The NatSciCol research group promotes and enhances collection-based research at the Arctic University Museum of Norway. We employ technological and methodological advances that increase our ability to obtain data from specimens. We enable efficient curation and preservation, and improved accessibility of the museum collections to both the research community and the public. Link to our collections Norges arktiske universitetsmuseum.
Kevin J. Peterson, Alexander W. Clarke, Grygoriy Zolotarov, Bradley Deline, Trevor D. Lamb, Mark A. McPeek,Pedro Martinez, and Bastian Fromm. Exploring the Genotype-to-Phenotype Map Using Quantifiable Patterns in Metazoan Genomic and Morphological Data. The American Naturalist 2026 DOI / ARKIV
Bishnu Timilsina, Dilli Prasad Rijal: Enhanced Reconstruction of Holocene Bryophytes From Sedimentary Ancient DNA Using Bryophyte-Targeted Primers. Environmental DNA 2026 DOI / ARKIV
Joel Vikberg Wernström, Yick Hang Kwan, Tobias R. Vonnahme, Ronnie N. Glud, Andreas Altenburger: Recent postglacial population expansions may explain a surprising lack of lineage splitting in Arctic meiobenthic flatworms. BMC Ecology and Evolution. 2026 DOI / ARKIV
Emilio Mármol-Sánchez, Bastian Fromm, Nikolay Oskolkov, Zoé Pochon, Marianne Dehasque, Morteza Aslanzadeh et al.: Ancient RNA expression profiles from the extinct woolly mammoth. Cell 2026 DOI / ARKIV
Joel Vikberg Wernström, Bodil Bluhm, Katarzyna Grzelak, Anders Hobæk, Doris Björling, Andreas Altenburger: Meiofauna Biodiversity and Community Structures in the Barents Sea and Nansen Basin Are Influenced by Benthic Spatiotemporal Heterogeneity. Ecology and Evolution. 2026 DOI / ARKIV
Maibritt Mardahl, Eline P. Hansen, Bastian Fromm, Anne Borup, Bradley Whitehead, Anders T. Boysen et al.: Analysis of Oesophagostomum dentatum excretory-secretory molecules and extracellular vesicles uncovers a repertoire of microRNAs shared with A. Suum and T. Suis and ES containing Paz and Piwi domain proteins implicated in RNAi signaling. International Journal for Parasitology 2026 DOI / ARKIV
Andreas Altenburger, Vanessa Pitusi: The hosted portal of the Arctic University Museum of Norway, an example of how to provide open access to natural history collections. Journal of Natural Science Collections 2026 ARKIV
Abel Gizaw Seid, Dimitar Dimitrov, Catherine Aloyce Masao, Felly Mugizi Tusiime, Tigist Woldimu, Ahmed Abdikadir Abdi, ... Galina Gusarova... m.fl.: Genetic Diversity Is Not Correlated With Species Diversity: A Multispecies Study in a Continental Habitat Island System Journal of Biogeography 2025 DOI / ARKIV
Sanne Bergman, Fredrik Björn Broms, Katharina Kniesz, María Herranz, Joel Vikberg Wernström, Kasia Grzelak et al. Cruise report HHUMTKT25. Septentrio Reports 2025 DOI / ARKIV
Agnes-Katharina Kreiling, Jón Aldará, Kolbrún í Haraldsstovu, Hans Jørgen Andersen, Oliver Bechberger, Moritz Fahldieck et al.: A species inventory on the island of Koltur: Setting the baseline for long-term monitoring. Fróðskaparrit - Faroese Scientific Journal 2025 DOI / ARKIV
R.L. Thoman, T.A. Moon, M.L. Druckenmiller, Thomas G. Askjaer, Thomas J. Ballinger, Uma S. Bhatt et al. State of the Climate in 2024: The Arctic Bulletin of The American Meteorological Society - (BAMS). 2025 DOI / ARKIV
Nichola Ann Strandberg, Lucas Dane Elliott, Dilli Prasad Rijal, Dorothee Ehrich, Youri Lammers, Aloïs Revéret et al.: Capture probe, metabarcoding, or shotgun sequencing: which reflects local vegetation best? Environmental DNA 2025 DOI / ARKIV
Holger Herlyn, Anju Angelina Hembrom, Juan Pablo Tosar, Katharina M. Mauer, Hanno Schmidt, Bahram Sayyaf Dezfuli et al.: Substantial Hierarchical Reductions of Genetic and Morphological Traits in the Evolution of Rotiferan Parasites. Genome Biology and Evolution (GBE) 2025 ARKIV
