Terrestrial Invertebrate Fauna of Svalbard Workshop

? Build personal acquaintances between scientists working at disparate institutions. ? Coordinate future invertebrate research. ? Visit to the research facilities available at the Svalbard Science Centre and in Barentsburg. A briefing on the facilities in Ny-Ålesund will also be presented. ? Identify skill-centres. For example, taxonomic expertise or electron microscope facilities available to all. ? Synthesis current knowledge including combining Russian and Norwegian species lists. ? Identify opp ortunities for combined fieldwork in the remoter regions of Svalbard thus reducing the environmental impact of the fieldwork and reducing costs. ? Contribute to article 7 of the International Convention in Biodiversity, which Norway ratified in 1992. Si gnatory countries are committed to map and monitor biodiversity. Invertebrate biodiversity on Svalbard is largely unknown. ? Identify opportunities for Norwegian workers to access sites in Russia which is important when studying circumpolar invertebrate ecology. For workers investigating invertebrate biodiversity and biogeography on Svalbard meeting Russian counterparts with access to Franz Josef Land, Novaya Zemlya and the Siberian coast line is essential ? Identify opportunities for Russian workers t o operate from the Svalbard Science Centre (UNIS and Norwegian Polar Institute) and in Ny-Ålesund. In particular to build on the recommendations arising from the recent Terrestrial Ecosystems Ny-Ålesund Flagship workshop. ? Fortuitous timing of the work shop will enable recommendations to be fed into the ESFRI SIOS (Svalbard Integrated Arctic Earth Observing System) planning stages. ? Expedite potential collaboration on Arctic barcoding projects, especially with improved access to Russian material (e.g. PolarBoli http://www.dnabarcoding.org/polar/programme/organisation.htm )