28. September 2026 - Susanna started her internship
We welcome a new member, Susanna Ferizi, in our group. She will assist us in developing keys for the Artsdatabanlen project "MeioSkag". She has been a Master student before in our group working on the genomes of gastrotrichs and now she will work on the morphological side of these groups.
23. September 2026 - A new COST action on Genomics about to start
The new COST action "Consensa - Consensus Standards for Applied Biodiversity Genomics" will start at November 1st. Torsten has been nominated to represent Norway at the management committee. The first meeting discussing the detail of the first year of the action took place in Brussels.
17. September 2026 - Enrico presented his work in Berlin as well
At the Annual Meeting of the German Society for Mammalian Biology, Enrico was bale to present his work on hooded seals. The title of the presentation was "Integrative phylogeographic and morphometric analysis of the hooded seal (Cystophora cristata)" and the presentation was well perceived.
16. September 2026 - The work on the exhibition continues
The NHM working group for the Animalia exhibition continues to progress and is close from the design to the production stage. At another meeting in Berlin, the new suggestions and remaining topics were discussed.
8. September 2026 - Torsten was back at the DZG meeting
Torsten had been a very active member for the German Zoological Society (DZG) for many years, but he had been absent for awhile. Now, he presented James' and his research on macrosynteny and the requirement to consider robustness in assigning ancestral linkage groups.
25. August 2026 - Jakin defended her MSc thesis on Rove beetles
The title of the thesis was “Rove Beetle Diversity in Ghana. Population Comparison of Selected Species and Phylogeny of the Subtribe Medonina (Insecta: Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Paederinae)” and Jakin defended it today with great success. She did a very good job and we are happy that you were in our group.
21. August 2026 - Farewell, Lutz
Lutz retired at the end of February and today we said farewell to him one more time with a symposium about parasites. It was a huge success with six speakers from four countries looking at parasites in a unusual way. For example, should we protect them like any other species?
10. August 2026 - Welcome Claudio for your research on Marine Protected Areas
Today, Claudio, a visiting PhD student from the University of the Balearic Islands, arrived at our group. He will join as for three months to investigate population genomics of marine invertebrates and link them to MPAs.
31. July 2026 - Fantastic contribution to IPC 2026 in Frankfurt
This week Samaneh and Torsten participated at the International Polychaete Conference in Frankfurt with more than 200 participants. Samaneh presented today her results and got wonderful feedback on the presentation.
31. July 2026 - Last day of Gizem
The two months of the visit of the Erasmus student Gizem are already passed. The weeks just flew by with lots of fun sampling, sorting and identifying Meiofauna from the Oslo fjord. We will miss you, Gizem.
23. July 2026 - Enrico presented his research at Paleo4Alps
At the conference from July 19th to 23rd, Enrico presented a poster on research he did in addition to his PhD project with the title "An embryonic tooth of a Great White Shark (Carcharodon carcharias) from Pliocene deposits of Orciano Pisano, Italy". He got very nice feedback on the presentation.
23. June 2026 - Annis are back
After her maternity leave, Annis is back at work. Now she is going back full throttle into worms and their parasites. Lots of data are waiting to be analyzed.
19. June 2026 - Our annual summer party
We have developed the nice tradition now at our group to have a summer party at Torsten's place with home-made Pulled Pork and BBQ. It was a wonderful day again with ourselves and our partners and families. For some, it was the last time.
08. June 2026 - A new design for our research
Ana, Sam and others at the museum have worked the last couple of weeks together with students from a Westedals Design school to present our research in a new design. The new designs were presented today in the Botanical Garden and look very cool.
08. June 2026 - Paper on genomics and macrosynteny published as preprint
The first paper presenting new genomes for Chaetognathifera including a new one for a Gnathostomulida is published as preprint (https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.06.08.730799v1). It also introduces a new method to assess the robustness of macrosynteny results.
08. June 2026 - Second workshop for the new exhibition.
The new exhibition about animals is taken shape and Torsten participated in the second in-person workshop on it. This time, we visited the design bureau in Berlin.
01. June 2026 - New Erasmus student in our group
Today Gizem Guendeger from the University of Izmir started here 2-month internship working on meiofaunal species. We took her out to fieldwork on her very first day. A sunny day at the beach, what could be better.
30. May 2026 - Paper on species selection published online
Now the paper on how we selected species is published by npj biodiversity. You can read it here: https://www.nature.com/articles/s44185-026-00140-x
22. May 2026 - Celebrating meiofaunal biodiversity
At the biodiversity day, our group participated also at the event organized by the museum. We presented to school classes different live meiofaunal species taken from a near-by beach. It was a lot of fun.
22. May 2026 - Paper on species selection accepted
The paper on how the Biodiversity Genomic Europe project selected species using a fully automated and objective process has been accepted for publication by npj biodiversity.
