Nils Chr. Stenseth

Professor

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Email n.c.stenseth@mn.uio.no

Phone +47-22854584

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Visiting address Sem Sælands vei 24 Fysikkbygning øst 0371 OSLO

Postal address Postboks 1032 Blindern 0315 OSLO

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Background, ambition and motto

I am a curiosity-driven scientist combining theoretical and empirical approaches to study ecological and evolutionary processes. My motivation has always been to find out how nature works – be it the mystery of lemming cycles or macroevolutionary dynamics through deep time. Until the early 1990s, much of my work was purely theoretical in the form of mathematical modelling. Later, I have adopted the research strategy of ‘asking’ available data what the underlying ecological or evolutionary process most likely is – all within a theoretically-informed statistical perspective.

I am convinced that I have made – and continue to make – a strong and long-lasting contribution to science by breaking down interdisciplinary barriers, supporting and mentoring promising young scientists, increasing our basic knowledge of nature and opening new avenues of research into the interactions between organisms in changing environments.

My motto is “Biology is one discipline”, and I continuously strive towards unifying the many subdiciplines of biology. Above all I work on merging ecological and evolutionary thinking as well as better understanding the feedback-loop between ecology and evolution: Ecology causes evolution through ecologically-based selective pressures, and when evolution occurs, the ecological interactions within ecosystems may change – potentially leading to modified ecologically-based selective pressures.

Being a scientist is not just about knowledge and discoveries, however, but also about standing up for the importance of solid science and discussing its wide-ranging societal implications – something I pursue in a broad spectrum of media, both nationally and internationally.

Current major research topics of mine include

Integrating ecology and evolution (including coevolution in multispecies communities)
Vector-borne diseases with a wildlife reservoir (including plague)
Marine biology (focusing on linking physics and biology)

A selection of my...

...publications recently published
...publications on the integration of ecology and evolution (pdf) (including coevolution and biotic interactions within multispecies communities)
...publications on how climate variation affect ecological and evolutionary patterns and processes (pdf)
...publications on zoonotic and/or vector-borne diseases (such as plague) (pdf)
...publications on COVID-19 (pdf)
...publications within the field of marine biology (pdf)
...publications on lemmings and other mammals (pdf)

See also "Full publication list", "Publication databases" and “Publications” further down with links to an updated list of my publications as well as citations-reports.

Building teams and a Centre of Excellence

I love interacting with colleagues, and find great pleasure in building and maintaining teams. This led me to spend much of the past two decades developing the Centre for Ecological and Evolutionary Synthesis (CEES) at UiO, which was awarded status as Centre of Excellence by the Research Council of Norway (2007–2017). I chaired CEES until 2018 – a job I enjoyed tremendously and look back at with great pleasure. (See "Norwegian evolutionary biologists pushed the frontiers in international science" in Titan.uio.no).

Mentoring and supporting younger colleagues

I have always done my best to support – and indeed help – younger colleagues. I find working with younger colleagues very stimulating and I learn a lot from them – not the least as they often have different points of views on a lot of issues. Over the years I have trained a large number of students at various levels (more than 50 PhDs and more than 70 post docs) – most of them on highly interdisciplinary topics, but with solid anchoring in their own chosen field. My students over the years have come from all over the world, and I have dedicated much effort to supporting excellence in science in Africa (see the comment "Build science in Africa" in Nature).

Current and past positions include

Since 1980 I have been a Professor at the University of Oslo – first as Associate Professor, then from 1990 as full Professor: first of Zoology and Population dynamics, then (from 2004) of Ecology and Evolution. In addition, in the early 1980s I worked for a few years as Associate Professor of Population Dynamics at the University of Lund, Sweden, and I have had longer visiting stays in Brighton (UK), Laurence, Kansas (US) and Berkeley, California (US). Since September 2018 I have been a Professor at The Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences at the University of Oslo in addition to being a strategic and scientific adviser to the Dean of Mathematics and Natural Sciences. In my capacity as adviser to the Dean, I am promoting the development of top-level research units within the Faculty: in this part of my work I focus on helping young talented people to further develop their career, including making them believe in themselves and in their ideas. I am a Professor II at the University of Agder where I work with colleagues at the Centre for Coastal Research (CCR) as well as chairing the CCR Board.

I have done editorial work for several journals, including as an Editor for Proceedings of the Royal Society of London; Series B (UK; 2005–2008) and earlier as a Board Member (Associate Editor) of same journal from 1998–2003; Editor-/in-Chief of the environmental journal Climate Research (Germany; since 2005); and Editorial Board Member of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS; since 2017).