Bård-Jørgen Bårdsen, Hans Tømmervik, Marius Warg Næss, Jarle W. Bjerke: Misreading or living in denial? Reindeer overstocking and long-term effects on vegetation: An experimental approach. Ecosphere 2025 DOI / ARKIV
Rodrigo Salvador, Andreas Altenburger: How to deal with ‘orphaned’ specimens in natural history collections – a malacological case study at the Arctic University Museum of Norway. Museum Management and Curatorship. 2025 DOI / ARKIV
Meier, R., Srivathsan, A., Oliveira, S.S., Balbi, M.I.P., Ang, Y., Yeo, D., Kjærandsen, J. and Amorim, D.D.S., 2025. “Dark taxonomy”: a new protocol for overcoming the taxonomic impediments for dark taxa and broadening the taxon base for biodiversity assessment. Cladistics, 41(2), pp.223-238. https://doi.org/10.1111/cla.12609
Joel Vikberg Wernström, Vanessa Molin Paynter, Ossian Hagevi, Andreas Altenburger: Attitudes toward the theory of evolution and its misconceptions in Tromsø, Northern Norway. Evolution: Education and Outreach 10. April 2025 DOI / ARKIV
Tulug Gulce Ataman, Youri Lammers, Inger Greve Alsos, Dilli Prasad Rijal, Antony Brown: Sedimentary DNA from lake depocenters maximizes detection of catchment vegetation | Communications Earth & Environment. Communications Earth & Environment 2025 DOI / ARKIV
Michael Hackenberg, Panagiotis Kalogeropoulos, Kevin J. Peterson, Marc R. Friedländer, Bastian Fromm: Knowing is not enough; we must apply: the case for rigorous microRNA annotation standards. Nucleic Acids Research (NAR) 21. October 2025 DOI / ARKIV
Kürzel, K., Hammock, C.P., Pitusi, V., Brix, S. and Lörz, A.N., 2025. Species distribution modelling of benthic amphipod crustaceans in the deep North Atlantic under climate change. Scientific Reports, 15(1), p.39581.
Hanna Dinevik, Andreas Altenburger, Bodil Bluhm: Slow growth and high longevity characterize the common, large Arctic brittle star, Ophiopleura borealis. Frontiers in Marine Science 2025 DOI / ARKIV
Finne, E. A., Bjerke, J. W., Stordal, F., & Tallaksen, L. M. (2025). Lichens are more tolerant against winter warming stress than vascular and non-vascular plants: Insights from an alpine field experiment. Journal of Ecology, 00, 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2745.14482
Antony Brown, Mary Lucas, Inger Greve Alsos, Bastian Fromm, S. Hudson : The sedaDNA revolution and archaeology: Progress, challenges, and a research agenda. Journal of Archaeological Science 2025 DOI / ARKIV
Katrine Toft, Marie Louise Honoré, Nichol E. Ripley, Martin K. Nielsen, Bastian Fromm, Maibritt Mardahl et al. et al 2025. Profiling host- and parasite-derived miRNAs associated with Strongylus vulgaris infection in horses https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0304401724002681#fig0005
Jørgen L. S. Hansen, Andreas Altenburger: Trophy constrains the temperature effect on ciliate species turnover rates. Ecosphere 13. May 2025 DOI / ARKIV
Nikolaos Papadopoulos, Siddharth S. Kulkarni, Christian Baranyi, Bastian Fromm, Emily V.W. Setton, Prashant P. Sharma et al.: The genome of a sea spider corroborates a shared Hox cluster motif in arthropods with a reduced posterior tagma. BMC Biology 2025 DOI / ARKIV
Phoenix, G. K., J. W. Bjerke, R. G. Björk, D. Blok, A. Bryn, T. V. Callaghan, C. T. Christiansen, A. M. Cunliffe, S. J. Davidson, H. E. Epstein, M. M. Loranty, A. C. Martin, I. H. Myers-Smith, J. Olofsson, T. C. Parker, F.-J. W. Parmentier, F. Stordal, R. Treharne, H. Tømmervik and C. Voigt (2025). "Browning events in Arctic ecosystems: Diverse causes with common consequences." PLOS Climate 4(1): e0000570.
