Raul PrimicerioView profile
Professor
Raul Primicerio is a Professor in the Department of Arctic and Marine Biology at UiT The Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø. His research focuses on climate change impacts on Arctic marine ecosystems, particularly examining borealization processes, food web dynamics, and functional diversity shifts in the Barents Sea region. He maintains an active research profile with numerous high-impact publications spanning marine ecology, climate adaptation, and ecosystem management. His research interests center on climate-driven ecosystem transformations in high-latitude environments. Primicerio investigates how warming temperatures alter marine community composition, with particular emphasis on fish communities, zooplankton dynamics, and trophic interactions. His work integrates field observations with network analysis to understand borealization - the northward shift of temperate species into Arctic habitats. Current projects examine functional diversity metrics as early warning signals for ecosystem regime shifts, spatial food web reorganization due to atlantification, and blue carbon storage in Arctic benthic systems. His research group employs both traditional ecological methods and innovative approaches like noninvasive image-based body size measurements. Analysis of Primicerio's recent publications reveals strong thematic focus on climate change impacts across multiple ecosystem components. His work demonstrates consistent examination of borealization processes in the Barents Sea, with particular attention to how warming affects functional diversity, community composition, and trophic structure. The publications show increasing emphasis on dynamic management approaches that respond to rapid ecosystem changes rather than static conservation frameworks. His research bridges fundamental ecological questions with practical conservation applications, particularly regarding marine protected areas in changing environments. Primicerio actively participates in major research initiatives including the CLEAN project (Cumulative impact of multiple stressors in High North ecosystems), IMPACT (Integrated Monitoring of Parasites in Changing Environments), and ClimeFish. His work frequently involves international collaborations across Arctic research institutions, contributing to comprehensive assessments of ecosystem condition in Norwegian Barents Sea shelf ecosystems. He is a member of the Freshwater Ecology Group at UiT and contributes to working groups on integrated assessments of the Barents Sea.
