Oliver Sven Kersten

Image of Oliver Sven Kersten
Norwegian version of this page
Mobile phone +47 46624527
Room 3419
Username
Visiting address Blindernveien 31 0371 Oslo
Postal address Postboks 1066 Blindern 0316 Oslo

Academic interests

I am currently a postodoctoral research fellow for the 4-Oceans H2020 project. Within this large, multinational collaboration, I am investigating the effects of marine exploitation on key taxonomic groups, such as marine mammals and fish, by utilizing ancient DNA obtained from archaeological specimens and museum collections. As such, I combine marine palaeogenomics, ecology, and biology. Specifically, the research entails the laboratory work and bioinformatics analyses involved in studying whole genome, large-scale population genomics data, and applies a cross-disciplinary approach by combining genomic, ecological, and environmental data using ancient, historical, and modern DNA data, as well as isotope data and zooarchaeological evidence.

I "did" my Ph.D. at CEES between 2018-2023 focusing on conservation genomics of the Atlantic Puffin (Fratercula arctica). In particular, I resolved an extensive gap in the spatio-temporal resolution of the genomic structure of puffin populations by providing entirely novel genomic insights into the population structure, hybridization, demographic history, and phenotypic differences of Atlantic puffins analyzing whole genomes from multiple colonies across the species' range spanning the last 150 years.

Prior to this Ph.D. fellowship, I was a research assistant in the MedPlag group at CEES starting in 2016, and primarily acted as a laboratory technician in the ancient DNA (aDNA) laboratory, which also led to me becoming the current on-site aDNA lab-manager.

Before my time in Norway, I obtained a M.Sc. in Marine Sciences and a B.S. in Marine Biology at Hawaii Pacific University, Hawaii, USA. During my Master’s studies I gained research experience in Marine Ecology and with a focus on the community analysis of abyssal zooplankton combining traditional taxonomic identification via microscopy with a novel metabarcoding approach.

Tags: Population genomics, Conservation, Ancient DNA, Metabarcoding, Marine ecology, Seabirds, Zooplankton

Publications

  • Kersten, Oliver Sven; Star, Bastiaan; Krabberød, Anders Kristian; Atmore, Lane; Tørresen, Ole K. & Anker-Nilssen, Tycho [Show all 12 contributors for this article] (2023). Hybridization of Atlantic puffins in the Arctic coincides with 20th-century climate change. Science Advances. ISSN 2375-2548. 9(40). doi: 10.1126/sciadv.adh1407. Full text in Research Archive
  • Leigh, Deborah M.; Kersten, Oliver Sven; Star, Bastiaan; Anker-Nilssen, Tycho; Burnham, Kurt & Johnson, Jeff [Show all 8 contributors for this article] (2022). Sympatry of genetically distinct Atlantic Puffins (Fratercula arctica) in the High Arctic. IBIS. ISSN 0019-1019. doi: 10.1111/ibi.13153. Full text in Research Archive
  • Guellil, Meriam; Rinaldo, Natascia; Zedda, Nicoletta; Kersten, Oliver; Gonzalez Muro, Xabier & Stenseth, Nils Chr. [Show all 8 contributors for this article] (2021). Bioarchaeological insights into the last plague of Imola (1630–1632). Scientific Reports. ISSN 2045-2322. 11(1), p. 1–12. doi: 10.1038/s41598-021-98214-2. Full text in Research Archive
  • Kersten, Oliver; Star, Bastiaan; Leigh, Deborah M.; Anker-Nilssen, Tycho; Strøm, Hallvard & Danielsen, Jóhannis [Show all 17 contributors for this article] (2021). Complex population structure of the Atlantic puffin revealed by whole genome analyses. Communications Biology. ISSN 2399-3642. 4. doi: 10.1038/s42003-021-02415-4. Full text in Research Archive
  • Ferrari, Giada; Cuevas, Angelica; Wyrozemska, Agata Teresa; Ballantyne, Rachel; Kersten, Oliver & Palsdottir, Albina Hulda [Show all 18 contributors for this article] (2021). The preservation of ancient DNA in archaeological fish bone. Journal of Archaeological Science. ISSN 0305-4403. 126. doi: 10.1016/j.jas.2020.105317. Full text in Research Archive
  • Guellil, Meriam; Kersten, Oliver; Namouchi, Amine; Luciani, Stefania; Marota, Isolina & Arcini, Caroline [Show all 17 contributors for this article] (2020). A genomic and historical synthesis of plague in 18th century Eurasia. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. ISSN 0027-8424. 117(45), p. 28328–28335. doi: 10.1073/pnas.2009677117. Full text in Research Archive
  • Laroche, Olivier; Kersten, Oliver; Smith, Craig R. & Goetze, Erica (2020). Environmental DNA surveys detect distinct metazoan communities across abyssal plains and seamounts in the western Clarion Clipperton Zone. Molecular Ecology. ISSN 0962-1083. 29(23), p. 4588–4604. doi: 10.1111/mec.15484. Full text in Research Archive
  • Laroche, Oliver; Kersten, Oliver; Smith, Craig R. & Goetze, Erica (2020). From sea surface to seafloor: A benthic allochthonous eDNA survey for the abyssal ocean. Frontiers in Marine Science. ISSN 2296-7745. 7, p. 1–16. doi: 10.3389/fmars.2020.00682. Full text in Research Archive
  • Ottoni, Claudio; Guellil, Meriam; Ozga, Andrew; Stone, Anne; Kersten, Oliver & Bramanti, Barbara [Show all 8 contributors for this article] (2019). Metagenomic analysis of dental calculus in ancient Egyptian baboons. Scientific Reports. ISSN 2045-2322. 9, p. 1–10. doi: 10.1038/s41598-019-56074-x. Full text in Research Archive
  • Kersten, Oliver; Vetter, Eric W.; Jungbluth, Michelle J.; Smith, Craig R. & Goetze, Erica (2019). Larval assemblages over the abyssal plain in the Pacific are highly diverse and spatially patchy. PeerJ. ISSN 2167-8359. 7, p. 1–36. doi: 10.7717/peerj.7691. Full text in Research Archive
  • Namouchi, Amine; Guellil, Meriam; Kersten, Oliver; Hänsch, Stephanie; Ottoni, Claudio & Schmid, Boris Valentijn [Show all 16 contributors for this article] (2018). Integrative approach using Yersinia pestis genomes to revisit the historical landscape of plague during the Medieval Period. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. ISSN 0027-8424. 115(50), p. E11790–E11797. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1812865115. Full text in Research Archive
  • Guellil, Meriam; Kersten, Oliver; Namouchi, Amine; Bauer, Egil Lindhart; Derrick, Michael & Jensen, Anne Østergaard [Show all 8 contributors for this article] (2018). Genomic blueprint of a relapsing fever pathogen in 15th century Scandinavia. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. ISSN 0027-8424. 115(41), p. 10422–10427. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1807266115. Full text in Research Archive
  • Kersten, Oliver; Smith, Craig R. & Vetter, Eric W. (2017). Abyssal near-bottom dispersal stages of benthic invertebrates in the Clarion-Clipperton polymetallic nodule province. Deep Sea Research Part I: Oceanographic Research Papers. ISSN 0967-0637. 127, p. 31–40. doi: 10.1016/j.dsr.2017.07.001.
  • Ajani, Penelope A.; Armbrecht, Linda H.; Kersten, Oliver; Kohli, Gurjeet S. & Murray, Shauna A. (2016). Diversity, temporal distribution and physiology of the centric diatom Leptocylindrus Cleve (Bacillariophyta) from a southern hemisphere upwelling system. Diatom Research. ISSN 0269-249X. 31(4), p. 351–365. doi: 10.1080/0269249X.2016.1260058.