Bårdsen, B.-J., H. Tømmervik, M. W. Næss and J. W. Bjerke (2025). "Misreading or living in denial? Reindeer overstocking and long-term effects on vegetation: An experimental approach." Ecosphere 16(2): e70174.
Stefaniya Kamenova Kamenova, Steve D. Albon, Leif Egil Loe, R. Justin Irvine, Rolf Langvatn, Galina Gusarova et al.: Arctic Greening Drives Changes in the Diet and Gut Microbiome of a Large Herbivore With Consequences for Body Mass. Ecology and Evolution 2025 DOI / ARKIV
Antonia Klöcker, Axel Schlindwein, Martin C. Arostegui, Ingrid Marie Bruvold, Joel Vikberg Wernström, Armas Maria Montserrat Martin et al.: Giants in the cold: Morphological evidence for vascular heat retention in the viscera but not the skeletal muscle of the basking shark (Cetorhinus maximus). Journal of Fish Biology 13. May 2025 DOI / ARKIV
Alexander W. Clarke, Eirik Høye, Anju Angelina Hembrom, Vanessa Molin Paynter, Jakob Vinther, Lukasz Wyrozemski et al.: MirGeneDB 3.0: Improved taxonomic sampling, uniform nomenclature of novel conserved microRNA families and updated covariance models. Nucleic Acids Research (NAR) 2025 DOI / ARKIV
Vikberg Wernström, J., Smith, J. & Altenburger, A. Morphology and phylogeny of Itaspiella helgolandica, an interstitial marine flatworm with circumpolar distribution. Mar. Biodivers. 55, 6 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12526-024-01486-w
Bjerke, J. W., E. López-Blanco, H. Tømmervik, A. Striberny, C. Davids, R. Ólafsdóttir, S. R. Karlsen, P. Sandström, M. Turunen, T. Rikkonen, M. K. Arneberg, S. Siikavuopio, K. Zinglersen, K. Lynge-Pedersen, S. Sandström and P. Rautio (2025). "Nordic boreo-arctic lands under rapid climatic change: A review of recent and future trends and extreme events." Earth-Science Reviews 261: 105012.
Dominiak, P., Stur, E. & Szadziewski, R. 2024. Rediscovered after half a century – a new record of Dasyhelea erici Havelka, 1978 in Europe (Diptera, Ceratopogonidae). Norwegian Journal of Entomology 71, 201–207.
Lundholm, N., A. L. Christensen, A. K. J. Olesen, B. Beszteri, S. L. Eggers, B. Krock and A. Altenburger (2024). "Diversity, toxicity, and distribution of potentially toxic diatoms in Antarctic waters––With description of Pseudo-nitzschia meridionalis sp. nov. and P. glacialis sp. nov." Harmful Algae 139: 102724.
Andersen T, Mendes HF, Sanz La Parra AM, Kjærandsen J. Chaetocladius (Amblycladius) britae Säwedal, 1976 (Diptera, Chironomidae, Orthocladiinae) representing a little-known subgenus from the High-North, discovered in Norway and DNA barcoded for the first time. Norwegian Journal of Entomology. 2024;71:113-121
Wernström, J. (2024), Selective Breeding Is an Underexplored Route Towards Conservation of the Endangered Noble Crayfish. Aquatic Conserv: Mar Freshw Ecosyst, 34: e70011. https://doi.org/10.1002/aqc.70011
Rijal, D.P., Arneberg, P., Hanebrekke, T., Johansen, T., Sint, D., Traugott, M., Skern-Mauritzen, M. and Westgaard, J.-I. (2024), Fish Gut Metabarcoding Detects Diets and Parasites Simultaneously. Environmental DNA, 6: e70007. https://doi.org/10.1002/edn3.70007
Živojinović, I., Elomina, J., Pülzl, H., Calanasan, K., Dabić, I., Ólafsdóttir, R., …, Bjerke, J. W., …, Nygaard, V. (2024). Exploring land use conflicts arising from economic activities and their impacts on local communities in the European Arctic. Journal of Land Use Science, 19(1), 186–210. https://doi.org/10.1080/1747423X.2024.2382676
Alsos, I. G., V. Boussange, D. P. Rijal, M. Beaulieu, A. G. Brown, U. Herzschuh, J.-C. Svenning and L. Pellissier (2024). "Using ancient sedimentary DNA to forecast ecosystem trajectories under climate change." Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 379(1902): 20230017.