Part of my scientific history

1978: Dr. Philos, University of Oslo, Norway. Thesis title: “Theoretical studies on fluctuating populations”. Thesis defended on March 4^th, 1978. Part of my doctoral period was under the supervision of John Maynard Smith in Brighton, UK.
1972: Cand. Mag., University of Oslo, Norway. (Biology, Zoology, Mathematics, Statistics, Computer Science and Chemistry).

My research interests span a broad spectrum of ecological and evolutionary topics, most of which are rooted in population biology, including a career-long love-affair with small rodents and lemmings in particular. I strongly favour comparative studies – by comparing similar features between different (but comparable) systems, we typically learn more than we otherwise would have done. Variations in population densities in time and space – and the underlying demographic processes – have been a main interest of mine over the years. An important example is the interdependent relationship between density-dependent and density-independent processes, where the ecological effect of climate is an important example of the latter. I am convinced that it is helpful to try to understand what has happened in the past, in preparing for what might happen in the future, e.g., ecological and evolutionary effects of climate change. For this reason, I value the existence of long-term time series – and the analysis of them.

Although most of my work relates to basic issues, I find great pleasure in working on more applied issues as well. (I have never claimed that my research is of any immediate use, although it never embarrasses me if it turns out to be of practical use here and now). These applied interests have brought me into work on pest control (e.g., rodents in Africa), harvesting (marine and terrestrial), bio-economics (e.g., the ecological dynamics of dry-land pastoral systems) and epidemiology (Plague).

My CV (pdf)

My full publication list (pdf)

Popularizing science and academic issues

I do quite a bit of science communication – covering my research, the process of science and other issues. (Newspaper articles, open lectures, etc.). See a Powerpoint presentation (10 MB) briefly summarizing my contribution regarding science communication.

Awards, honors, fellowships and commissions of trust include

2021. Appointed a Science Ambassador of the Alliance of International Science Organizations-ANSO

2020. Awarded the Chinese President’s (Xi Jinping) International Science and Technology Cooperation Award for 2019

2019. The Chinese Premier’s/Prime Minister’s (Li Keqiang) Friendship Award for 2019

2019. Awarded the 2019 ECI prize in marine sciences

2019. Foreign member of the Ethiopian Academy of Sciences

2019. Honorary member of the Hungarian Academy of Science

2019. Honorary Professor of Beijing Normal University, China

2019. Awarded the Chinese Academy of Science’s medal for International Scientific Cooperation for 2018

2018. Honorary Professor of Tsinghua University, China

2018. Elected member of The World Academy of Sciences (TWAS)

2018. Honorary Doctor of Åbo Akademi University, Finland

2016. Foreign member of the Russian Academy of Sciences

2015. International member of the National Academy of Sciences, Washington, US

2014–2017. Member of the Scientific Council of the European Research Council (ERC)

2013. Professor II (honorary adjunct) Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia

2012–2015. President of the International Biological Union (IUBS)

2012. Awarded the Research Council of Norway's Excellence in Communication of Science Award

2011. Chevalier (Knight) in the French National Order of the Legion of Honour

2011. Honorary Doctor (Doctor Honoris Causa) of the École Normale Supéreure, Lyon, France

2010. Awarded the Bonnevie Prize for carrying out excellent work within the field of biology and to promote public understanding about biology through targeted and focused communication about the discipline

2009–2014. Elected Vice-president/President (alternating years) of the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters, DNVA

2008. Member of the Executive Committee of the International Society of Zool. Sciences

2007. Elected fellow of the Swedish Royal Physiographic Society in Lund: an academy for natural science, medicine and engineering

2006. Named Einstein Professor of the Chinese Academy of Science

2006. Member of the Finnish Society of Sciences and Letters

2005. Fellow of the French Académie des Sciences

2005. Fellow of Academia Europaea

2002. Member of the Royal Norwegian Society of Science and Letters

2001. Honorary Doctor (doctor honoris causa) of the University of Antwerpen, Belgium

2000. Awarded the Research Council of Norway Award for Outstanding Research

1999–2003. President of the Forth European Mammal Congress

1997–2006. President of the International Theriological/Mammalogical Congresses (ITC/IMC)

1996–1997. Elected fellow of the Centre for Advanced Study (and appointed as its Chair) for studying the “lemming problem”

1996. Awarded the University of Oslo Award for Outstanding Performance in Science (Class of Natural Sciences and Medicine) (the associated grant covers the years 1996–1999)

1986. Elected member of the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters, DNVA

1984. Awarded the Nansen Medal for Outstanding Research for work on Evolutionary Biology

Publication databases

Tags: Life sciences, China, India, Japan, Russia, USA, Canada, Nordic, Global South

