Benjamin Merkel
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View article: Assembly of Experts: Linear-time construction of the Chimera LLM variants with emergent and adaptable behaviors
Assembly of Experts: Linear-time construction of the Chimera LLM variants with emergent and adaptable behaviors Open
Requiring $10^{13}$-$10^{15}$ FLOPs to calculate one 8 bit weight in an LLM during pretraining is extremely expensive and seems inefficient. To better leverage the huge investments made into pretrained models, we develop the new "Assembly-…
View article: Local variations in population trends and migration strategies of Brünnich’s guillemots on Svalbard
Local variations in population trends and migration strategies of Brünnich’s guillemots on Svalbard Open
The conservation status of seabirds is of increasing concern, with climate change identified as one of the main threats. This is especially true for Arctic seabirds, which breed in one of the fastest-warming regions on Earth. On Svalbard, …
View article: Untangling the complexities of larval Antarctic krill overwintering success under climate change
Untangling the complexities of larval Antarctic krill overwintering success under climate change Open
Antarctic krill (Euphausia superba) are integral to Southern Ocean pelagic ecosystems. Winters with extensive sea ice have been linked to high post-larval krill recruitment the following spring, suggesting that sea ice plays a critical rol…
View article: Mixture of Tunable Experts -- Behavior Modification of DeepSeek-R1 at Inference Time
Mixture of Tunable Experts -- Behavior Modification of DeepSeek-R1 at Inference Time Open
We present the Mixture-of-Tunable-Experts (MoTE), a method that extends the Mixture-of-Experts architecture of Large Language Models (LLMs). Without additional training, MoTE enables meaningful and focused behavior changes in LLMs on-the-f…
View article: Seabirds reveal mercury distribution across the North Atlantic
Seabirds reveal mercury distribution across the North Atlantic Open
Mercury (Hg) is a heterogeneously distributed toxicant affecting wildlife and human health. Yet, the spatial distribution of Hg remains poorly documented, especially in food webs, even though this knowledge is essential to assess large-sca…
View article: Post‐colony swimming migration in the genus <i>Uria</i>
Post‐colony swimming migration in the genus <i>Uria</i> Open
Seabirds within the Alcini subfamily have a unique breeding strategy, with their offspring leaving the colony flightless, at only a quarter of adult body size, accompanied by the father and fledge (become independent) out at sea. In this s…
View article: Multi‐colony tracking of two pelagic seabirds with contrasting flight capability illustrates how windscapes shape migratory movements at an ocean‐basin scale
Multi‐colony tracking of two pelagic seabirds with contrasting flight capability illustrates how windscapes shape migratory movements at an ocean‐basin scale Open
Migration is a common trait among many animals allowing the exploitation of spatiotemporally variable resources. It often implies high energetic costs to cover large distances, for example between breeding and wintering grounds. For flying…
View article: Quantifying circumpolar summer habitat for Antarctic krill and Ice krill, two key species of the Antarctic marine ecosystem
Quantifying circumpolar summer habitat for Antarctic krill and Ice krill, two key species of the Antarctic marine ecosystem Open
Antarctic krill (Euphausia superba) and Ice krill (Euphausia crystallorophias) are key species within Southern Ocean marine ecosystems. Given their importance in regional food webs, coupled with the uncertain impacts of climate change, the…
View article: Light-level geolocation as a tool to monitor polar bear (Ursus maritimus) denning ecology: a case study
Light-level geolocation as a tool to monitor polar bear (Ursus maritimus) denning ecology: a case study Open
Background Monitoring polar bears is logistically challenging and expensive. Traditionally, reproductive history has been assessed using permanent marks from physically captured individuals, which requires assumptions about reproductive hi…
View article: Space and Habitat Utilization of the Red King Crab (Paralithodes camtschaticus) in a Newly Invaded Fjord in Northern Norway
Space and Habitat Utilization of the Red King Crab (Paralithodes camtschaticus) in a Newly Invaded Fjord in Northern Norway Open
The red king crab (RKC, Paralithodes camtschaticus ) was introduced to the southern Barents Sea in the 1960s with the aim to develop a new, commercially attractive stock of the species. In the subsequent decades, the stock has indeed becom…
View article: Telemetry data of red king crab (Paralithodes camtschaticus) migrations in a north Norwegian fjord
Telemetry data of red king crab (Paralithodes camtschaticus) migrations in a north Norwegian fjord Open
Acoustic telemetry allows for high-resolution, long-term tracking of moving animals. Here, we describe data on the movement patterns of 37 adult red king crab (RKC, Paralithodes camtschaticus) obtained by means of acoustic telemetry…
View article: Shifting polar bear Ursus maritimus denning habitat availability in the European Arctic
Shifting polar bear Ursus maritimus denning habitat availability in the European Arctic Open
Climate warming has resulted in extensive sea ice loss across the Arctic. Polar bears ( Ursus maritimus ) rely on sea ice for hunting, resting, travelling and in some parts of the Arctic also maternity denning. In the European Arctic, pola…
View article: Red king crab movements and seawater temperatures in Gamvikfjorden, Norway, 2016
Red king crab movements and seawater temperatures in Gamvikfjorden, Norway, 2016 Open
Data coverage - Temporal: `2016-05-24Z/2016-11-01Z` - Geographic: `[23.220918,70.774797,-61,23.295197,70.815582,-9]` - Taxonomic: `Paralithodes camtschaticus (Tilesius, 1815)`
View article: Red king crab movements and seawater temperatures in Gamvikfjorden, Norway, 2016
Red king crab movements and seawater temperatures in Gamvikfjorden, Norway, 2016 Open
Data coverage - Temporal: `2016-05-24Z/2016-11-01Z` - Geographic: `[23.220918,70.774797,-61,23.295197,70.815582,-9]` - Taxonomic: `Paralithodes camtschaticus (Tilesius, 1815)`
View article: Spectral multiplexing of telecom emitters with stable transition frequency
Spectral multiplexing of telecom emitters with stable transition frequency Open