View all works in Cristin

  • Kersten, Oliver Sven (2023). Sea Parrot Genomics: Linking Past and Present Population Structure of the Atlantic Puffin (Fratercula arctica).
  • Kersten, Oliver Sven (2021). Complex population structure of the Atlantic puffin revealed by whole genome analyses.
  • Palsdottir, Albina Hulda; Kersten, Oliver Sven; Star, Bastiaan; Nistelberger, Heidi Maria; Kantanen, Juha & Hallsson, Jón Hallsteinn [Show all 7 contributors for this article] (2021). The tangled history of sheep in the North Atlantic revealed through ancient DNA.
  • Palsdottir, Albina Hulda; Kersten, Oliver; Star, Bastiaan; Nistelberger, Heidi Maria; Kantanen, Juha & Hallsson, Jón Hallsteinn [Show all 7 contributors for this article] (2021). Genetic history of sheep in the North Atlantic from the Viking Age to modern breeds.
  • Namouchi, Amine; Guellil, Meriam; Kersten, Oliver Sven; Hänsch, Stephanie; Ottoni, Claudio & Schmid, Boris Valentijn [Show all 16 contributors for this article] (2020). Correction for Namouchi et al., Integrative approach using Yersinia pestis genomes to revisit the historical landscape of plague during the Medieval Period. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. ISSN 0027-8424. 17(22). doi: 10.1073/pnas.2007983117.
  • Kersten, Oliver; Star, Bastiaan; Anker-Nilssen, Tycho; Strøm, Hallvard & Boessenkool, Sanne (2019). Genomic population structure of the Atlantic Puffin – insights into the species’ taxonomy.
  • Kersten, Oliver (2016). Yersinia pestis genomes from medieval Europe and Asia during the 2nd plague pandemic.
  • Kersten, Oliver Sven (2023). Sea Parrot Genomics: Linking past and present population structure and demography of the Atlantic puffin (Fratercula arctica). University of Oslo. ISSN 1501-7710.

View all works in Cristin

Published Aug. 26, 2016 11:08 AM - Last modified June 12, 2023 10:19 PM

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