19. May 2026 - Not making it to second round
Some of us were involved in a SFF application about generally speaking adaptation. Unfortunately, we were not selected to move on the second round.
04. & 05. May 2026 - First workshop with external partners on the new exhibition
As part of the development of the new exhibitions on animals, Torsten participated in the first workshop with the design and construction partners to get the new exhibition on a very good start. Interesting times with respect to outreach are ahead of us.
27. & 28. April 2026 - Participation at the UniMus:Natur fagseminar 2026
Some of our group members participated at the first seminar of the university museums of Norway concerning the new collection database. The seminar provided the foundation for the future of the database.
13. April 2026 - Field work season in Skagerrak started again
As part of our MeioSkag project, we are sampling meiofauna at beaches in the Skagerrak. With the spring now coming, we went to beaches close to Tofte for collecting our first samples this year.
06. April 2026 - The last day of Marianne at the museum
Marianne is still working on her PhD thesis, but tomorrow she will take a new position at NorSkog. We will miss you, Marianne, and wish you the best of luck in your new position. We are looking forward to celebrate your PhD soon as well.
04. April 2026 - The online version of the review in Zoologica Scripta is out
As a early gift for Eastern, the review "Progress and Challenges in Phylogenomics and Genomics of Lophotrochozoa/Spiralia" was published by Zoologica Scripta today online. You can access here as open access.
24. March 2026 - Review about genomics in Lophotrochozoa accepted
Today, the review by Torsten on the challenges and promises of genomics in Lophotrochozoa has been accepted for publication in Zoologica Scripta.
16. March 2026 - The first ERGA-SOP on how to sample for genomics is out
We have been heavily involved in writing and developing a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) on how to sample meiofaunal specimens for genomic research. You can take a look here.
05. March 2026 - Torsten participating at editor meeting for Zoologica Scripta
Zoologica Scripta is a traditional journal supported by The Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters and a very long tradition of editors from the NHM and CEG. Torsten joined the editor meeting for the first time in his new role accompanied by our former group member and long-standing editor Lutz.
03. March 2026 - Report of ArtsDatabanken project "MeioSkag" approved
Every year, we have to submit reports on the status of our ArtsDatabanken projects to receive further funding. In record time, the report for our project "MeioSkap" was approved in just two days after submission.
02. March 2026 - Gabriela finished her Erasmus stay in our group
After just five short months, Gabriela's Erasmus stay at our group ended. Gabriela delivered really nice results on her project on keel-worms and she was a true asset to our group. We will miss you.
01. March 2026 - European BGE project ended after 3.5 years
Our group had been very active as part of the BGE project in both streams generating barcodes and genomes. The project ended now officially with many data and papers still to be published.
27. February 2026 - Lutz retired
After more than 20 years at the NHM and being our group leader for several years retired today. We said farewell to him with a nice lunch with participants from the different sections at the museum and wonderful gifts including an original Pazoki. We will truly miss you and you are always welcome to visit us.
20. February 2026 - Group retreat in Kongsberg with online face of CEG
Each year, our group is going on a retreat and this year we went to Kongsberg working on our web presence. We hope you like the new English version (the Norwegian one will updated soon). We also had a lot of fun yesterday going out to cross-country ski (for most for the first time).
16. February 2026 - Enrico visiting Bergen to scan seal skulls for his project
Once again, Enrico is on the road to get data for his PhD thesis from seal skulls present in scientific collections. This time is going to Bergen to scan the skulls using the 3D-scan equipment developed by Kjetil Voje from the EPA group. Good luck.
30. January 2026 - Another method paper by James is out - in Systematic Biology
As part of the InvertOmics project, we are also developing new methods for phylogenetic research. Even though moved on to another position, he is still delivering. Now, there is a new method available, the DE score, to measure saturation in phylogenetic datasets (https://doi.org/10.1093/sysbio/syag009)
02. January 2026 - Torsten joins Zoologica Scripta as an editor
Zoologica Scripta is a long tradition of editors from the Natural History museum including among others Marit Christiansen, Tor Bakke and our own group member Lutz. Lutz is for several years now editor-in-chief. Torsten is starting as new editor this year replacing Per Sundberg.
01. January 2026 - Ana back from maternity leave
We welcome Ana back in our group after her maternity. It is great to have you back in our group, we missed you. Now the "MeioSkag" project can benefit again from all your skills.
19. December 2025 - The new exhibition on animals got strong support from the Sparebankstiftelsen DNB
Some of our group are supporting UTAD in developing the new exhibition on animals with working title "Animalia". Now, UTAD could secure a big grant for this exhibition of 19 million NOK. We are very glad about this news as it will make much easier to get a world-class exhibition about the animal tree of life including invertebrates.
