Research Group for Genetics
The genetics and molecular ecology of sub-Arctic and Arctic fishes and other vertebrates is the unifying concept governing teaching and research. We have particular interest in elucidating the mechanisms of speciation, adaptations to the environment, and genetic and biological interactions between wild and farmed fishes. How climate change and biological invasions intervene with these mechanisms is also of interest. The group also has strong focus on using Environmental DNA to study interactions between aquaculture species and the environment and for studies of Arctic biodiversity. We use genetic and genomic methods (in the broadest sense) in combination with classical approaches within taxonomy, ecology, and physiology in their studies.

Our people


Available master projects

LiceMap2: Who and what is “skottelus” (Caligus elongatus)? 

Supervisor: Kim Præbel

LiceMap2: Hit the road – What is the fate of eggs and nauplii from salmon lice?  

Supervisor: Kim Præbel

Life in the fast lane - Life history description of two key-stone Arctic gadid fishes

Supervisor: Kim Præbel 

The squid game – Arctic squids and octopuses, who are they and how are they genetically structured? 

Supervisor: Kim Præbel

Brown trout and Atlantic salmon hybridization in the Målselve River

Supervisor: Kenyon Mobley

A fish pass was installed in the Målselve River 100 years ago and has allowed new spawning areas for Atlantic salmon above the fish pass. The instillation of the fish pass has  increased the potential for hybridization of Atlantic salmon with their closest relative, brown trout. Samples from 2025 Atlantic salmon and brown trout (n= 60) collected in Takvatn and Målselve will be analyzed using molecular tools (DNA extraction, CO1 sequencing, single nucleotide polymorphisms) and compared with samples from 2024 Atlantic salmon from Målseleve and aquaculture samples. The student should have familiarity or willing to learn molecular techniques, R programming language and statistics.

Atlantic salmon parr density and sex ratio in the Tana river

Supervisor: Kenyon Mobley

This project involves analyzing a dataset of Atlantic salmon parr collected over 8 years in the Utsjoki river, a tributary of the Tana (Teno) River. Different parr age classes (0+, 1+, 2-3+), maturity, collection area, and genetic information on sex were collected. The goal is to see whether different areas of the sampling area have different densities and sex ratios due to location and year. The student should have familiarity or willing to learn R programming language and statistics.

Graduated Master Students

Name Year Project title/Topic Supervisor(s)
MSc, Alexandra Elenore Clark 2025 Cephalopods in the northern North Sea: Presence, abundance and life history Kenyon Mobley, Claudia Junge (IMR), Rupert Wienerroither (IMR)
MSc, Erlend Nes 2025 Comparing sex-specific somatic growth in invasive pink salmon (Oncorhynchus gorbuscha) from two regions in northern Norway based on scale readings Kenyon Mobley, Eva Thorstad (UiT, NINA Trondheim)
MSc. Peer Berger 2025 Genetic population differentiation in Atlantic salmon, (Salmo salar, L.) in Målselv River, Norway Kenyon Mobley, Arve Lynghammar
MSc. Hannah Maria Iversen Benton 2025 Whales in a bottle – using environmental DNA in combination with acoustic and visual observations to identify presence of whales in Northern Norway Audun Rikardsen, Kim Præbel, Mads Reinholdt Jensen
MSc. Mats Kåre Vold 2025 Gråsteinbit (Anarhichas lupus) i Ytre Karlsøy marine verneområde: utbredelse og påvirkning fra yrkes- og turistfiskeri Arve Lynghammar, Jahn Petter Johnsen, Keshav Paudel 
MSc. Malou Platou Johansen 2024 Status and spatial patterns of demersal marine fish communities in Northeast Greenland in the period 2002 – 2022 Arve Lynghammar, Laurene Pecuchet
MSc, Regine Amanda Larsen 2024 Effects of diet and the vgll3 locus on male maturation and sperm traits of Atlantic salmon Kenyon Mobley, Stefano Peruzzi
MSc. Rasmuss Kjær Koch 2024 Population genetics of Arctogadus glacialis from the fjords and shelves of NE Greenland Kim Præbel
MSc. Oliver Buitenhus Larsen 2024 Biodiversity hotspots along the Norwegian coast through eDNA Kim Præbel
MSc. Charlotte Ammant 2024 Population genetics of spinytail skate Bathyraja spinicauda Arve Lynghammar