Nygaard, V., Engen, S., Suopajärvi, L., Edvardsdóttir, A. G., Iversen, A., Bogadóttir, R., ..., Bjerke, J. W.,…, Miettinen, J. (2024). Industry-specific impacts of global drivers in the European Arctic. Journal of Land Use Science, 19(1), 150–169. https://doi.org/10.1080/1747423X.2024.2358951
Nikola Burdíková, David Kaspřák, Jostein Kjærandsen, Andrea Špalek Tóthová, Jan Ševčík, Molecular phylogeny of the fungus gnat subfamilies Sciophilinae and Leiinae (Mycetophilidae), with notes on Sciaroidea incertae sedis (Diptera: Bibionomorpha), Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, Volume 202, Issue 1, September 2024, zlad176, https://doi.org/10.1093/zoolinnean/zlad176
Salonen, J. S., N. Kuosmanen, I. G. Alsos, P. D. Heintzman, D. P. Rijal, F. Schenk, F. Bogren, M. Luoto, A. Philip, S. Piilo, L. Trasune, M. Väliranta and K. F. Helmens (2024). "Uncovering Holocene climate fluctuations and ancient conifer populations: Insights from a high-resolution multi-proxy record from Northern Finland." Global and Planetary Change 237: 104462.
Philipp H Schiffer, Paschalis Natsidis, Daniel J Leite, Helen E Robertson, François Lapraz, Ferdinand Marlétaz, Bastian Fromm, Liam Baudry, Fraser Simpson, Eirik Høye, Anne C Zakrzewski, Paschalia Kapli, Katharina J Hoff, Steven Müller, Martial Marbouty, Heather Marlow, Richard R Copley, Romain Koszul, Peter Sarkies, Maximilian J Telford (2024) Insights into early animal evolution from the genome of the xenacoelomorph worm Xenoturbella bocki eLife 13:e94948.
Mayfield, R. J., D. P. Rijal, P. D. Heintzman, P. G. Langdon, D. N. Karger, A. G. Brown and I. G. Alsos (2024). "Holocene summer temperature reconstruction from plant sedaDNA and chironomids from the northern boreal forest." Quaternary Science Reviews 345: 109045.
Bjerke, J. W., K. Magnussen, R. M. Bright, S. Navrud, R. Erlandsson, E. A. Finne and H. Tømmervik (2024). "Synergies and trade-offs between provisioning and climate-regulating ecosystem services in reindeer herding ecosystems." Science of The Total Environment 927: 171914.
Martin Qvarnström, Per Joel Olof Vikberg Wernström, Zuzanna Wawrzyniak, Maria Barbacka, Grzegorz Pacyna, Artur Górecki m.fl. Digestive contents and food webs record the advent of dinosaur supremacy. Nature 2024 DOI
Elvebakk A. & Bjerke J.W. 2024. Papaver recircumscribed: A review of neighbouring Papaveraceae genera, including Afropapaver nom. & stat. nov. and Oreomecon, a large, arctic-alpine genus. PhytoKeys 248: 105–188. doi: 10.3897/phytokeys.248.121011.
Rasmus, S., J. Yletyinen, S. Sarkki, M. Landauer, M. Tuomi, M. K. Arneberg, J. W. Bjerke, D. Ehrich, J. O. Habeck, T. Horstkotte, S. Kivinen, T. Komu, T. Kumpula, L. Leppänen, H. Matthes, C. Rixen, S. Stark, N. Sun, H. Tømmervik, B. C. Forbes and J. T. Eronen (2024). "Policy documents considering biodiversity, land use, and climate in the European Arctic reveal visible, hidden, and imagined nexus approaches." One Earth 7(2): 265-279.
Szadziewski R., Dominiak P., Rumišek M., Neinhuis C., Wanke S. & Rupp T. 2024. Predatory midges of the genus Schizohelea Kieffer, 1917 in Europe and North Africa (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae). Zootaxa 5514 (2), 169-187. https://mapress.com/zt/article/view/zootaxa.5514.2.5
Szadziewski R., Blatrix R., Dominiak P. 2024. A new species of Dasyhelea Kieffer, 1911 (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) visiting flowers of Aristolochia in France. Polish Journal of Entomology 93(1), 17-22. https://pje-journal.com/resources/html/article/details?id=625016
Wernström, J.V., Bergman, S., Hembrom, A.A., Dinevik, H., Henriksen, J., Aga, K.G., Broms, F., Pitusi, V. and Altenburger, A., 2024. Cruise report HHUMLT24: Longyearbyen–Tromsø, July 3–10, 2024. Septentrio Reports, (1).