18. December 2025 - Marianne won the best student paper award of NHM
We are proud that NHM awarded Marianne with best paper award for a student this year. The paper published earlier on the taxonomy and phylogeography of the beetle Aegialites was very comprehensive work. In this short history of the award, it is the second time that a PhD student from CEG won this award. We are very proud.
17. December 2025 - Yet another paper contribution by Ana
After the tits, Ana contributed to a paper on Meiofauna. Even though Ana works on the "MeioSkag" project, the work for this paper was done much earlier. You can read it here (https://doi.org/10.1007/s12526-025-01615-z). Once again, congratulations.
11. December 2025 - Torsten back from a research visit to the US
Torsten visited the collaborators of the InvertOmics project in Alabama, especially Kevin Kocot and Nick Roberts, and also used this chance to refresh his memories from his PostDoc time ("War eagle"). Many new ideas and new connections made it home to Oslo.
05. December 2025 - CEG Xmas party
Like each year, we had a wonderful Christmas party. We first had a wonderful mingling with coffee and tea before we headed to our "julebordet" at the restaurant SudØst. It is was very cosy and funny.
01. December 2025 - It is the time of the year again - our advent calendar
As each year will have our advent calendar with blog posts again. You can follow it here (https://blog.annelida.de/advent-calendar/) and the first post is already out (https://blog.annelida.de/2025/12/01/consequences-scientific-integrity/). Enjoy it.
22. November 2025 - Second paper of Marianne's PhD thesis published
The second paper of Marianne's PhD thesis is out (https://doi.org/10.1111/zsc.70035). It is about the taxonomy, phylogeny and phylogeography of the beetle Aegialites along the Northern Pacific coast line. It is based on different markers for an huge number of specimens. It will be strong basis for the next research in her thesis. Congratulations, very well done.
05. November 2025 - Torsten has been the opponent in a PhD defense at NTNU
Today, Marten Klinth successful defended his thesis at the University Museum of NTNU. Torsten together with Maria opposed him in this effort and both found that he did a good job in defending his thesis. Congratulations, Marten.
04. November 2025 - Ana, Valdimir and Torsten participated at the "Norsk symposium i biosystematikk"
The last two days, members of our group participate at the Norwegian symposium in Biosystematics and learned about the taxonomic research in very different groups and a new tool to develop keys. Torsten also presented the first genome of a gnathostomulid.
14. October 2025 - Enrico won the best student presentation award
Our group was well represented at the NHM MSc, PhD and PostDoc the last two days with several interesting talk. Enrico was so convincing and well presented that he won the award for the best student presentation. Congratulations to all that presented and especially to Enrico.
24. September 2025 - Group retreat in Røros, a miner's town
This year, for our group retreat, we went to Røros, an old miner's town. We are learning a lot about the research each of us is doing and the genomic tools we have at our hand at the museum (as well as the ones we are lacking). We also took the chance to increase our knowledge about mining and geology. It's a lot of fun.
02. September 2025 - Torsten gives a Kristine Bonnevies lecture
Torsten had the honor to present his research on meiofaunal and invertebrate taxa at the Kristine Bonnevies lecture series this year. The topic was "Guardians of Biodiversity – The Vital Role of Taxonomists". He was the first ever of NHM to have this honor and the whole newly elected leadership of UiO was present.
14. August 2025 - Ana contributed to a paper on tits
Today a paper "First genetically confirmed record of a wild Marsh Tit × Willow Tit hybrid (Poecile palustris × P. montanus)" was published in the Journal of Orinthology (https://doi.org/10.1007/s10336-025-02317-w). Ana contributed to the paper. Congratulations, very well done.
08. August 2025 - Our annual summer party was fun again
The annual summer party with the traditional home-made Pulled Pork was a lot of fun. As usual, it was not just us but also our partners and kids. The weather showed also its sunny side after it looked a bit different in morning.
30. June 2025 - Last working day for Thomas Marcussen
Unfortunately, the third person to leave our group this month because a project ended. Thomas had a shared position between our group and CEES to work as a coordinator for the BGE project. He assisted all the sample providers across Europe to get the samples to the sequencing centers for the BGE project. You did a tremendous job. Good luck for your future.
24. June 2025 - Last working day for Haakon Knudsen
Haakon has worked together with Vladimir on a ArtsDatabanken project. The aim was to find specific fungi on beetles collected in Norway (new and from scientific collections). Haakon contributed very strongly to this project and did a great job that it became a success. Good luck for your future.
13. June 2025 - Pia defended her MSc thesis
Pia successfully defended her Master thesis on macrosynteny as a phylogenetic marker in Lophotrochozoa today. She did brilliantly and the opponents were very impressed. The next career step is already awaiting for Pia as she has gotten offered a PhD position even before she had delivered her thesis.