MSc. Rasmuss Buhl Søiland

 2024 Spermwhale diets from metabarcoding of fecal samples Kim Præbel

MSc. Nora Brække

 2023 Whole genome sequencing reveals development of structured salmon lice (Lepeophtheirus salmonis Krøyer, 1838) populations among aquaculture net pens through production Kim Præbel, co-supervisor Roy Dalmo
MSc. Joan Espígol Sotelo 2022 Global population genomic structure and demographics of humpback whales Kim Præbel
MSc. Francisco Mascareño Suárez 2022 Identifying the genetic population structure knowledge gaps hindering an improved management of the spurdog (Squalus acanthias) stock in the Northeast Atlantic: a systematic review Arve Lynghammar, Claudia Junge (IMR)
MSc. Juni Bjørneset 2022 Effects of environmental pollutants in killer whales cells in vitro Roy Dalmo, Heli Routti (NP) and Pierre Blévin (Akvaplan-NIVA)
MSc. Iselin Charlotte Weel Walther 2022 Genetic diversity and differentiation of velvet belly lanternshark (Etmopterus spinax) in the Northeast Atlantic Arve Lynghammar, co-supervisor Claudia Junge (IMR)
MSc. Ingvill Tuhus Lunde 2022 Evaluation of blue mussel (Mytilus edulis) as a natural sampler of environmental DNA and pathogens in aquaculture Kim Præbel, co-supervisors Marta Turon and Owen Wangensteen
MSc. Jacob Max Christensen 2022 Phylogeny of Somniosus sleeper sharks: insights from newly sequenced mitochondrial genomes Kim Præbel, co-supervisor Arve Lynghammar
MSc. Ingvild Ytterhus Utengen 2022 Characterizing searching behavior seen in Humpback Whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) during feeding on overwintering herring at the Norwegian coast Audun Rikardsen, co-supervisors Emma Vogel, Meghan Van Ruiten (both UiT) and Martin Biuw (IMR)
MSc. Stine Skalmerud 2022 Diving and movement behavior of humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) during foraging in the Barents Sea Audun Rikardsen, co-supervisors Emma Vogel, Meghan Van Ruiten (both UiT) and Martin Biuw (IMR)
MSc. Stian Karlsen Kleiven 2022 Unexpected feeding behaviour inferred by DNA metabarcoding of Barents Sea skates Arve Lynghammar, co-supervisors Owen Wangensteen, Claudia Junge (IMR)
MSc. Almudena Álvarez Fernández 2021 Presence and relative abundance of humpback whales, killer whales and potential prey items, in northern Norway as inferred from the analysis of environmental DNA from seawater samples Kim Præbel, co-supervisors Owen Wangensteen and Julie Bitz-Thorsen
MSc. Meghan Van Ruiten 2021 A new look at whale behavior: identifying multiple spatial movement patterns of Norwegian killer whales Audun Rikardsen, co-supervisors Emma Vogel and Martin Biuw (IMR)
MSc. Elmedina Husanovic 2021 Assessing the effects of salmon aquaculture on fungal diversity in seawater and sediments through eDNA metabarcoding Marta Turon/Kim Præbel, co-supervisors Teppo Räma
MSc. Emilie Østby Granviken 2021 Genomic characterization and insights of local adaptation in Norwegian juvenile lumpfish populations Kim Præbel, co-supervisor Mathilde Horaud
MSc. Griffin Hill 2021 Transciptomic basis for differentiation of  fjord and offshore Boreogadus saida (Polar cod) populations Kim Præbel, co-supervisor Filipe Figueiredo
MSc. Rebeca López Climent 2021 Distribution, reproductive ecology, and colouration of the Arctic skate Amblyraja hyperborea (Collett, 1879) in the North Atlantic Ocean Arve Lynghammar