Calvet, N., Bluhm, B. A., Yoccoz, N. G., & Altenburger, A. (2024). Shifting invertebrate distributions in the Barents Sea since pre-1900. Frontiers in Marine Science, 11, 1421475.
Fromm, B. (2024). A renaissance of microRNAs as taxonomic and phylogenetic markers in animals. Zoologica Scripta, 53, 754–762. https://doi.org/10.1111/zsc.12684
Högström, A.E.S., De aller minste fossilene forteller om istida ved dyrelivets begynnelse. Geonytt 2024 ;Volum 29.(1) s. 9-10
Fromm, Bastian; Sorger, Thomas. Rapid adaptation of cellular metabolic rate to the MicroRNA complements of mammals and its relevance to the evolution of endothermy. iScience 2024 ;Volum 27.(2)
Duncan, Rebecca J.; Nielsen, Daniel; Søreide, Janne; Varpe, Øystein; Tobin, Mark J.; Pitusi, Vanessa; Heraud, Philip; Petrou, Katherina. Biomolecular profiles of Arctic sea-ice diatoms highlight the role of under-ice light in cellular energy allocation. ISME Communications 2024
Altenburger, Andreas; Nylund, Per helge; Hatteng, Bjørn; Dahlen, Håkon; Rämä, Heini Emilia; Lennert, Ann Eileen; Hansen, Christel Slettli; Pitusi, Vanessa; Wernström, Joel Vikberg. Tareskogen - Havets Oase / The Kelp Forest - Oasis of the Ocean. [Kunstnerisk og museal presentasjon] Museum Exhibition. UiT the Arctic University of Norway; Trosmø. 2024-01-24 - 2024-11-30
Yu, Daqi; Ren, Yandong; Uesaka, Masahiro; Beavan, Alan; Muffato, Matthieu; Shen, Jieyu; Li, Yongxin; Sato, Iori; Wan, Wenting; Clark, James; Keating, Joseph; Carlisle, Emily; Dearden, Richard; Giles, Sam; Randle, Emma; Sansom, Robert; Feuda, Roberto; Fleming, James Frederick; Sugahara, Fumiaki; Cummins, Carla; Patricio, Mateus; Akanni, Wasiu; D'Aniello, Salvatore; Bertolucci, Christiano; Irie, Naoki; Alev, Cantas; Sheng, Guojun; de Mendoza, Alex; Maeso, Ignacio; Irimia, Manuel; Fromm, Bastian; Peterson, Kevin J; Das, Sabyasachi; Hirano, Masayuki; Rast, Jonathan P; Cooper, Max; Paps, Jordi; Pisani, Davide; Kuratani, Shigeru; Martin, Fergal J.; Wang, Wen; Donoghue, Philip C J; Zhang, Yong E.; Pascual-Anaya, Juan. Hagfish genome elucidates vertebrate whole-genome duplication events and their evolutionary consequences. Nature Ecology and Evolution 2024
Agić, H., Jensen, S., Meinhold, G., Högström, A.E.S., Ebbestad, J.O.R., Høyberget, M. Palacios, T. & Taylor, W.L., 2023; Life through an Ediacaran glaciation: shale- and diamictite-hosted organic-walled microfossil assemblages from the late Neoproterozoic of the Tanafjorden area, northern Norway. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.palaeo.2023.111956
Kjærandsen, Jostein; Kerr, Peter H.; Lindemann, Jon Peder; Kurina, Olavi. When details matter: Integrative revision of Holarctic Coelophthinia Edwards (Diptera, Mycetophilidae), including mapping of its mitogenome, leads to the description of four new pseudocryptic species. Biodiversity Data Journal 2023 ;Volum 11.
