosystem assessment. In: The Ecology of Plant Litter Decomposition in Stream Ecosystems (Eds: Swan C, Canhoto C, Boyero L), Elsevier, pp 483-509

    Brodie S, Frainer A, Pennino MG, Jiang S, Kaikkonen L, Lopez J, Ortega-Cisneros K, Peters CA,  Selim SA, Văidianu N (2021) Equity in science: advocating for a triple-blind review system. Trends in Ecology & Evolution, 36: 957-959, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tree.2021.07.011

    Boyero L et al. (2021) Latitude dictates plant diversity effects on instream decomposition. Science Advances 7 (13), eabe7860. https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.abe7860


    Pennino MG, Brodie S, Frainer A, Lopes PFM, Lopez J, et al. (2021) The missing layers: integrating sociocultural values into Marine Spatial Planning. Frontiers in Marine Science 8, 848. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2021.633198 

    Frainer A et al. (2020) Opinion: Cultural and linguistic diversities are underappreciated pillars of biodiversity. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA 117 (43) 26539-26543. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2019469117

    Pecuchet L, Blanchet M‐A, Frainer A, Husson B, Jørgensen L, Kortsch S, Primicerio R (2020) Novel feeding interactions amplify the impact of species redistribution on an Arctic food web. Glob Change Biol 00: 1 – 13. https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.15196

    Bruder A, Frainer A, Rota T, Primicerio T (2019) The importance of ecological networks in multiple-stressor research and management. Frontiers in Environmental Science 7, 59. https://doi.org/10.3389/fenvs.2019.00059

    Blanchet MA, Primicerio R, Frainer A, Kortsch S, Skern-Mauritzen M, Dolgov AV, Aschan M (2019) The role of marine mammals in the Barents Sea foodweb, ICES Journal of Marine Science 76: i37-i53. https://doi.org/10.1093/icesjms/fsz136

    Henriksen EH, Frainer A, Knudsen R, Kristoffersen R, Kuris AM, Lafferty KD, Amundsen P-A (2019) Fish culling reduces tapeworm burden in Arctic charr by increasing parasite mortality rather than by reducing density‐dependent transmission. Journal of Applied Ecology 56: 1482-1491. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2664.13369

    Seena F, et al. (2019) Biodiversity of leaf litter fungi in streams along a latitudinal gradient. Science of the Total Environment, 661: 306-315. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.01.122

    Tiegs S et al. (2019) Global patterns and drivers of ecosystem functioning in rivers and riparian zones. Science Advances, 5: eaav0486. https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aav0486

    Frainer A, McKie BM, Amundsen P-A, Knudsen R, Lafferty KD (2018) Parasitism and the biodiversity-functioning relationship. Trends in Ecology and Evolution, 33: 260-268.


    Frainer A, Polvi L, Jansson R, McKie BG (2018) Enhanced ecosystem functioning following stream restoration: The roles of habitat heterogeneity and invertebrate species traits. Journal of Applied Ecology, 55: 377-385 *Shortlisted for the Southwood Prize, BES 2019.

    Frainer A, Primicerio R, Kortsch S, Aune M, Dolgov A, Fossheim M, Aschan MM (2017) Climate-driven changes in functional biogeography of Arctic marine fish communities. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA, 114: 12202-12207


    Research interests

    Coupling between ecosystems - meta-ecosystem analyses

    Flux of nutrients across ecosystem boundaries

    Species diversity and their effect on ecosystem functioning

    Freshwater <-> Terrestrial, and Marine

    Teaching

    I am co-coordinator and teacher in the Master-level course 'BIO-3518 Northern inland waters and global change'

    I am also teacher in freshwater part of the field course 'BIO 2017 Ecology'