MSc. Ingrid M. Bruvold 2021 Morphological variation in the redfish (Sebastes spp.) complex in Norwegian waters Arve Lynghammar, co-supervisors Torild Johansen (IMR) & Hannes Höffle (IMR)
MSc. Gengying Shao 2020 Mitogenomic phylography and speciation in polychaetes Melissa Brandner, co-supervisors Kim Præbel & Shripathi Bhat
MSc. Nathan E. Mertz 2020 eDNA metabarcoding of amoebic gill disease (AGD) pathogens exposes potential vectors and reservoirs Kim Præbel, co-supervisor Owen Wangensteen
MSc. Gledis Guri 2020 Can aquaculture impact the surrounding biodiversity? A metabarcoding assessment Owen Wangensteen, co-supervisor Kim Præbel
MSc. Simeon J. Mikalsen 2020 Addressing the aquatic vertebrate community of Vågsfjorden 2019 with the use of environmental DNA Arve Lynghammar, co-supervisors Kim Præbel & Owen Wangensteen
MSc. Paulina Urban 2019 Marine invertebrates as samplers of eDNA Kim Præbel, co-supervisor Owen Wangensteen
MSc. Simon Nordblad Schmidt 2019 Habitat and migration patterns of Brown Trout (Salmo trutta) in a river-fjord system in Northern Norway as revealed by a genome wide array of SNP markers Kim Præbel, co-supervisor Shripathi Bhat
MSc. Sara Atienza 2019 DNA metabarcoding of deep-sea sediment communities using COI: community assessment, spatio-temporal patterns and comparison with the 18S rDNA marker Owen Wangensteen, co-supervisor Kim Præbel
MSc. Kana Banno 2019 Investigating population genomic structure of salmon lice (Lepeophtheirus salmonis) in northern Norway using a random forest classification approach Kim Præbel, co-supervisor Shripathi Bhat
MSc. Aleksander Pettersen 2019 Transcriptomics in Atlantic salmon Co-supervised by Shripathi Bhat
MSc. Adam J. Andrews 2018 Climate-induced range expansions of marine fauna into the Arctic – what is the most likely colonisation route? Kim Præbel, co-supervisor Shripathi Bhat
MSc. Magnus Nygaard 2018 Environmental DNA for assessing abundance of salmon lice (Lepeophtheirus salmonis) in salmon (Salmo salar) farms Kim Præbel, co-supervisor Owen Wangensteen
MSc. Inaki Javier Tomey Roca 2017 Development of an environmental DNA assay for detection of Neoparamoeba perurans, aetiological agent of amoebic gill desease (AGD) in Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar L.) Kim Præbel
MSc. Julie Bitz-Thorsen 2017 Population genomics of Norwegian killer whales (Orcinus orca) Visiting from U Copenhagen, DK, Co-supervised by Kim Præbel
MSc. Mads Kristian Reinholdt Jensen 2017 Population genomics and morphological analysis reveals two sympatric populations of lumpfish (Cyclopterus lumpus) in the western Baltic Sea, Denmark Visiting from U Copenhagen, DK, Co-supervised by Kim Præbel
MSc. Alice Marri 2017 POPs in two populations of polar cod (Boreogadus saida, Lepechin 1774) from NE Greenland: correlating contamination and biological parameters Visiting from U Siena, I, Co-supervised by Kim Præbel
MSc. Aintzane Santaquiteria Gil 2016 Mitogenomic characterization and phylogenetic position of the oldest living vertebrate species - the Greenland shark (Somniosus microcephalus L.) Kim Præbel
MSc. Mari Hagenlund 2013 Detection of possible source(s) and introduction history of the non-native European smelt (Osmerus eperlanus) in Lake Storsjøen Visiting from U INN, N, Co-supervised by Kim Præbel
MSc. Marjorie Couton 2012 Adaptive radiation of the European whitefish, Coregonus lavaretus (L.), in the Pasvik watercourse: the genetic description of a new morph Kim Præbel, co-supervisors PA Amundsen & R Knudsen

