REBEKAH A. OOMEN
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Field site at Risør fjord in Norway.

About

I (she/her) am a marine evolutionary ecologist interested in how organisms respond to environmental change, including how  adaptation  to local environments in the past influences contemporary plastic responses and future environmental adaptation. I combine experiments with sequencing and bioinformatics to investigate these questions and am particularly interested in the genomic basis and spatial scale of local adaptation in the face of gene flow. I believe that the answers to these questions are critical for predicting the persistence of species in the face of environmental change and for managing populations effectively to lower the potential for extinctions and losses of biodiversity. 

I'm currently a James S. McDonnell Foundation Fellow at the Centre for Ecological and Evolutionary Synthesis at the University of Oslo and a Senior Researcher at the Centre for Coastal Research and Centre for Artificial Intelligence Research at the University of Agder. Current projects include: 1) understanding the role of genomic architecture in plasticity and adaptation of Atlantic cod, 2) investigating the relative importance of mating behaviour and genomic incompatibilities in maintaining distinct cod ecotypes in the face of gene flow, and 3) bridging the gap between genomics and modelling to better understand how natural populations respond to environmental disturbance. I also collaborate with the Institute of Marine Research, Flødevigen to study the impact of cod body size on population productivity and ecosystem dynamics. I completed my PhD on the genomic basis and spatial scale of variation in thermal responses of Atlantic cod with Dr. Jeff Hutchings at Dalhousie University.

I'm an open science advocate, Editorial Board Member for Scientific Data, and Council Representative for Norway in the European Reference Genome Atlas (ERGA) Consortium, where I co-chair the Ethical, Legal, and Social Issues (ELSI) Committee. I'm also lead producer of the scientific and artistic project TORSKETROMMING, which aims to understand the role of sound in the Atlantic cod mating ritual using ambisonics (3D sound) and machine learning.
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Check out THE TEAM page for opportunities to join!
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Research

Photo credit: Espen Bierud 
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The TEAM

Photo credit: Tore Jonssen c/o TV Agder 
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Teaching & ​OUTREACH

Aftenposten, 12/11/2019. Photo credit: Erling Svensen
News:  
19/05/22: Our invited open access review 'Genomic reaction norms inform predictions of plastic and adaptive responses to environmental change' is out now as part of the special issue Understanding climate change response in the age of genomics at the Journal of Animal Ecology.
30/04/22: We premiered the new iteration of the TORSKETROMMING project at Only Connect Festival of Sound at MUNCH in Oslo through a public lecture, concert, and mobile sound installation.
11/04/22: Our obituary for my late mentor and friend Jeff Hutchings is now available in Fish & Fisheries. We hope to shed light on the breadth and depth of his impact globally on both professional and personal levels.
06/04/22: Wrapping up my time as a JSMF fellow with one last visit to the Santa Fe Institute was as inspiring as ever! So grateful for the support and freedom the JSMF-SFI community gave me over the last few years.
09/03/22: I was honoured to deliver a keynote talk entitled 'Towards forecasting fish responses to environmental change' at the annual LUOVA Spring Symposium at the University of Helsinki.
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06/03/22: A new open access paper led by postdoc Jeppe Rasmussen presents a new software for efficiently measuring larval fish size from photographs. It can work with larger fish as well, give it a try!
26/02/22: The TORSKETROMMING team participated in a panel discussion on community formation and emergence at Det Gode Liv // The Sweetness of Living Symposium at Barents Spektakel in Kirkenes, Norway.
24/01/22: Our open access paper on the era of reference genomes in conservation genomics is out now in Trends in Ecology & Evolution. This is the first output of the European Reference Genome Atlas (ERGA) Consortium!
23/01/22: Check out the in-depth coverage of our TORSKETROMMING (COD DRUMMING) project on the Norwegian national news NRK: Lager musikk av torskens orgasme (Making music from the cod's orgasm)
14/01/22: Our open access paper on deep learning in marine ecology is out now in ICES Journal of Marine Science.
10/01/22: We welcome masters student Annika Lie to the team! Annika will use experimental approaches to better understand factors affecting survival and reproduction of Atlantic cod ecotypes.
29/09/21: Our ArtiFISHal Intelligence Group at UiA has a new preprint, 'Unlocking the potential of deep learning for marine ecology: overview, applications, and outlook'. This was fun to write and we hope it will help ecologists get into AI.
21/09/21: Our new paper led by Jesse Wolf, 'Preprinting is positively associated with early career researcher status in ecology and evolution', is out today! I was fortunate to participate in this grassroots effort by undergraduate and masters students to better understand the importance of preprints to early career researchers.
19/09/21: TORSKETROMMING premiered at Ultima Oslo Contemporary Music Festival! With three sold out performances, 120 people have now experienced the magic of the cod mating ritual.
12/09/21: I wrapped up my first week as a BAR International artist-in-residence at Pikene på Broen in Kirkenes. It involved a different type of field work than usual - gathering local perspectives on the changing fisheries in the Barents region.
More...
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Photo credit: Maja Wilhite-Hannisdal
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  • Home
  • Research
  • The Team
  • Teaching/Outreach
  • TORSKETROMMING
  • Contact
    • Partners