Nandintsetseg, Banzragch; Boldgiv, Bazartseren; Chang, Jinfeng; Ciais, Philippe; Davaanyam, Enkhbaatar; Batbold, Altangerel; Bat-Oyun, Tserenpurev & Stenseth, Nils Christian (2021). Risk and vulnerability of Mongolian grasslands under climate change. Environmental Research Letters. ISSN 1748-9326. 16, s 1- 12 . doi: 10.1088/1748-9326/abdb5b
Büntgen, Ulf; González-Rouco, J. Fidel; Luterbacher, Jürg; Stenseth, Nils Christian & Johnson, Derek M. (2020). Extending the climatological concept of ‘Detection and Attribution’ to global change ecology in the Anthropocene. Functional Ecology. ISSN 0269-8463. 34(11), s 2270- 2282 . doi: 10.1111/1365-2435.13647 Full text in Research Archive.
Chapman, Colin A.; Bicca-Marques, Júlio César; Dunham, Amy E.; Fan, Pengfei; Fashing, Peter; Gogarten, Jan F.; Guo, Songtao; Huffman, Michael A.; Kalbitzer, Urs; Li, Baoguo; Ma, Changyong; Matsuda, Ikki; Omeja, Patrick A.; Sarkar, Dipto; Sengupta, Raja; Serio-Silva, Juan Carlos; Tsuji, Yamato & Stenseth, Nils Christian (2020). Primates can be a rallying symbol to promote tropical forest restoration. Folia Primatologica. ISSN 0015-5713. 91, s 669- 687 . doi: 10.1159/000505951
Cui, Yujun; Schmid, Boris Valentijn; Cao, Hanli; Dai, Xiang; Du, Zhongmin; Easterday, William Ryan; Fang, Haihong; Guo, Chenying; Huang, Shanqian; Liu, Wanbing; Qi, Zhizhen; Song, Yajun; Tian, Huaiyu; Wang, Min; Wu, Yarong; Xu, Bing; Yang, Chao; Yang, Jing; Yang, Xianwei; Zhang, Qingwen; Jakobsen, Kjetill Sigurd; Zhang, Yujiang; Stenseth, Nils Christian & Yang, Ruifu (2020). Evolutionary selection of biofilm-mediated extended phenotypes in Yersinia pestis in response to a fluctuating environment. Nature Communications. ISSN 2041-1723. 11, s 1- 8 . doi: 10.1038/s41467-019-14099-w Full text in Research Archive.
Dong, Kaixing; Kvile, Kristina Øie; Stenseth, Nils Christian & Stige, Leif Christian (2020). Associations among temperature, sea ice and phytoplankton bloom dynamics in the Barents Sea. Marine Ecology Progress Series. ISSN 0171-8630. 635, s 25- 36 . doi: 10.3354/meps13218
Durant, Joel Marcel; Ono, Kotaro; Stenseth, Nils Christian & Langangen, Øystein (2020). Nonlinearity in interspecific interactions in response to climate change: Cod and haddock as an example. Global Change Biology. ISSN 1354-1013. 26(10), s 5554- 5563 . doi: 10.1111/gcb.15264 Full text in Research Archive.
Easterday, William Ryan; Ponciano, José Miguel; Gomez, Juan Pablo; Van Ert, Matthew N.; Hadfield, Ted; Bagamian, Karoun; Blackburn, Jason K.; Stenseth, Nils Christian & Turner, Wendy C. (2020). Coalescence modeling of intrainfection Bacillus anthracis populations allows estimation of infection parameters in wild populations. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. ISSN 0027-8424. 117(8), s 4273- 4280 . doi: 10.1073/pnas.1920790117 Full text in Research Archive.
Fedorov, Vadim B.; Trucchi, Emiliano; Goropashnaya, Anna V.; Waltari, Eric; Whidden, Susan Erin & Stenseth, Nils Christian (2020). Impact of past climate warming on genomic diversity and demographic history of collared lemmings across the Eurasian Arctic. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. ISSN 0027-8424. 117(6), s 3026- 3033 . doi: 10.1073/pnas.1913596117
Guellil, Meriam; Kersten, Oliver; Namouchi, Amine; Luciani, Stefania; Marota, Isolina; Arcini, Caroline; Iregren, Elisabeth; Lindemann, Robert; Warfvinge, Gunnar; Bakanidze, Leila; Bitadze, Lia; Rubini, Mauro; Zaio, Paola; Zaio, Monica; Neri, Damiano; Stenseth, Nils Christian & Bramanti, Barbara (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), s 28328- 28335 . doi: 10.1073/pnas.2009677117 Full text in Research Archive.
Li, Ruiyun; Chen, Bin; Zhang, Tao; Ren, Zhehao; Song, Yimeng; Xiao, Yixiong; Hou, Lin; Cai, Jun; Xu, Bo; Li, Miao; Chan, Karen Kie Yan; Tu, Ying; Yang, Mu; Yang, Jing; Liu, Zhaoyang; Shen, Chong; Wang, Che; Xu, Lei; Liu, Qiyong; Bao, Shuming; Zhang, Jianqin; Bi, Yuhai; Bai, Yuqi; Deng, Ke; Zhang, Wusheng; Huang, Wenyu; Whittington, Jason; Stenseth, Nils Christian; Guan, Dabo; Gong, Peng & Xu, Bing (2020). Global COVID-19 pandemic demands joint interventions for the suppression of future waves. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. ISSN 0027-8424. 117(42), s 26151- 26157 . doi: 10.1073/pnas.2012002117 Full text in Research Archive. Show summary