In a quantum network, coherent emitters can be entangled over large distances using photonic channels. In solid-state devices, the required efficient light-emitter interface can be implemented by confining the light in nanophotonic structu…
View article: North Atlantic winter cyclones starve seabirds
North Atlantic winter cyclones starve seabirds Open
View article: Six pelagic seabird species of the North Atlantic engage in a fly-and-forage strategy during their migratory movements
Six pelagic seabird species of the North Atlantic engage in a fly-and-forage strategy during their migratory movements Open
Bird migration is commonly defined as a seasonal movement between breeding and non-breeding grounds. It generally involves relatively straight and directed large-scale movements, with a latitudinal change, and specific daily activity patte…
View article: The summer distribution, habitat associations and abundance of seabirds in the sub-polar frontal zone of the Northwest Atlantic
The summer distribution, habitat associations and abundance of seabirds in the sub-polar frontal zone of the Northwest Atlantic Open
Biological production in the oceanic zone (i.e. waters beyond the continental shelves) is typically spatially patchy and strongly seasonal. In response, seabirds have adapted to move rapidly within and between ocean basins,
\nmaking them …
View article: Year-round distribution of Northeast Atlantic seabird populations: applications for population management and marine spatial planning
Year-round distribution of Northeast Atlantic seabird populations: applications for population management and marine spatial planning Open
Tracking data of marine predators are increasingly used in marine spatial management. We developed a spatial data set with estimates of the monthly distribution of 6 pelagic seabird species breeding in the Northeast Atlantic. The data set …
View article: An automated procedure (v2.0) to obtain positions from light-level geolocators in large-scale tracking of seabirds. A method description for the SEATRACK project
An automated procedure (v2.0) to obtain positions from light-level geolocators in large-scale tracking of seabirds. A method description for the SEATRACK project Open
Bråthen, V.S., Moe, B., Amélineau, F., Ekker, M., Fauchald, P.,Helgason, H.H., Johansen, M. K., Merkel, B., Tarroux, A., Åström, J. & Strøm, H. 2021. An automated procedure (v2.0) to obtain positions from light-level geolocators in large-s…
View article: Meeting Paris agreement objectives will temper seabird winter distribution shifts in the North Atlantic Ocean
Meeting Paris agreement objectives will temper seabird winter distribution shifts in the North Atlantic Ocean Open
We explored the implications of reaching the Paris Agreement Objective of limiting global warming to <2°C for the future winter distribution of the North Atlantic seabird community. We predicted and quantified current and future winter hab…
View article: Strong migratory connectivity across meta-populations of sympatric North Atlantic seabirds
Strong migratory connectivity across meta-populations of sympatric North Atlantic seabirds Open
Identifying drivers of population trends in migratory species is difficult, as they can face many stressors while moving through different areas and environments during the annual cycle. To understand the potential of migrants to adjust to…
View article: Individual migration strategy fidelity but no habitat specialization in two congeneric seabirds
Individual migration strategy fidelity but no habitat specialization in two congeneric seabirds Open
Aim In migratory species, individuals often use fixed and individual‐specific migration strategies, which we term individual migration strategy fidelity (IMSF). Our goal was to test if guillemots have flexible or fixed individual migration…
View article: Seasonal variation of mercury contamination in Arctic seabirds: A pan-Arctic assessment
Seasonal variation of mercury contamination in Arctic seabirds: A pan-Arctic assessment Open
View article: Sharing wintering grounds does not synchronize annual survival in a high Arctic seabird, the little auk
Sharing wintering grounds does not synchronize annual survival in a high Arctic seabird, the little auk Open
Sharing the same wintering grounds by avian populations breeding in various areas may synchronize fluctuations in vital rates, which could increase the risk of extinction. Here, by combining multi-colony tracking with long-term capture-rec…
View article: Year-round spatiotemporal distribution pattern of a threatened sea duck species breeding on Kolguev Island, south-eastern Barents Sea
Year-round spatiotemporal distribution pattern of a threatened sea duck species breeding on Kolguev Island, south-eastern Barents Sea Open
View article: Modelling polar bear maternity den habitat in east Svalbard
Modelling polar bear maternity den habitat in east Svalbard Open
We evaluated a novel tool that predicts possible maternity den habitat of the polar bear (Ursus maritimus) based on a physical snow transport model, a digital terrain model and weather data. We observed and compared den locations in three …
View article: Earlier colony arrival but no trend in hatching timing in two congeneric seabirds (<i>Uria</i>spp.) across the North Atlantic
Earlier colony arrival but no trend in hatching timing in two congeneric seabirds (<i>Uria</i>spp.) across the North Atlantic Open
A global analysis recently showed that seabird breeding phenology (as the timing of egg-laying and hatching) does not, on average, respond to temperature changes or advance with time (Keogan et al. 2018 Nat. Clim. Change 8 , 313–318). This…
View article: Light‐level geolocator analyses: A user's guide
Light‐level geolocator analyses: A user's guide Open
Light‐level geolocator tags use ambient light recordings to estimate the whereabouts of an individual over the time it carried the device. Over the past decade, these tags have emerged as an important tool and have been used extensively fo…
View article: Migration in seabirds: seasonal structure in space and environment across species, populations and individuals
Migration in seabirds: seasonal structure in space and environment across species, populations and individuals Open
Identifying drivers of population trends in migratory species is difficult, as they can face many stressors while moving through different areas and environments during the annual cycle. Their population response to environmental change ma…