Høye, Eirik; Dagenborg, Vegar Johansen; Kristensen, Annette Torgunrud; Lund-Andersen, Christin; Fretland, Åsmund Avdem; Lorenz, Susanne; Edwin, Bjørn von Gohren; Hovig, Eivind; Fromm, Bastian; Inderberg, Else Marit; Greiff, Victor; Ree, Anne Hansen; Flatmark, Kjersti. T cell receptor repertoire sequencing reveals chemotherapy-driven clonal expansion in colorectal liver metastases. GigaScience 2023 ;Volum 12. s. -
Nikola Burdíková, David Kaspřák, Jostein Kjærandsen, Andrea Špalek Tóthová, Jan Ševčík 2023. Molecular phylogeny of the fungus gnat subfamilies Sciophilinae and Leiinae (Mycetophilidae), with notes on Sciaroidea incertae sedis (Diptera: Bibionomorpha). Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. https://doi.org/10.1093/zoolinnean/zlad176
Marmol-Sanchez, Emilio, Bastian Fromm, Nikolay Oskolkov, Zoe Pochon, Panagiotis Kalogeropoulos, Eli Eriksson, Inna Biryukova et al. (2023). Historical RNA expression profiles from the extinct Tasmanian tiger. Genome Research. doi: 10.1101/gr.277663.123
Karl Frafjord. Verdens nordligste bestand av flaggermus. Fauna 2023
Maria, Garcia-Portela; Moestrup, Øjvind; Daugbjerg, Niels; Altenburger, Andreas; Lundholm, Nina. Studies on the complex Warnowiaceae (Dinophyceae) I. Lohmann’s Pouchetia parva refound and renamed Nematodinium parvum comb. nov. (= Warnowia parva). Phycologia 2023 ;Volum 62.(5) s. 421-435
Högström, A.E.S, Ebbestad, Jan Ove R.; Høyberget, Magne. En mark med potensial - kunsten å sette grenser. Geonytt 2023 s. 18-22
Vikberg Wernström, Joel; Slater, Ben J; Sørensen, Martin V; Crampton, Denise; Altenburger, Andreas. Geometric morphometrics of macro- and meiofaunal priapulid pharyngeal teeth provides a proxy for studying Cambrian “tooth taxa”. Zoomorphology 2023 ;Volum 142. s. 411-421
Jenike, Ana E.; Jenike, Katharine M.; Peterson, Kevin J.; Fromm, Bastian; Halushka, Marc K. Direct observation of the evolution of cell-type-specific microRNA expression signatures supports the hematopoietic origin model of endothelial cells. Evolution & Development 2023 ;Volum 25.(3) s. 226-239
Dominiak, Patrycja & Salmela, Jukka 2023. Dasyhelea atrata Wirth, 1952 (Diptera, Ceratopogonidae), a new species to the fauna of Finland and Norway, with notes about synonymy. Norwegian Journal of Entomology.
Umu, Sinan Ugur; Paynter, Vanessa Molin; Trondsen, Håvard; Buschmann, Tilo; Rounge, Trine Ballestad; Peterson, Kevin J.; Fromm, Bastian. Accurate microRNA annotation of animal genomes using trained covariance models of curated microRNA complements in MirMachine. Cell Genomics 2023 ;Volum 3:100348.(8) s. 1-15
Dominiak, Patrycja & Borkent, Art 2023. A new species of Dasyhelea (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae), mining the leaves of the floating fern Salvinia minima Baker. Journal of Natural History.
Rukke, Bjørn Arne; Querner, Pascal; Hage, Morten; Steinert, Mari; Kaldager, Marianne; Sømhovd, Astrid; Dominiak, Patrycja; Garrido, Mónica; Hansson, Tone; Aak, Anders 2023. Insecticidal gel bait for the decimation of Ctenolepisma longicaudatum (Zygentoma: Lepismatidae) populations in libraries, museums, and archives. Journal of Cultural Heritage.
Espinel Velasco, Nadjejda; Gawinski, Christine; Kohlbach, Doreen; Pitusi, Vanessa; Graeve, Martin; Hop, Haakon. Interactive effects of ocean acidification and temperature on oxygen uptake rates in Calanus hyperboreus nauplii. Frontiers in Marine Science 2023 ;Volum 10.