Emerging evidence suggests a resurgence of COVID-19 in the coming years. It is thus critical to optimize emergency response planning from a broad, integrated perspective. We developed a mathematical model incorporating climate-driven variation in community transmissions and movement-modulated spatial diffusions of COVID-19 into various intervention scenarios. We find that an intensive 8-wk intervention targeting the reduction of local transmissibility and international travel is efficient and effective. Practically, we suggest a tiered implementation of this strategy where interventions are first implemented at locations in what we call the Global Intervention Hub, followed by timely interventions in secondary high-risk locations. We argue that thinking globally, categorizing locations in a hub-and-spoke intervention network, and acting locally, applying interventions at high-risk areas, is a functional strategy to avert the tremendous burden that would otherwise be placed on public health and society.
Lima, M.; Gayo, E.M.; Latorre, C.; Santoro, C.M.; Estay, S.A.; Cañellas-Boltà, Núria; Margalef, O.; Giralt, S.; Sáez, A.; Pla-Rabes, S. & Stenseth, Nils Christian (2020). Ecology of the collapse of Rapa Nui society: Population collapse of Rapa Nui society. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Biological Sciences. ISSN 0962-8452. 287(1929), s 1- 10 . doi: 10.1098/rspb.2020.0662 Full text in Research Archive.
Lu, Yonglong; Yang, Yifu; Sun, Bin; Jingjing, Yuan; Yu, Minzhao; Stenseth, Nils Christian; Bullock, James M. & Obersteiner, Michael (2020). Spatial variation in biodiversity loss across China under multiple environmental stressors. Science Advances. ISSN 2375-2548. 6(47), s 1- 11 . doi: 10.1126/sciadv.abd0952 Full text in Research Archive.
Mahmoudi, Ahmad; Kryštufek, Boris; Sludsky, Alexander; Schmid, Boris Valentijn; De Almeida, Alzira M. P.; Lei, Xu; Ramasindrazana, Beza; Bertherat, Eric; Yeszhanov, Aidyn; Stenseth, Nils Christian & Mostafavi, Ehsan (2020). Plague reservoir species throughout the world. Integrative Zoology. ISSN 1749-4869. s 1- 14 . doi: 10.1111/1749-4877.12511
Mekonnen, Addisu; Fashing, Peter; Bekele, Afework & Stenseth, Nils Christian (2020). Distribution and conservation status of Boutourlini’s blue monkey (Cercopithecus mitis boutourlinii), a Vulnerable subspecies endemic to western Ethiopia. Primates. ISSN 0032-8332. 61, s 785- 796 . doi: 10.1007/s10329-020-00831-4 Full text in Research Archive.
Nilsson, Anna L. K.; Skaugen, Thomas; Reitan, Trond; L'Abee-Lund, Jan Henning; Gamelon, Marlène; Jerstad, Kurt; Røstad, Ole Wiggo; Slagsvold, Tore; Stenseth, Nils Christian; Vøllestad, Leif Asbjørn & Walseng, Bjørn (2020). Hydrology influences breeding time in the white-throated dipper. BMC Ecology. ISSN 1472-6785. 20 . doi: 10.1186/s12898-020-00338-y Full text in Research Archive. Show summary
Background: Earlier breeding is one of the strongest responses to global change in birds and is a key factor determining reproductive success. In most studies of climate effects, the focus has been on large-scale environmental indices or temperature averaged over large geographical areas, neglecting that animals are affected by the local conditions in their home ranges. In riverine ecosystems, climate change is altering the flow regime, in addition to changes resulting from the increasing demand for renewable and clean hydropower. Together with increasing temperatures, this can lead to shifts in the time window available for successful breeding of birds associated with the riverine habitat. Here, we investigated specifically how the environmental conditions at the territory level influence timing of breeding in a passerine bird with an aquatic lifestyle, the white-throated dipper Cinclus cinclus. We relate daily river discharge and other important hydrological parameters, to a long-term dataset of breeding phenology (1978–2015) in a natural river system. Results: Dippers bred earlier when winter river discharge and groundwater levels in the weeks prior to breeding were high, and when there was little snow in the catchment area. Breeding was also earlier at lower altitudes, although the effect dramatically declined over the period. This suggests that territories at higher altitudes had more open water in winter later in the study period, which permitted early breeding also here. Unexpectedly, the largest effect inducing earlier breeding time was territory river discharge during the winter months and not immediately prior to breeding. The territory river discharge also increased during the study period. Conclusions: The observed earlier breeding can thus be interpreted as a response to climate change. Measuring environmental variation at the scale of the territory thus provides detailed information about the interactions between organisms and the abiotic environment. Breeding phenology, Climate change, Environmental heterogeneity, Hydropower, Long-term study, Passerine bird, River discharge, Snow, Spatial scale, Stream