08. June 2025 - Last working day for Marvin Choquet
Today was the last working day for Marvin. Marvin's project as a STADSI PostDoc has come to a close and we really would have liked to have you longer. Fortunately, you will still remain associated with us and hence we will still meet you. Good luck for your future.
06. May 2025 - Marvin Choquet teaches high school students in France
2025 is the 'Year of the Sea' in the education system of France. Marvin Choquet provides various public outreach presentations on marine biology for 11-16 years old students at the La Providence high school in Laon, France.
25. April 2025 - Marvin Choquet talking at ULB
Marvin is giving a talk entitled 'Towards understanding adaptation to predict resilience and the future of oceanic zooplankton in a changing climate' at Université Libre de Bruxelles, Belgium.
06. April 2025 - Mysterious polychaete identified
Given his expertise in polychaete worms, Torsten could help a former student with identifying a mysterious creature from a shark aquarium at the Natural History Museum Karlsruhe, Germany (https://www.spiegel.de/panorama/karlsruhe-ueberraschender-fund-grosser-borstenwurm-lebte-jahrelang-versteckt-in-museum-a-63c42e8e-1042-4c8e-8f64-492559a3119d?sara_ref=re-so-app-sh (in German).
21. March 2025 - Preben Nicolay Anker defends his Master thesis
Preben Nicolay Anker will defend his Master thesis entitled “First insights into the evolutionary processes of local adaptation and genetic drift in Calanus finmarchicus and C. glacialis”. The thesis was supervised by Marvin Choquet.
19. March 2025 - Marvin Choquet was appointed editor for a PeerJ hub
Marvin Chaoquet was appointed as editor for a Copepod hub at Peer J (https://peerj.com/hubs/wac). The hub was initiated by the World Association of Copepodologists.
21. January 2025 - 500 citations for Struck et al. 2018
The 2018 Trends in Ecology & Evolution paper entitled 'Finding Evolutionary Processes Hidden in Cryptic Species' by Struck et al. has received 500 citations.
14. January 2025 - Research Integrity Training
Lutz Bachmann serves as facilitator in the Research Integrity Training course at the University of Oslo
12. January 2025 - BMC Biology paper published
The Cruz Laufer et al. paper entitled 'Adaptive evolution of stress response genes in parasites aligns with host niche diversity' with Lutz Bachmann as co-author has been published in BMC Biology. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12915-024-02091-w
04. December 2024 - CEG Christmas party
The CEG gets together for a Christmas Party this afternoon. After a social gathering at NHM, the group will take a dinner at the Trattoria popolare restaurant.
01. December 2024 - CEG advent calendar kick-off
The CEG continues with the tradition of an annual advent calendar. The first door opens a post by Torsten Struck entitled 'Quo vadis biodiversity genomic research?' You will find the calendar blog posts at http://blog.annelida.de.
13. November 2024 - manuscript accepted by BMC Biology
The manuscript entitled 'Adaptive evolution of stress response genes in parasites aligns with host niche diversity' by Cruz Laufer et al. with Lutz Bachmann as co-author has been accepted for publication in BMC Biology.
05. November 2024 - Vineeth Krishnamoorthi defends his Master thesis
Vineeth Krishnamoorthi defends his Master thesis entitled 'Phylogeny of the Rove Beetle Genus Bledius (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae)'. Good luck Vineeth !!!!
18. October 2024 - Jan Einar Berglund Amundsen defended his Master thesis
Jan Einar Amundsen defended his Master thesis entitled 'Comparing nematode and flatworm biodiversity and sand quality in natural and artificial urban beaches' with Sarah Atherton from Naturhistoriska Riksmuseet, Stockholm, as external sensor. Congratulations Jan Einar !!!!
15. October 2024 - Best presentation awards to Pia M. Eriksen and Hilda Ansomaa Jakin Osei-Mireku
Pia Merete Eriksen and Hilda Ansomaa Jakin Osei-Mireku received the best Master thesis presentation awards during the NHM MSc, PhD & Postdoc days 2024. Congratulations Pia and Hilda !!!!
14.-15. October 2024 - MSc, PhD & Postdoc days 2024 at the NHM
NHM arranged a two-days event 'MSc, PhD & Postdoc days 2024' that offered all early career researchers at NHM to present and discuss their scientific work and to network. CEG provided talks by MSc fellows Hilda Ansomaa Jakin Osei-Mireku, Le Yen Nhu Dinh, Pia Merete Eriksen, Ojong-Nkongho Grace M'ayuk, Bawe Carlson Tumu, Elukaga Ben Kaswaga, PhD fellows Enrico Maria Perlini and Alberto Valero Gracia, and PostDocs Anna-Lotta Hiillos, Samaneh Pazoki, and Marvin Choquet.
07. October 2024 - Tardigrade podcast released
Earlier this year James participated in the BBC radio 4 pop science show "Curious Cases" and discussed with the British mathematician Hannah Fry and the Irish comedian Dara Ó Briain about Invincible Moss Piglets (tardigrades). The Podcast is available at https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m002404x.
