Which seabird resembles Evil Knevil or Karl Lagerfeld? In 2068, will X and your grandkids meet kittiwakes, guillemots, and eider ducks only in virtual nature? Hear Framsenteret biologists Jan Ove Bustnes and Tone Reiertsen describe how seabirds translate changes in the flow of energy and life in marine ecosystems. Are we listening?

Virtual Nature part 1 explores how climate change is impacting birds on remote Arctic island nesting sites of circumpolar seabirds. The idea for virtual nature was proposed by the hello X creative team as a substitute for going outdoors, and a way to commemorate places and animals, like many populations of seabirds, that are currently in decline. In Virtual Nature part 2, you will hear a conversation between host and hello X creative director Christine Cynn with novelist Sigbjorn Skåden and game designer Ismet Bachtiar about the genesis and meaning of virtual nature in the X fiction world (now in development).

We will hear stories from two researchers who have spent their lifetimes studying guillemots, eider ducks, kittiwakes, among other species. Jan Ove Bustnes (working for NINA-Norwegian Inst. for Nature Research affiliated with the Fram Centre flagship project on Hazardous Substances) and Tone Reiertsen (NINA and Fram flagship project on ‘Effects of climate change on coastal ecology in the North).

Listen as Jan Ove and Tone speak about their experiences on Bjørnøya (Bear Island) at the far end of the Svalbard Archipeligo in the Barents Sea, and Hornøya (Horn Island) on the far northern shore of the Norwegian mainland.

Prefer a version without English overdub of Norwegian speech? See our bonus version with NO English overdub;)

Watch this video! ‘X saves the Kittwake’ hello X animation by Ice-9 artist Valentin Manz with music by Coda to Coda. Kids from the north and south of Norway tell the story of how X meets her grandmother’s avatar in virtual nature, and saves a kittiwake who eats plastic. On the hello X youtube channel.

VIRTUAL NATURE 2068: X chats with grandma's avatar in virtual nature about cleaning up the ocean

'Geirdodo' patron saint of extinct birds circa 2068. Collage by Valentin Manz

IN CONVERSATION WITH JAN OVE BUSTNES AND TONE REIERTSEN (with chalkboards-Christine is obsessed with them-no more stickies!)

VIDEO OF GUILLEMOT PARENT WITH FOOD FOR YOUNG (courtesy of Tone Reiertsen)

https://youtu.be/0aHlraYL39w

LINKS

Norwegian Climate and Environment Dept on seabirds: http://www.miljodirektoratet.no/en/Areas-of-activity1/Species-and-ecosystems/Seabirds/

Norwegian coast and Douglas Adams https://www.independent.co.uk/travel/europe/a-thousand-miles-of-norways-lovely-crinkly-edges-49047.html

BEAR ISLAND

Bears visit Bear Island (Norwegian) https://www.nrk.no/troms/bjornoya-fikk-bjornebesok-1.10958132

Bjørnøya dyreliv (Norwegian) http://cruise-handbook.npolar.no/no/bjornoya/wildlife.html

Birdlife International factsheet on Bear Island (Bjørnøya) http://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/bj%C3%B8rn%C3%B8ya-(bear-island)-iba-svalbard-and-jan-mayen-islands-(to-norway)/details

GUILLEMOTS / HORNØYA

Pictures courtesy of Tone Reiertsen

VIDEO! SEE GUILLEMOTS ‘FLY’ UNDERWATER
Guillemots diving near Hornøya, Northern Norway https://www.nrk.no/video/PS*270032

Common guillemot description NP http://www.npolar.no/en/species/common-guillemot.html

guillemot/lomvi factsheet from the Norwegian Inst. on Nature Research

http://www2.artsdatabanken.no/faktaark/Faktaark2.pdf

Incredible diving capacity of guillemots and other diving birds https://sora.unm.edu/sites/default/files/journals/auk/v102n02/p0293-p0297.pdf

Guillemot call (British Museum/wikimedia) https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Common_Guillemot_(Uria_aalge)_(W1CDR0001424_BD6).ogg

https://www.earthtouchnews.com/natural-world/animal-behaviour/why-do-baby-guillemots-jump-off-cliffs-before-they-can-even-fly/

https://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/00000144-0a1f-d3cb-a96c-7b1faa890000

Where do guillemots go in the winter? (Norwegian) https://www.nrk.no/troms/avslorer-lomviens-vinterhemmelighet-1.11273128

Great auk wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_auk

Long interesting article from a conference on capelin (small fish): https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=10&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwjD8OLZwtTeAhXIs1kKHalLBa8QFjAJegQIBxAB&url=https%3A%2F%2Facademic.oup.com%2Ficesjms%2Farticle-pdf%2F59%2F5%2F863%2F6756499%2F59-5-863.pdf&usg=AOvVaw3nE2WSUM9J2FkM8I9YmE2W

EIDER DUCKS

http://www.npolar.no/en/species/common-eider.html

http://www.arctic.uoguelph.ca/cpl/organisms/birds/marine/ducks/comEider.htm

Documentary on eider ducks and the Inuit on the Belcher Islands in Canada's Hudson Bay http://www.peopleofafeather.com/

MAN WHO ATE AIRPLANE

Man who ate an airplane

http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/67621-strangest-diet

Man who ate airplane x-ray photo http://www.u2know.com/michel-lotito-the-man-with-a-strange-diet-aid-146

KITTIWAKE

Kittiwakes in trouble

https://www.birdlife.org/europe-and-central-asia/news/cliffs-lying-barren-why-we-cant-afford-ignore-kittiwake-crash

https://www.artsdatabanken.no/Pages/186674 (norsk)

Credits

This episode of hello X was co-produced with Fram - the High North Research Centre for Climate and the Environment with it’s flagships:

• 
  
• Effects of climate change on sea and coastal ecology in the north
  
  
• Hazardous substances – effects on ecosystems and human health
  
• Sea ice in the Arctic Ocean, technology and agreements
  
• Effects of climate change on terrestrial ecosystems, landscapes, society and indigenous peoples
  
• Environmental impact of industrial development in the north (MIKON)
  

With support from the Norwegian Arts Council

hello X theme Music by Metatag on Hel Audio

http://www.helaudio.org/artists/metatag/

Episode music is by Theta (specially composed for this episode. Tusen takk!)

https://thetasounds.wordpress.com/

Artists contributing to the ‘The Piper Colobocentratus Purple-tipped Echinometra Plinthocelium, A Not Applicable Compilation’

including tracks by: Leverton Fox, Alex Bonney / Isambard Khroustaliov / Tolga Tüzün, Tangents, Lothar Ohlmeier / Isambard Khroustaliov, Ben + Zamyatin

Link to album page https://www.not-applicable.org/?p=2050

Bonus track! ‘Fear of Mapping (Maurizio Ravalico's Left Handed Marching Army version) - Fiium Shaarrk : from ‘Versions, Remixes and Mashups’ on Not Applicable

Hello X is supported by:

Sparebank Northern Norway

the free speech foundation

Innovation Norway

Koro -public art norway

Ice-9 partners and affiliates include:

Tromsø municipality

https://www.tromso.kommune.no/arktisk-hovedstad.460300.no.html

The Nansen legacy research project

https://arvenetternansen.com/

The North Norwegian Art Museum

https://www.nnkm.no/

Hello x is produced by Ice-9, with Christine Cynn, Anneli Stiberg, Valentin Manz.

Associate producers include Marina Borovaya and Annika Wistrøm.

Sound mix by Nathanael Gustin.

Digital design by Ismet Bachtiar

Storygenerator developed by Furkle Industries

Find out more about hello X here https://hellox.me/about/