Nilsson, Anna L.K.; Reitan, Trond; Skaugen, Thomas; L'Abee-Lund, Jan Henning; Gamelon, Marlène; Jerstad, Kurt; Røstad, Ole Wiggo; Slagsvold, Tore; Stenseth, Nils Christian; Vøllestad, Leif Asbjørn & Walseng, Bjørn (2020). Location is everything, but climate gets a share: analyzing small-scale environmental influences on breeding success in the white-throated dipper. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution. ISSN 2296-701X. 8 . doi: 10.3389/fevo.2020.542846 Full text in Research Archive.
Nilsson, Pernille; Solbakken, Monica Hongrø; Schmid, Boris Valentijn; Orr, Russell; Lv, Ruichen; Cui, Yujun; Song, Yajun; Zhang, Yujiang; Baalsrud, Helle Tessand; Tørresen, Ole K.; Stenseth, Nils Christian; Yang, Ruifu; Jakobsen, Kjetill Sigurd; Easterday, William Ryan & Jentoft, Sissel (2020). The Genome of the Great Gerbil Reveals Species-Specific Duplication of an MHCII Gene. Genome Biology and Evolution (GBE). ISSN 1759-6653. 12(2), s 3832- 3849 . doi: 10.1093/gbe/evaa008 Full text in Research Archive.
Nordbotten, Jan Martin; Bokma, Folmer; Hermansen, Jo Skeie & Stenseth, Nils Christian (2020). The dynamics of trait variance in multi-species communities. Royal Society Open Science. ISSN 2054-5703. 7(8), s 1- 20 . doi: 10.1098/rsos.200321 Full text in Research Archive.
Romagnoni, Giovanni; Kvile, Kristina Øie; Dagestad, Knut Frode; Eikeset, Anne Maria; Kristiansen, Trond; Stenseth, Nils Christian & Langangen, Øystein (2020). Influence of larval transport and temperature on recruitment dynamics of North Sea cod (Gadus morhua) across spatial scales of observation. Fisheries Oceanography. ISSN 1054-6006. 29(4), s 324- 339 . doi: 10.1111/fog.12474 Full text in Research Archive. Show summary
The survival of fish eggs and larvae, and therefore recruitment success, can be critically affected by transport in ocean currents. Combining a model of early‐life stage dispersal with statistical stock–recruitment models, we investigated the role of larval transport for recruitment variability across spatial scales for the population complex of North Sea cod (Gadus morhua). By using a coupled physical–biological model, we estimated the egg and larval transport over a 44‐year period. The oceanographic component of the model, capable of capturing the interannual variability of temperature and ocean current patterns, was coupled to the biological component, an individual‐based model (IBM) that simulated the cod eggs and larvae development and mortality. This study proposes a novel method to account for larval transport and success in stock–recruitment models: weighting the spawning stock biomass by retention rate and, in the case of multiple populations, their connectivity. Our method provides an estimate of the stock biomass contributing to recruitment and the effect of larval transport on recruitment variability. Our results indicate an effect, albeit small, in some populations at the local level. Including transport anomaly as an environmental covariate in traditional stock–recruitment models in turn captures recruitment variability at larger scales. Our study aims to quantify the role of larval transport for recruitment across spatial scales, and disentangle the roles of temperature and larval transport on effective connectivity between populations, thus informing about the potential impacts of climate change on the cod population structure in the North Sea.
Stenseth, Nils Christian; Payne, Mark R.; Bonsdorff, Erik; Dankel, Dorothy Jane; Durant, Joel Marcel; Anderson, Leif G.; Armstrong, Claire W.; Blenckner, Thorsten; Brakstad, Ailin; Dupont, Sam; Eikeset, Anne Maria; Goksøyr, Anders; Jónsson, Steingrímur; Kuparinen, Anna; Våge, Kjetil; Österblom, Henrik & Paasche, Øyvind (2020). Attuning to a changing ocean. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. ISSN 0027-8424. 117(34), s 20363- 20371 . doi: 10.1073/pnas.1915352117 Full text in Research Archive.