17. September 2024 - Sunniva Løviknes defended her Masters thesis
Sunniva Løviknes defended her Masters thesis entitled 'Colonisation patterns of artificial beaches in the inner Oslofjord, comparing traditional and new DNA-based methods for estimating biodiversity' in an excellent way. Congratulations Sunniva !!!
12. September 2024 - CEG group in escape rooms
The social highlight of the day was the escape room experience with the FBI and Sherlock Holmes quests at Braingear, Karlstad, Sweden.
11. September 2024 - CEG group retreat
The CEG research group enjoys a three-days retreat in Karlstad, Sweden, to enjoy discussions on future research projects as well as social and cultural activities.
01. September 2024 - New MSCA PostDoc joins CEG
Sam Pazoki joins the CEG group as a MSCA PostDoc for the next two years. Welcome back Sam !!!
20. August 2024 - SMBE's 40th anniversary collection
The 2024 paper by previous CEG PostDoc James Frederick Fleming et al. entitled 'The Evolution of Temperature and Desiccation-Related Protein Families in Tardigrada Reveals a Complex Acquisition of Extremotolerance' was included in SMBE's 40th anniversary collection, which aims to collect "noteworthy" papers from the history of GBE and MBE. It is included in the 'Genomic Innovations in Extremophiles from GBE' collection (https://academic.oup.com/smbejournals/pages/genomic-innovations-in-extremophiles-gbe).
15. August 2024 - Masters thesis delivered
Sunniva Løviknes delivered her Masters thesis entitled 'Colonisation patterns of artificial beaches in the inner Oslofjord, comparing traditional and new DNA-based methods for estimating biodiversity'. Congratulations Sunniva - and good luck with the exam !!!
14. August 2024 - Potential CEG Masters presented
NHM organized a presentation of potential Masters thesis to the new Masters students starting this week. Lutz presented possible theses supervised by CEG PIs. Short project descriptions can soon be found at https://www.uio.no/studier/program/biovitenskap-master/oppbygging/masteroppgaver/biomangfold-og-systematikk/
09. August 2024 - Manuscript uploaded to bioRxiv
The manuscript entitled 'Substantial hierarchical reductions of genetic and morphological traits in the evolution of rotiferan parasites' by Herlyn et al. and with Lutz Bachmann as co-author has been uploaded to bioRxiv (https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2024.08.01.605096v2).
28. June 2024 - Good Buy James
Today, James had his last working day in the CEG group. He moves on after he accepted a new postdoctoral position at the Japanese Marine Science and Technology Institute. We wish you a great start at the new post, and an exciting time in Japan. !!! Ha det bra og Lykke til !!!
21. June 2024 - Summer barbecue
The group gathered for this years summer barbecue at Torsten's home. Excellent food and very good mood around the tables. Enjoy a great summer!!!
06. June 2024 - Good Buy Mael
Today, Mael Ariel Grosse has his last working day in the CEG group. For the last two years he worked on the project 'Cirratulid polychaetes in Norwegian waters'. We wish you all the best for your future projects. !!! Ha det bra og Lykke til !!!
02. June 2024 - Field work on Sylt at half-time – one more to join
As her first task, Ana joined today the field trip of Giulia, Sara, James and Torsten on the Sylt. The goal is to collect specimens for the InvertOmics project and at the same time teach Ana about her new tasks in the MeioSkag project. Two goals for two projects by one trip.
02. June 2024 - 15th International Conference on Copepoda
Marvin and Preben join the 15th International Conference on Copepoda held in Hiroshima, Japan. Marvin contributes a talk 'Unlocking the first large genome of the key zooplankton genus Calanus: challenges and insights' and Preben presents a poster entitled 'First insights into the evolutionary processes of local adaptation and genetic drift in Calanus finmarchicus and C. glacialis'.
01. June 2024 - Ana Teresa Capucho starts as technical assistant
Ana Teresa Capucho starts her new job as Technical assistant in Artsdatabanken project on marine biodiversity led by Torsten Struck. Welcome back Ana !!!
01. June 2024 - The new ArtsDatabanken project 'MeioSkag' starts
The goal of “MeioSkag” is to map the diversity of meiofaunal species of Platyhelminthes, Annelida, Gastrotricha and Gnathostomulida in the Skagerrak using modern microscopy and molecular technologies.
30. May 2024 - Nikol Kmentova gives a Tangled Bank seminar
Nikol Kmentova gives a guest lecture entitled 'Evolutionary ecology of parasite diversity in African Great Lakes and beyond' for the NHM Tangled Bank seminar.
29. May 2024 - Nikol Kmentova visits NHM
Nikol Kmentova from Hasselt University, Belgium, visits Lutz 29. - 31. May to discuss ongoing projects and future cooperation.
