Here you will find our available master's theses divided across COAT's various modules. If you desire a different project, please contact the module leader who best matches your topic.
COAT arctic fox module has one available MSc-thesis project at the moment: What can we learn from tooth wear about diet and food limitation of red foxes in the low Arctic?
COAT small rodent module works with climate change impacts on tundra, mediated through changes in small rodent population cycles.
We have several MSc-thesis topics available, for example:
- How do rodents modify vegetation of their key habitats? Can this counteract climate change -driven vegetation changes? – working with an existing exclosure experiment with five years of data
- Do mild winters with icy snow lead to lower vole survival and dampened population cycles? This topic would focus on analyses of 15 years of vole and snow data.
- How are shrew population dynamics connected to small rodents? Some studies have found this, but their methods for measuring shrews have not specifically targeted these. We have a unique 10-year year-round camera trapping dataset that collects data on both rodents and shrews. Analyses of these data may include seasonal and multiannual dynamics of shrews and their connection to rodents.
- The same camera trapping dataset gives opportunities to study interactions between vole species, such as temporal synchrony and space use.
- Developing methods of measuring snow conditions using below-snow camera traps
- Spatial dynamics of a small rodent predator (the long-tailed skua). This thesis topic would focus on analyses of a 20-year dataset on skua nesting success.
COAT's tundra-forest ecotone module has available thesis on the effects of climate and insect outbreaks on tree growth, and new methods for mapping forests and shrubs based on satellite data and machine learning. For example:
- Trees or shrubs? A field validation of machine learning based classifications of canopy types in Finnmark. With the advance of machine learning, vegetation classification based on remote sensing (RS) data sources is undergoing a rapid development. A pressing need in the monitoring and management of arctic and tree line ecosystems is a better ability to monitor changes in canopy cover of both shrubs and trees in a manner which is both cost efficient and flexible in terms of using different types of RS data as available. COAT is collaborating with RS experts and local management stakeholders on developing new methodologies for canopy mapping in Northern Norway and is providing the ecological data necessary to validate RS classifications. We are looking for a dedicated student with interest in RS and vegetation to participate in field sampling of new validation data during August 2025 and to evaluate the performance of RS products against field conditions.
- Tree growth minute-by-minute. The growth of a tree during a growing season is influenced by both abiotic (weather, site conditions) and biotic factors (herbivory). COAT has recently started monitoring of birch tree growth using high resolution point dendrometers, which provide estimates of fluctuations in tree growth on a sub-hourly basis. The monitoring is done along elevational gradients with strong contrasts in the degree of defoliation by forest pest insects, and thus provide an opportunity to study the combined effects of abiotic and biotic drivers. The project further offers opportunities to participate in field work contributing to COATs long term monitoring of forest pest outbreak dynamics and outbreak effects on tree health.