Tamrat, Misganaw; Atickem, Anagaw Meshesha; Tsegaye, Diress; Evangelista, Paul; Bekele, Afework & Stenseth, Nils Christian (2020). The effect of season and post-fire on habitat preferences of the endangered Swayne's hartebeest (Alcelaphus buselaphus swaynei) in Maze National Park, Ethiopia. BMC Ecology. ISSN 1472-6785. 20 . doi: 10.1186/s12898-020-0275-3 Full text in Research Archive.
Tamrat, Misganaw; Atickem, Anagaw Meshesha; Tsegaye, Diress; Nguyen, Nga; Bekele, Afework; Evangelista, Paul; Fashing, Peter & Stenseth, Nils Christian (2020). Human-wildlife conflict and coexistence: A case study from Senkele Swayne's Hartebeest Sanctuary in Ethiopia. Wildlife Biology. ISSN 0909-6396. 2020(3) . doi: 10.2981/wlb.00712 Full text in Research Archive.
Vallès, Xavier; Stenseth, Nils Christian; Demeure, Christian; Horby, Peter; Mead, Paul; Cabanillas, Oswaldo; Ratsitorahina, Mahery; Rajerison, Minoarisoa; Andrianaivoarimanana, Voahangy; Ramasindrazana, Beza; Pizarro-Cerdá, Javier; Scholz, Holger C.; Girod, Romain; Hinnebusch, B. Joseph; Vigan-Womas, Ines; Fontanet, Arnaud; Wagner, David M.; Telfer, Sandra; Yazdanpanah, Yazdan; Tortosa, Pablo; Carrara, Guia; Deuve, Jane; Belmain, Steven R.; D’Ortenzio, Eric & Baril, Laurence (2020). Human plague: An old scourge that needs new answers. PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases. ISSN 1935-2727. 14(8) . doi: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0008251 Full text in Research Archive.
Wortel, Meike Tessa; Peters, Han; Bonachela, Juan A. & Stenseth, Nils Christian (2020). Continual evolution through coupled fast and slow feedbacks. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. ISSN 0027-8424. 117(8), s 4234- 4242 . doi: 10.1073/pnas.1916345117
Yang, Qiqi; Zhao, Xiang; Lemey, Philippe; Suchard, Marc A.; Bi, Yuhai; Shi, Weifeng; Liu, Di; Qi, Wenbao; Zhang, Guogang; Stenseth, Nils Christian; Pybus, Oliver G. & Tian, Huaiyu (2020). Assessing the role of live poultry trade in community-structured transmission of avian influenza in China. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. ISSN 0027-8424. 117(11), s 5949- 5954 . doi: 10.1073/pnas.1906954117 Full text in Research Archive.
Bramanti, Barbara; Dean, Katharine Rose; Walløe, Lars & Stenseth, Nils Christian (2019). The third plague pandemic in Europe. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Biological Sciences. ISSN 0962-8452. 286(1901), s 1- 8 . doi: 10.1098/rspb.2018.2429 Full text in Research Archive.
Gutema, Tariku Mekonnen; Atickem, Anagaw Meshesha; Alemu, Diress Tsegaye; Bekele, Afework; Sillero-Zubiri, Claudio; Marino, Jorgelina; Kasso, Mohammed; Venkataraman, Vivek V.; Fashing, Peter & Stenseth, Nils Christian (2019). Foraging ecology of African wolves (Canis lupaster) and its implications for the conservation of Ethiopian wolves (Canis simensis). Royal Society Open Science. ISSN 2054-5703. 6(9), s 1- 9 . doi: 10.1098/rsos.190772 Full text in Research Archive.
Blackburn, Jason K.; Ganz, Holly H.; Ponciano, José Miguel; Turner, Wendy C.; Ryan, Sadie J.; Kamath, Pauline; Cizauskas, Carrie; Kausrud, Kyrre; Holt, Robert D.; Stenseth, Nils Christian & Getz, Wayne M. (2019). Modeling R0 for pathogens with environmental transmission: Animal movements, pathogen populations, and local infectious zones. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (IJERPH). ISSN 1661-7827. 16(6), s 1- 14 . doi: 10.3390/ijerph16060954 Full text in Research Archive.
Blanco Gonzalez, Enrique; Espeland, Sigurd Heiberg; Jentoft, Sissel; Hansen, Michael Møller; Robalo, Joana I.; Stenseth, Nils Christian & Jorde, Per Erik (2019). Interbreeding between local and translocated populations of a cleaner fish in an experimental mesocosm predicts risk of disrupted local adaptation. Ecology and Evolution. ISSN 2045-7758. 9(11), s 6665- 6677 . doi: 10.1002/ece3.5246 Full text in Research Archive.
Chapman, Colin A.; Bicca-Marques, Júlio César; Calvignac-Spencer, Sébastien; Fan, Pangfei; Fashing, Peter; Gogarten, Jan; Guo, Songtao; Hemingway, Claire A.; Leendertz, Fabian; Li, Baoguo; Matsuda, Ikki; Hou, Rong; Serio-Silva, Juan Carlos & Stenseth, Nils Christian (2019). Games academics play and their consequences: how authorship, h-index and journal impact factors are shaping the future of academia. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Biological Sciences. ISSN 0962-8452. 286(1916), s 1- 9 . doi: 10.1098/rspb.2019.2047 Full text in Research Archive.