Publications

2020:

Atienza, S., Guardiola, M., Præbel, K., Antich, A., Turon, X., & Wangensteen, O. S. (2020). DNA metabarcoding of deep-sea sediment communities using COI: community assessment, spatio-temporal patterns and comparison with 18S rDNA. Diversity, 12(4), 123.

Barth-Jensen, C., Koski, M., Varpe, Ø., Glad, P., Wangensteen, O. S., Præbel, K., & Svensen, C. (2020). Temperature-dependent egg production and egg hatching rates of small egg-carrying and broadcast-spawning copepods Oithona similis, Microsetella norvegica and Microcalanus pusillus. Journal of Plankton Research, 42(5), 564-580.

Bitz‐Thorsen, J., Häkli, K., Bhat, S., & Præbel, K. (2020). Allochrony as a potential driver for reproductive isolation in adaptive radiations of European whitefish ecomorphs. Ecology of Freshwater Fish, 29(1), 40-49.

Carreras, C., García‐Cisneros, A., Wangensteen, O. S., Ordóñez, V., Palacín, C., Pascual, M., & Turon, X. (2020). East is East and West is West: Population genomics and hierarchical analyses reveal genetic structure and adaptation footprints in the keystone species Paracentrotus lividus (Echinoidea). Diversity and Distributions, 26(3), 382-398.

Cayuela, H., Rougemont, Q., Laporte, M., Mérot, C., Normandeau, E., Dorant, Y., ... & Bernatchez, L. (2020). Shared ancestral polymorphisms and chromosomal rearrangements as potential drivers of local adaptation in a marine fish. Molecular Ecology, 29(13), 2379-2398.

Crotti, M., Adams, C. E., Etheridge, E. C., Bean, C. W., Gowans, A. R., Knudsen, R., ... & Præbel, K. (2020). Geographic hierarchical population genetic structuring in British European whitefish (Coregonus lavaretus) and its implications for conservation. Conservation Genetics, 21, 927-939.

Figueiredo, F., Aragão, C., Pinto, W., Dinis, M. T., & Oliveira, C. C. (2020). Optimizing rearing and welfare in Senegalese sole (Solea senegalesensis) broodstock: Effect of ambient light intensity and handling time on stress response. Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 222, 104880.

Mattingsdal, M., Jorde, P. E., Knutsen, H., Jentoft, S., Stenseth, N. C., Sodeland, M., ... & Blanco Gonzalez, E. (2020). Demographic history has shaped the strongly differentiated corkwing wrasse populations in Northern Europe. Molecular Ecology, 29(1), 160-171.

Múrria, C., Väisänen, L. O., Somma, S., Fuentes, W., Arnedo Lombarte, M. À., & Prat i Fornells, N. (2020). Towards an Inerian DNA barcode reference library of freshwater macroinvertebrates and fishes. Limnetica, 39(1), 73-92.

Nelson, R. J., Bouchard, C., Fortier, L., Majewski, A. R., Reist, J. D., Præbel, K., ... & Divoky, G. J. (2020). Circumpolar genetic population structure of polar cod, Boreogadus saida. Polar Biology, 43, 951-961.

Öhlund, G., Bodin, M., Nilsson, K. A., Öhlund, S. O., Mobley, K. B., Hudson, A. G., ... & Englund, G. (2020). Ecological speciation in European whitefish is driven by a large‐gaped predator. Evolution letters, 4(3), 243-256.