25. May 2024 - Two Erasmus students from Italy start in our group
Today, Sara Dessi and Giulia Casula started a 3-month internship in our group working on meiofauna species as part of the InvertOmics and the new ArtsDatabanken project. Already on Saturday will they join James and Torsten for fieldwork on the island of Sylt, Germany.
06. May 2024 - Red List assessment and its potential for parasite conservation
Lutz joins the two-days workshop Red List assessment and its potential for parasite conservation held at University of Hasselt, Belgium. The workshop aims to set the stage of the pioneering field of parasite conservation, by linking eco-parasitological research and conservation work in the framework of IUCN Species Survival Commissions.
02. May 2024 - 3rd Protistology Nordics meeting
Annis participated in the 3rd Protistology Nordics meeting held in Uppsala 2.-3. May and. presented "A prologue of a tripartite symbiosis: describing the diversity of gregarine-microsporidian symbiosis within polychaetes". During the meeting, it was also announced that she's been elected as an early career representative for the newly established Protistology in Nordics (PiN) society and will be involved in organizing the next meeting in 2025.
29. April 2024 - CEG researcher Marvin Choquet interviewed by forskning.no
Marvin was interviewed about his influential work as a PhD fellow at Nord University, Bodø, on Calanus species diversity. Read the story (in Norwegian) at https://www.forskning.no/fisk-havforskning-klima/de-er-mat-for-fisken-i-havet-raudate-kan-ha-vaert-feilidentifisert-i-flere-tiar/2350605
19. April 2024 - manuscript on bowhead whales available at bioRxiv
The manuscript entitled 'Four centuries of commercial whaling eroded 11,000 years of population stability in bowhead whales' by Westbury et al. with CEG researchers Øystein Wiig and Lutz Bachmann as co-authors ia available at bioRxiv. https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2024.04.10.588858v1
12. April 2024 - CEG researcher present at EBP-Nor conference
CEG researchers Pia Merete Eriksen, James Fleming, Alberto Valero-Gracia, Marvin Choquet and Torsten Struck present at The Norwegian Biodiversity and Genomics Conference 2024 (https://www.ebpnor.org/konferanse/2024/2.norwegian-biodiviersity-and-genomics-conference.pdf).
11. April 2024 - Manuscript published in Global Ecology & Conservation
The paper entitled 'Baleen whale microsatellite panel for individual identification and parentage assignment in Mysticeti' by Suárez-Menéndez et al. with CEG researchers Lutz Bachmann and Øystein Wiig as co-authors has been published publication in Global Ecology & Conservation. Congratulations to all co-authors !!!
08. April 2024 - EBP-Nor workshops will start
The Norwegian Biodiversity and Genomics Conference 2024 (https://www.ebpnor.org/english/events/norwegian-biodiversity-and-genomics-conference-202.html) will be held 08.-12. April 2024 in Oslo. The conference will start with a three-days hands-on workshop on genome assembly, validation and curation, genome annotation, and comparative genomics, and CEG PhD fellows Marianne Nilsen Haugen and Enrico Perlini will participate.
21. March 2024 - Håkon Knudsen defends his Masters thesis
Håkon Knudsen will defend his Masters thesis entitled "Staphylinid Beetle Diversity Patterns in Afrotropical Mountains, with Particular Reference to the Genus Megarthrus (Coleoptera: Staphylinidiae)”. Håkon has been supervised by Vladimir Gusarov and Torsten H. Struck.
!!! Good luck Håkon !!!
08. March 2024 - Lutz Bachmann travels to Hasselt, Belgium
Lutz will visit his project Partners Nikol Kmentova and Maarten Vanhove at Hasselt University, Belgium, to finish a new fwo grant application on transposon evolution in parasitic flatworms.
01. March 2024 - PhD fellow Enrico Maria Perlini joins the CEG group
Today, Enrico Maria Perlini started to work on his PhD thesis.
Welcome to the CEG group Enrico!!!
29. January 2024 - new PhD fellow signed contract
Enrico Maria Perlini signed his PhD contract and will join the group 1. March 2024. Welcome Enrico!!!
09. January 2024 - journal club resumes
Tomorrow we will have the first 2024 meeting of the CEG journal club, and Marianne will be the first presenter (https://www.nhm.uio.no/english/research/groups/ceg/#toc5). This year, the journal club will shift to a biweekly schedule.
01. January 2024 - name of the research group changed
We changed the name of the research group to "Comparative and Evolutionary Genomics" (CEG) to better reflect the current research profile. The previous name "Frontiers in Evolutionary Zoology" (FEZ) will no longer be used but still be found in older posts.
24. December 2023 - Final door of the FEZ advent calendar opened
The final door of the FEZ advent calendar 2023 opened to day. You can review the entire advent calendar in our blog. !! We wish you all a Happy Holidays !!
