Rebekah Alice Oomen
Academic interests
I’m a James S. McDonnell Foundation Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the cod sequencing group at the Centre for Ecological and Evolutionary Synthesis at the University of Oslo and a Researcher II at the Centre for Coastal Research at the University of Agder. Much of my work is carried out in collaboration with the Flødevigen Research Station (Institute of Marine Research).
My research uses experimental and genomic studies of natural populations to understand how organisms respond to environmental change and the mechanisms of adaptation to local environments across different spatial scales. After a degree in Forensic Science that sparked my interest in genetics, I completed my MSc and PhD with Dr. Jeff Hutchings at Dalhousie University on the genomic basis and spatial scale of variation in temperature responses of Atlantic cod populations. I’m interested in integrating genomic data into eco-evolutionary models for predicting population responses to environmental change, as well as the role of behaviour and mating systems in environmental responses and adaptation. My postdoctoral research addresses these topics using tools from complex systems science, such as individual based modeling, machine learning, and network analyses.
I lead the scientific and artistic project TORSKETROMMING (COD DRUMMING), which investigates the role of drumming vocalizations in the Atlantic cod mating ritual. I also work on the NRC-funded project CODSIZE (PI: Dr. Esben Moland Olsen) at the Institute of Marine Research, Flødevigen to study the impact of cod body size on population productivity and ecosystem dynamics. I'm also a member of the Santa Fe Institute working group Sociality Under Scarcity, investigating the relationship between changes in group size and resource-related drivers of sociality across the tree of life.
Publications
- Mérot, Claire; Oomen, Rebekah Alice; Tigano, Anna & Wellenreuther, Maren (2020). A roadmap for understanding the evolutionary significance of structural genomic variation. Trends in Ecology & Evolution. ISSN 0169-5347. s 1- 12 . doi: 10.1016/j.tree.2020.03.002
- Roney, Nancy; Oomen, Rebekah Alice; Knutsen, Halvor; Olsen, Esben Moland & Hutchings, Jeffrey (2018). Fine-Scale Population Differences in Atlantic Cod Reproductive Success: A Potential Mechanism for Ecological Speciation in a Marine Fish. Ecology and Evolution. ISSN 2045-7758. s 1- 11 . doi: 10.1002/ece3.4615 Full text in Research Archive.
- Roney, Nancy; Oomen, Rebekah Alice; Knutsen, Halvor; Olsen, Esben Moland & Hutchings, Jeffrey (2018). Temporal variability in offspring quality and individual reproductive output in a broadcast-spawning marine fish. ICES Journal of Marine Science. ISSN 1054-3139. 75(4), s 1353- 1361 . doi: 10.1093/icesjms/fsx232
- Oomen, Rebekah Alice & Hutchings, Jeffrey (2017). Transcriptomic responses to environmental change in fishes: Insights from RNA sequencing. FACETS. ISSN 2371-1671. 2, s 610- 641 . doi: 10.1139/facets-2017-0015 Full text in Research Archive.
- Kuparinen, Anna; Roney, Nancy E.; Oomen, Rebekah Alice; Hutchings, Jeffrey & Olsen, Esben Moland (2016). Small-scale life history variability suggests potential for spatial mismatches in Atlantic cod management units. ICES Journal of Marine Science. ISSN 1054-3139. 73(2), s 286- 292 . doi: 10.1093/icesjms/fsv181
- Oomen, Rebekah Alice & Hutchings, Jeffrey (2016). Genetic variation in plasticity of life-history traits between Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) populations exposed to contrasting thermal regimes. Canadian Journal of Zoology. ISSN 0008-4301. 94(4), s 257- 264 . doi: 10.1139/cjz-2015-0186
- Oomen, Rebekah Alice & Hutchings, Jeffrey (2015). Genetic variability in reaction norms in fishes. Environmental Reviews. ISSN 1181-8700. 23(3), s 353- 366 . doi: 10.1139/er-2014-0077
- Oomen, Rebekah Alice & Hutchings, Jeffrey (2015). Variation in spawning time promotes genetic variability in population responses to environmental change in a marine fish. Conservation Physiology. ISSN 2051-1434. 3:cov027(1) . doi: 10.1093/conphys/cov027
- Oomen, Rebekah Alice; Knutsen, Halvor; Olsen, Esben Moland; Jentoft, Sissel; Stenseth, Nils Chr. & Hutchings, Jeffrey (2018). Transcriptomic variability in population responses of Atlantic cod to temperature.
- Oomen, Rebekah Alice (2017). Genetic and environmental drivers of gene expression in Atlantic cod.
- Oomen, Rebekah Alice (2016). Transcriptomic responses to environmental change in fishes: insights from RNA-seq.
- Oomen, Rebekah Alice; Knutsen, Halvor; Olsen, Esben Moland; Jentoft, Sissel; Stenseth, Nils Christian & Hutchings, Jeffrey (2016). Genetic variability in population responses of Atlantic cod to temperature.
- Oomen, Rebekah Alice (2015). The transcriptomic response of cod to temperature.
- Oomen, Rebekah Alice; Knutsen, Halvor; Olsen, Esben Moland; Jentoft, Sissel; Stenseth, Nils Christian & Hutchings, Jeffrey (2015). Genetic variability in population responses of Atlantic cod to environmental change and the transcriptomic response to temperature.
- Oomen, Rebekah Alice; Knutsen, Halvor; Olsen, Esben Moland; Jentoft, Sissel; Stenseth, Nils Christian & Hutchings, Jeffrey (2015). Genetic variability in population responses of Atlantic cod to temperature.
- Oomen, Rebekah Alice; Knutsen, Halvor; Olsen, Esben Moland; Jentoft, Sissel; Stenseth, Nils Christian & Hutchings, Jeffrey (2015). The transcriptomic response of cod to temperature.
- Oomen, Rebekah Alice; Knutsen, Halvor; Olsen, Esben Moland; Jentoft, Sissel; Stenseth, Nils Christian & Hutchings, Jeffrey A. (2014). Genetic variability in population responses of Atlantic cod to environmental change.
- Oomen, Rebekah Alice (2013). Genetic variability in population responses of Atlantic cod to environmental change.