Østbye, K., Hagen Hassve, M., Peris Tamayo, A. M., Hagenlund, M., Vogler, T., & Præbel, K. (2020). “And if you gaze long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into thee”: four morphs of Arctic charr adapting to a depth gradient in Lake Tinnsjøen. Evolutionary Applications, 13(6), 1240-1261.

Thibert-Plante, X., Præbel, K., Østbye, K., Kahilainen, K. K., Amundsen, P. A., & Gavrilets, S. (2020). Using mathematical modelling to investigate the adaptive divergence of whitefish in Fennoscandia. Scientific reports, 10(1), 1-12.

Turon, X., Antich, A., Palacín, C., Præbel, K., & Wangensteen, O. S. (2020). From metabarcoding to metaphylogeography: separating the wheat from the chaff. Ecological Applications, 30(2), e02036.

Turon, X., Wangensteen, O. S., Palacín, C., & Pujol, E. C. (2019). Caracterización genética de la biodiversidad y sus alteraciones en comunidades bentónicas marinas de los parques nacionales. In Proyectos de investigación en parques nacionales: 2013-2017 (pp. 349-368). Organismo Autónomo Parques Nacionales.

2019:

Andrews, A. J., Christiansen, J. S., Bhat, S., Lynghammar, A., Westgaard, J. I., Pampoulie, C., & Præbel, K. (2019). Boreal marine fauna from the Barents Sea disperse to Arctic Northeast Greenland. Scientific Reports, 9(1), 5799.

Blanco Gonzalez, E. (2019). Biological Control of Sea Lice Infestation in the Norwegian Salmon Aquaculture: Are Cleaner Fish a Solution?. Journal of Integrated Field Science, 16, 2-3.

Blanco Gonzalez, E., Espeland, S. H., Jentoft, S., Hansen, M. M., Robalo, J. I., Stenseth, N. C., & Jorde, P. E. (2019). Interbreeding between local and translocated populations of a cleaner fish in an experimental mesocosm predicts risk of disrupted local adaptation. Ecology and evolution, 9(11), 6665-6677.

Blanco Gonzalez, E., Torstensnes, I., & Naito, M. (2019). Embryonic development in corkwing wrasse, Symphodus melops. Journal of the World Aquaculture Society, 50(5), 993-1001.

Collins, R. A., Bakker, J., Wangensteen, O. S., Soto, A. Z., Corrigan, L., Sims, D. W., ... & Mariani, S. (2019). Non‐specific amplification compromises environmental DNA metabarcoding with COI. Methods in Ecology and Evolution, 10(11), 1985-2001.

Edwards, J. E., Hiltz, E., Broell, F., Bushnell, P. G., Campana, S. E., Christiansen, J. S., ... & Hussey, N. E. (2019). Advancing research for the management of long-lived species: a case study on the Greenland shark. Frontiers in Marine Science, 6, 87.

Ershova, E. A., Descoteaux, R., Wangensteen, O. S., Iken, K., Hopcroft, R. R., Smoot, C., ... & Bluhm, B. A. (2019). Diversity and distribution of meroplanktonic larvae in the Pacific Arctic and connectivity with adult benthic invertebrate communities. Frontiers in Marine Science, 6, 490.

Garcés-Pastor, S., Wangensteen, O. S., Pérez-Haase, A., Pèlachs, A., Pérez-Obiol, R., Cañellas-Boltà, N., ... & Vegas-Vilarrúbia, T. (2019). DNA metabarcoding reveals modern and past eukaryotic communities in a high-mountain peat bog system. Journal of paleolimnology, 62, 425-441.

Hayden, B., Harrod, C., Thomas, S. M., Eloranta, A. P., Myllykangas, J. P., Siwertsson, A., ... & Kahilainen, K. K. (2019). From clear lakes to murky waters–tracing the functional response of high‐latitude lake communities to concurrent ‘greening’and ‘browning’. Ecology letters, 22(5), 807-816.