13. December 2023 - The FEZ group Christmas party
Today, the FEZ group will have an internal Christmas Party.
04. December 2023 - The NHM MSc, PhD and Postdoc Days 2023
The MSc, PhD and Postdoc Days 2023 of the Natural History Museum Oslo are on with a substantial contribution of the FEZ group.
01. December 2023 - The FEZ advent calendar has started
FEZ runs for the third time an advent calendar with every day opening a new window into our research interests and activities.
27. November 2023 - Mael Grosse participates in Systematikdagarne, Lund, Sweden
Mael Grosse participates in the Systematikdagarna conference in Lund, Sweden, and presents his results on 'Studying the Diversity of Norwegian Cirratulidae (Annelida) using Museum Collections'.
22. November 2023 - Molecular Evolution class started
The Master course Molecular Evolution (BIOS5114) with Lutz Bachmann and Marianne Nilsen Haugen teaching has started.
20. November 2023 - Paper on comparative krill population genomics published
Marvin Choquet and coworkers got the paper entitled "Comparative Population Transcriptomics Provide New Insight into the Evolutionary History and Adaptive Potential of World Ocean Krill" published in Molecular Biology and Evolution. https://academic.oup.com/mbe/article/40/11/msad225/7304255?searchresult=1#425437421
31. October 2023 - Paper on Calanus copepods published
Marvin Choquet got his paper entitled "Unmasking microsatellite deceptiveness and debunking hybridization with SNPs in four marine copepod species of Calanus" published in Molecular Ecology. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/mec.17183
18. October 2023 - Scientific visit to University of Berkeley
This week James Fleming and Torsten struck visit the lab of John Huelsenbeck at the University of Berkeley to finish their Peder Sather grant on a new methodology to assess the confidence among competing hypotheses.
13. October 2023 - Master exam Line Willersrud
Line Willersrud passed her Master exam with Anne Helene Solberg Tandberg (external) and Quentin Mauvisseaut (internal) as sensors. The title of her thesis was 'Assessing genetic diversity in Caprellidae'.
!!! Congratulations Line !!!
12. October 2023 - paper now available open access
The article entitled 'The role of systematics for understanding ecosystem functions: Proceedings of the Zoologica Scripta Symposium, Oslo, Norway, 25 August 2022' by Bachmann et al. published in the Zoologica Scripta earlier this year is now available open access.
01. October 2023 - scientific visit
Mael Grosse visits the Blanes Center for Advanced Studies (CEAB) in Spain for further sampling and taxonomic work.
19. September 2023 - new blog post
Marianne Nilsen Haugen published a new blog post on the recent FEZ group retreat.
19. September 2023 - Annual ForBio Meeting
Mael Grosse attends the 2023 Annual ForBio Meeting in Bergen. Details about the conference and the program can be found at:
08. September 2023 - PhD position open
Today the call for a PhD position on "Population genomics of North Atlantic hooded seals (Cystophora cristata)" in the FEZ group has been published. Find details on how to apply at Jobbnorge.
07. September 2023 - Paper published in Scientific Reports
Marvin Choquet co-authored the paper entitled 'Molecular tools prove little auks from Svalbard are extremely selective for Calanus glacialis even when exposed to Atlantification'published in Scientific Reports 13: 13647 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-40131-7
04. September 2023 - FEZ group retreat
The FEZ group is off for a two-days retreat to Kristiansand. Looking forward to exploring the city, attractions and the surrpundiings. First stop will the guided tour at the Natural History Museum and Botanical Garden, University of Agder. Also a great opportunity to catch up with a previous collleague Raul Ramirez.
01. September 2023 - FEZ group retreat
MSCA Postdoctoral Researcher Anna Lotta Hillos joined the FEZ group. She will work on her project PolyPro3, that focuses on resolving a tripartite symbiosis between polychaete worms, their gregarine symbionts and microsporidians infecting the gregarines. Welcome Annis !!!!
11. August 2023 - Systematic Biology paper on annelid mitogenome evolution published
The paper entitled 'Mitochondrial Genome Evolution in Annelida—A Systematic Study on Conservative and Variable Gene Orders and the Factors Influencing its Evolution' by Torsten H. Struck, Anja Golombek, Christoph Hoesel, Dimitar Dimitrov and Asmaa Haris Elgetany has been published in Systematic Biology.
The paper is published open access. Congratulations !!!
https://doi.org/10.1093/sysbio/syad023
08. August 2023 - F1000 paper (first version) out
Version 1 of the paper entitled 'Scoutknife: A naïve, whole genome informed phylogenetic robusticity metric' by James F. Fleming, Pia M. Eriksen & Torsten H. Struck has been released by F1000 Research. Congratulations !!! https://f1000research.com/articles/12-945
02. August 2023 - The journal club is back
Welcome back after the summer break. The journal club resumes with Michael Matschinger presenting a paper on 'The Phoenix Hypothesis of Speciation'.