Gopalaswamy, Arjun M.; Karanth, K. Ullas; Delampady, Mohan & Stenseth, Nils Christian (2019). How sampling-based overdispersion reveals India's tiger monitoring orthodoxy. Conservation Science and Practice (CSP). ISSN 2578-4854. 1(12), s 1- 11 . doi: 10.1111/csp2.128 Full text in Research Archive.
Jones, Susan D.; Atshabar, Bakyt; Schmid, Boris Valentijn; Zuk, Marlene; Amramina, Anna & Stenseth, Nils Christian (2019). Living with plague: Lessons from the Soviet Union's antiplague system. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. ISSN 0027-8424. 116(19), s 9155- 9163 . doi: 10.1073/pnas.1817339116
Li, Ruiyun; Xu, Lei; Bjornstad, Ottar N.; Liu, Keke; Song, Tie; Chen, Aifang; Xu, Bing; Liu, Qiyong & Stenseth, Nils Christian (2019). Climate-driven variation in mosquito density predicts the spatiotemporal dynamics of dengue. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. ISSN 0027-8424. 116(9), s 3624- 3629 . doi: 10.1073/pnas.1806094116 Full text in Research Archive.
Li, Yidan; Cazelles, Bernard; Yang, Cuoqing; Laine, Marko; Huang, Zheng X. Y.; Cai, Jun; Tan, Hua; Stenseth, Nils Christian & Tian, Huaiyu (2019). Intrinsic and extrinsic drivers of transmission dynamics of hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome caused by Seoul hantavirus. PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases. ISSN 1935-2727. 13(9) . doi: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0007757 Full text in Research Archive.
Mattingsdal, Morten; Jorde, Per Erik; Knutsen, Halvor; Jentoft, Sissel; Stenseth, Nils Christian; Sodeland, Marte; Robalo, Joana I.; Hansen, Michael M.; André, Carl & Blanco Gonzalez, Enrique (2019). Demographic history has shaped the strongly differentiated corkwing wrasse populations in Northern Europe. Molecular Ecology. ISSN 0962-1083. s 1- 12 . doi: 10.1111/mec.15310 Full text in Research Archive.
Mekonnen, Addisu; Fashing, Peter; Bekele, Afework & Stenseth, Nils Christian (2019). Use of cultivated foods and matrix habitat by Bale monkeys in forest fragments: Assessing local human attitudes and perceptions. American Journal of Primatology. ISSN 0275-2565. s 1- 12 . doi: 10.1002/ajp.23074 Full text in Research Archive.
Nilsson, Anna; Slagsvold, Tore; Røstad, Ole Wiggo; Knudsen, Endre; Jerstad, Kurt; Cadahia, Luis; Reitan, Trond; Helberg, Morten; Walseng, Bjørn & Stenseth, Nils Christian (2019). Territory location and quality, together with climate, affect the timing of breeding in the white-throated dipper. Scientific Reports. ISSN 2045-2322. 9, s 1- 11 . doi: 10.1038/s41598-019-43792-5 Full text in Research Archive. Show summary
Recent climate change has led to advanced spring phenology in many temperate regions. The phenological response to variation in the local environment, such as the habitat characteristics of the territories birds occupy, is less clear. The aim of this study is to understand how ecological conditions affect breeding time, and its consequences for reproduction, in a white-throated dipper Cinclus cinclus population in a river system in Norway during 34 years (1978–2011). Hatching date advanced almost nine days, indicating a response to higher temperatures and the advanced phenology in the area. Earlier breeding was found in warm springs and at lower altitudes. High population density facilitated earlier breeding close to the coast. Furthermore, when population density was low, breeding was early at territories that were rarely occupied, while in years with high density, breeding was early at territories that were frequently occupied. Also, when population density was low, earlier breeding occurred at territories that on average produced more offspring than other territories, while there was no difference in breeding time in high population years. Selection for early breeding was dependent on spring temperatures and high spring temperatures contributed to higher breeding success during the study period. We found that breeding phenology may have strong effects on fitness in the white-throated dipper, and thus that breeding time is an important ecological factor in a species that feeds mainly on aquatic rather than terrestrial prey.
