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FRAM FORUM 2017
Ivar Stokkeland // Chief Librarian, Norwegian Polar Institute
New books in 2016 Some interesting recent additions to the Norwegian Polar Institute Library
The Serengeti Rules: The Quest to Discover How Life Works and Why It Matters Sean B. Carroll. Princeton Univ. Press. 263 pp. Carroll asks the big biological questions about how life
When he returned home, Elton analysed the zoological ma-
works. How does nature produce the right numbers of lions
terial. There were relatively few animal species in Svalbard,
and zebras on the savanna? How does your body produce
yet from his material, Elton constructed the first food-web
the right numbers of all its different types of cells? In this
map of a complex ecosystem. Just two years later, Elton
book, Carroll shows the fundamental connections, how
was chief scientist on a new Svalbard expedition. On the
nature is regulated by certain principles that apply to
way home, they stopped in Tromsø. Elton popped into one
everything from molecules to macro-ecological systems. The
of the small town’s bookshops and found Collett’s “Nor-
logic of life.
way’s Mammals”. Basically, he was unable to read Norwegian and was forced to acquire a dictionary, but he later
He constructs his explanation by telling the exciting story
declared that the book changed his life.
about how pioneers in different medical and biological fields arrived at major breakthroughs in their research. But
Elton was fascinated by Collett’s detailed description of
what does this book have to do with the Arctic? Well, the
“lemming cycles”, with population spikes about every four
Englishman Charles Elton has an entire chapter (The Econ-
years. He drew diagrams of lemming population fluctu-
omy of Nature), that is inseparably linked to Svalbard.
ations, tried to find patterns, and expanded his system to species such as arctic fox, short-eared owl, Canadian
At the age of 21, Elton was a member of the First Oxford
rabbit, lynx, and peregrine falcon. At that time zoology held
University Spitsbergen Expedition as a zoologist. The young
that animal populations were largely stable. Elton realised
scientist was terribly seasick on the journey north and was
that this was incorrect.
“medicated” with spirits. On arrival in Spitsbergen, the raucously bellowing Elton was carried ashore with the rest
He gathered his new ideas in his book “Animal Ecology”
of the luggage. He quickly recovered and began investigat-
(London, 1927), thus laying the foundation for modern
ing Svalbard’s insects and nature with his colleagues. While
ecology. After Elton had turned eighty, he wrote a personal
they were still in Svalbard, Elton initiated lab experiments
account of the 1921 expedition. This can be found in its
examining, among other things, the freeze-tolerance of
original binders in the Norwegian Polar Institute’s library;
crustaceans. When they had to shoot a polar bear, Elton
we have also posted it in our digital archive.
was disappointed not to find any parasites on it.