26. June 2023 - 14th International Polychaete Conference (IPC)
Torsten will present at the 14th International Polychaete Conference (IPC) to be held 3-7 July 2023 in Stellenbosch, South Africa, the paper by Stian Aleksander Helsem, Dimitar Dimitrov, Kenneth M. Halanych & Torsten H. Struck entitled 'Dating the annelid tree of life'. The presentation is based on Stian's Master thesis.
21. June 2023 - Shared journal club with the SERG group
In this journal club meeting we will discuss the 2023 PNAS paper entitled 'Farmland practices are driving bird population decline across Europe' by Rigal et al. Beccy Cramer from the SERG group will present the paper.
18. June 2023 - List of first phase ERGA members published
FEZ members Torsten Struck and Thomas Marcussen are actively involved in European Reference Genome Atlas (ERGA). Alberto Valero-Gracia and Lutz Bachmann are also members. The inaugural dataset listing all ERGA members from the first Phase is now available online at https://zenodo.org/record/8042449. It can be cited using doi:10.5281/zenodo.8042449
13. June 2023 - Mitogenome paper published in ZooKeys
The paper entitled 'Complete mitochondrial genome of the Galápagos sea lion, Zalophus wollebaeki (Carnivora, Otariidae): paratype specimen confirms separate species status' by Rita M. Austin, Pia M. Eriksen and Lutz Bachmann has been published in ZooKeys. Great to see this collection-based work published.
For Pia who just finished her Bachelor it is her first scientific paper. Congratulations !!!
06. June 2023 - Workshop in Florida
Marvin Choquet has been selected to participate in a workshop offered by the Whitney Laboratory for Marine Bioscience (University of Florida) in St. Augustine, Florida. This is a 2 day-workshop focusing on: Detecting adaptive evolutionary events in genomes of polar species, and funded by the US National Science Foundation. It will be held on July 24 & 25.
Congrats Marvin !!!
22. May 2023 - Fieldwork in Japan
Marianne Nilsen Haugen and James Fleming left for fieldwork in Japan. They will collect further material of the intertidal beetle genus Aegialites for the PhD thesis of Marianne. Good Luck !!!
15. May 2023 - Two Master students started their fieldwork
Sunniva Løviknes and Jan Einar Amundsen started the fieldwork for their Mastertheses. They comprehensively screen the invertebrate biodiversity at selected beaches in the inner Oslofjord. Lykke til og God Fangst !!!
08. May 2023 - Rita left the FEZ group
PostDoc Rita Austin f-returned to the US. She accepted a new job starting at the beginning of June. Very sad news for the group but a great opportunity for Rita. We wish you all the best, and have a fantastic start with the new job.
05. May 2023 - FEZ spring activity
Friday 5. May 2023 the FEZ group will take a spring activity. We will 'climb' the Grefsenkollen and enjoy a social evening and dinner. Special thanks to Ana Capucho and Rita Austin for organizing the event !!!
04. May 2023 - 'Museomics' manuscript accepted for publication
The paper entitled "Galápagos sea lion, Zalophus wollebaeki (Carnivora, Otariidae) paratype specimen confirms separate species status" has been accepted por publication in ZooKeys. Congratulations to Rita, Pia, and Lutz, and in particular to Pia
to her first scientific paper !!!
14. April 2023 - UiO:LifeScience summer project will start soon
Stephanie Milne will start her UiO:Life Science summer project on 1. June 2023. She will work on the project 'Hooded seals (Cystophora cristata) of East Greenland' with Pia Merete Eriksen and Lutz Bachmann as project leaders. Welcome Stephanie !!!
04. April 2023 - Interview with James Fleming
The titan.uio.no web newsletter that posts news in natural sciences and technology published an interview with James Fleming on his research on tardigrades. The nicely illustrated presentation entitled 'Dyret som gjenoppstår fra de døde – helt naturlig' is in Norwegian, and the Interview was conducted by Elina Melteig.
27. March 2023 - Grant application delivered to the Research Foundation Flanders (fwo)
The project entitled "Mobile Genetic Elements as Drivers of Speciation and Adaptive Genome Evolution in Parasitic Flatworms (TE-AGE)" proposes a cooperation between Maarten Vanhove, Nikol Kmentova and Dirk Valkenborg (UHasselt Belgium) and Lutz Bachmann and Einar Strømnes (NHM Oslo)
21. March 2023 - Congratulations to Jørgen Hansen Starholm
He successfully defended his Master thesis entitled "Solving Phylogenetic Relationships Within the Rove Beetle Genus /Aleochara/ (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae) by Utilizing a Novel Approach based on High Throughput Sequencing"