Kemp, J., López-Baucells, A., Rocha, R., Wangensteen, O. S., Andriatafika, Z., Nair, A., & Cabeza, M. (2019). Bats as potential suppressors of multiple agricultural pests: a case study from Madagascar. Agriculture, ecosystems & environment, 269, 88-96.

Madsen, R. P., Jacobsen, M. W., O'Malley, K. G., Nygaard, R., Præbel, K., Jónsson, B., ... & Hansen, M. M. (2020). Genetic population structure and variation at phenology‐related loci in anadromous Arctic char (Salvelinus alpinus). Ecology of Freshwater Fish, 29(1), 170-183.

McDevitt, A. D., Sales, N. G., Browett, S. S., Sparnenn, A. O., Mariani, S., Wangensteen, O. S., ... & Benvenuto, C. (2019). Environmental DNA metabarcoding as an effective and rapid tool for fish monitoring in canals. Journal of fish biology, 95(2), 679-682.

Moccetti, P., Siwertsson, A., Kjær, R., Amundsen, P. A., Præbel, K., Tamayo, A. M. P., ... & Knudsen, R. (2019). Contrasting patterns in trophic niche evolution of polymorphic Arctic charr populations in two subarctic Norwegian lakes. Hydrobiologia, 840, 281-299.

Nielsen, J., Christiansen, J. S., Grønkjær, P., Bushnell, P., Steffensen, J. F., Kiilerich, H. O., ... & Hedeholm, R. (2019). Greenland shark (Somniosus microcephalus) stomach contents and stable isotope values reveal an ontogenetic dietary shift. Frontiers in Marine Science, 6, 125.

Pérez-Portela, R., Wangensteen, O. S., Garcia-Cisneros, A., Valero-Jiménez, C., Palacín, C., & Turon, X. (2019). Spatio-temporal patterns of genetic variation in Arbacia lixula, a thermophilous sea urchin in expansion in the Mediterranean. Heredity, 122(2), 244-259.

Rougeux, C., Gagnaire, P. A., Praebel, K., Seehausen, O., & Bernatchez, L. (2019). Polygenic selection drives the evolution of convergent transcriptomic landscapes across continents within a Nearctic sister species complex. Molecular ecology, 28(19), 4388-4403.

Sales, N. G., Wangensteen, O. S., Carvalho, D. C., & Mariani, S. (2019). Influence of preservation methods, sample medium and sampling time on eDNA recovery in a neotropical river. Environmental DNA, 1(2).

Siegenthaler, A., Wangensteen, O. S., Benvenuto, C., Campos, J., & Mariani, S. (2019). DNA metabarcoding unveils multiscale trophic variation in a widespread coastal opportunist. Molecular Ecology, 28(2), 232-249.

Siegenthaler, A., Wangensteen, O. S., Soto, A. Z., Benvenuto, C., Corrigan, L., & Mariani, S. (2019). Metabarcoding of shrimp stomach content: Harnessing a natural sampler for fish biodiversity monitoring. Molecular Ecology Resources, 19(1), 206-220.

Master students

If you are interested in one of the topics the group is studying, you are welcome to contact us. Here are the Master students currently working with or associated with the group

                                                   

Name   Project title/Topic Supervisor
Faith Renee Cunningham Movements, diving behavior and group-fidelity of long-finned pilot whales in northern Norway Audun Rikardsen, Marie-Anne Blanchet, Carla Freitas 
Nina Flack  Arctic Char Ecotypes in 4 Distinct Norwegian Lake Systems  Kim Præbel
Kristian Nyland Jæger Development of resistance markers in salmon lice throughout a production cycle. Kim Præbel

Research Group for Genetics


Fiskeri og Økonomi
Muninbakken 21, 9019 Tromsø

kim.praebel@uit.no
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