Kurina, Olavi; Kjærandsen, Jostein; Kirik, Heli; Hadbavná, Dominika; Dénes, Anna; Oboňa, Jozef; Manko, Peter. On the identity and distribution of the rare Rymosia tolleti Burghele-Balacesco, 1965 (Diptera, Mycetophilidae) encountered in European caves. Check List 2023 ;Volum 19.(3) s. 381-389
Dominiak, Patrycja & Szadziewski, Ryszard. 2023. Taxonomic status of two European sibling and barcode-sharing species of Brachypogon Kieffer, 1899 (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae). Zootaxa.
Pitusi, Vanessa; Gradinger, Rolf Rudolf; Søreide, Janne. Temporal and spatial variability of sympagic metazoans in a high-Arctic fjord, Svalbard. Frontiers in Marine Science 2023 ;Volum 10.
Joel Vikberg Wernström, Ben J. Slater, Martin V. Sørensen, Denise Crampton, Andreas Altenburger: Geometric morphometrics of macro-and meiofaunal priapulid pharyngeal teeth provides a proxy for studying Cambrian “tooth taxa”. Zoomorphology. 12 August 2023. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00435-023-00617-4
Is there one driving force of animal evolution that explains the immense diversity of life and can it also help us to understand the exceptional success of parasitic species that affect us?
The underlying and very strong feature of both processes seems in fact to be very small: microRNAs. Since the discovery that they are found in all animals and regulate important biological processes about 20 years ago, these tiny fine-tuners of cellular programs are among the most studied molecules ever. However, with more than 16,000 annual publications, the rapidly growing microRNA field became riddled with contradicting reports that hindered novel discoveries and applications. In the recent research of Dr. Bastian Fromm, this was addressed with the microRNA gene database MirGeneDB and the foundations to transform the microRNA field from a qualitative research area to the quantitative level, and ask fundamental questions, were laid.
In his TFS-project MIRevolution, Dr. Fromm and his group will use novel sequencing approaches, state of the art single cell experiments and take advantage of the unique biodiversity in Tromso, to deepen the understanding of animal evolution, and parasites in particular. Using microRNAs, open questions in systematics and gene-regulation will be addressed. Facilitated by the ancient DNA laboratory at the Museum, and the Museums collection, the Fromm lab will further set out to use microRNAs in the novel research line paleotranscriptomics that, for the first time, enables gene expression studies in long-dead biological material.
My research interests are in marine invertebrate zoology, developmental biology, evolutionary morphology, protozoology, and eukaryote phylogeny.
I am particularly interested in the discovery and description of marine organismal diversity. I focus on the diversity and evolution of organisms, and the evolution of symbiotic interactions between algae and invertebrate animals and protists. My lab uses comparative molecular methods, as well as confocal laser scanning microscopy in order to study innovations in patterns of organismal diversity. Groups of particular interest are brachiopods, kinorhynchs, scalidophorans, cryptophytes, ciliates and dinoflagellates.
Are you interested in working on marine protists or meiofauna as a Marie-Curie postdoc? Please contact me, I am looking for candidates to apply for the new Horizon Europe - MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships program.
MicroRNAs, Systematics, Evolution
I am particularly interested in analyzing environmental DNA of ancient to modern samples to reconstruct the history of individuals and ecosystems. I have a broad experience in applying metabarcoding approach in analyzing sedimentary ancient DNA (sedaDNA) to reconstruct past ecosystems. Our group has demonstrated use of traits in reconstructing past functional diversity of plants. We have been reconstructing past ecological networks of plants and animals using sedaDNA and aim to reconstruct whole ecosystem.
More recently, I have expanded the application of eDNA to other key components of an ecosystem such as cryptogams (bryophytes, lichens, mushrooms, and other micro fungi). By generating spatial and temporal dynamics of all plants and fungi in concert, I aim to understand how plants interacted in the past and their potential interactions in the future. Such consolidated information of spatial and temporal dynamics of different components of ecosystems will provide more precise plant species distribution models. That in turn is expected to provide management decisions in the face of global change.
My research interest is to study patterns of insect diversity in a taxonomic and biosystematic framework. I am further interested in the functional evolution of their various organs such as genitalia and wings and how they are used in mating-systems and for species recognition. My research is contributing to build a taxonomic knowledge base of the Holarctic fauna of fungus gnats (Diptera, Sciaroidea). With some 1000 Nordic species, fungus gnats play an important role in the ecosystem of the boreal taiga.
Paleotranscriptomics, Ancient DNA, Genomics, Evolutionary Biology, Forensic Science