Ono, Kotaro; Knutsen, Halvor; Olsen, Esben M; Ruus, Anders; Hjermann, Dag Ø & Stenseth, Nils Chr (2019). Possible adverse impact of contaminants on Atlantic cod population dynamics in coastal ecosystems. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Biological Sciences. ISSN 0962-8452. 286(1908), s 1- 9 . doi: 10.1098/rspb.2019.1167 Full text in Research Archive. Show summary
While many in-laboratory ecotoxicological studies have shown the adverse impact of pollutants to the fitness of an individual, direct evidence from the field on the population dynamics of wildlife animals has been lacking. Here, we provide empirical support for a negative effect of pollution on Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) population dynamics in coastal waters of Norway by combining unique time series of juvenile cod abundance, body size, environmental concentration of toxic contaminants and a spatially structured population dynamics model. The study shows that mercury concentration might have decreased the reproductive potential of cod in the region despite the general decline in the environmental concentration of mercury, cadmium and hexachlorobenzene since the implementation of national environmental laws. However, some cod populations appeared to be more resistant to mercury pollution than others, and the strength and shape of mercury effect on cod reproductive potential was fjord-specific. Additionally, cod growth rate changed at scales smaller than fjords with a gradient related to the exposure to the open ocean and offshore cod. These spatial differences in life-history traits emphasize the importance of local adaptation in shaping the dynamics of local wildlife populations. Finally, this study highlights the possibility to mitigate pollution effects on natural populations by reducing the overall pollution level, but also reveals that pollution reduction alone is not enough to rebuild local cod populations. Cod population recovery probably requires complementary efforts on fishing regulation and habitat restoration.
Ono, Kotaro; Langangen, Øystein & Stenseth, Nils Christian (2019). Improving risk assessments in conservation ecology. Nature Communications. ISSN 2041-1723. 10, s 1- 7 . doi: 10.1038/s41467-019-10700-4 Full text in Research Archive.
Sguotti, Camilla; Otto, Saskia A; Frelat, Romain; Langbehn, Tom; Plambech Ryberg, M; Lindegren, Martin; Durant, Joel Marcel; Stenseth, Nils Christian & Möllmann, Christian (2019). Catastrophic dynamics limit Atlantic cod recovery. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Biological Sciences. ISSN 0962-8452. 286(1898) . doi: 10.1098/rspb.2018.2877 Full text in Research Archive.
Stubberud, Marlene Wæge; Vindenes, Yngvild; Vøllestad, Asbjørn; Winfield, Ian J.; Stenseth, Nils Christian & Langangen, Øystein (2019). Effects of size‐ and sex‐selective harvesting: An integral projection model approach. Ecology and Evolution. ISSN 2045-7758. 9(22), s 12556- 12570 . doi: 10.1002/ece3.5719 Full text in Research Archive.
Sun, Zhe; Xu, Lei; Schmid, Boris Valentijn; Dean, Katharine Rose; Zhang, Zhibin; Xie, Yan; Fang, Xiye; Wang, Shuchun; Liu, Qiyong; Lyu, Baolei; Wan, Xinru; Xu, Jianguo; Stenseth, Nils Christian & Xu, Bing (2019). Human plague system associated with rodent diversity and other environmental factors. Royal Society Open Science. ISSN 2054-5703. 6(6), s 1- 11 . doi: 10.1098/rsos.190216 Full text in Research Archive.
Tian, Huaiyu & Stenseth, Nils Christian (2019). The ecological dynamics of hantavirus diseases: From environmental variability to disease prevention largely based on data from China. PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases. ISSN 1935-2727. 13(2), s 1- 19 . doi: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0006901 Full text in Research Archive.
Wan, Xinru; Jiang, Guangshun; Yan, Chuan; He, Fangliang; Wen, Rongsheng; Gu, Jiayin; Li, Xinhai; Ma, Jianzhang; Stenseth, Nils Christian & Zhang, Zhibin (2019). Historical records reveal the distinctive associations of human disturbance and extreme climate change with local extinction of mammals. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. ISSN 0027-8424. 116(38), s 19001- 19008 . doi: 10.1073/pnas.1818019116 Full text in Research Archive.
Xu, Lei; Stige, Leif Christian; Leirs, Herwig; Neerinckx, Simon; Gage, Kenneth L.; Yang, Ruifu; Liu, Qiyong; Bramanti, Barbara; Dean, Katharine Rose; Tang, Hui; Sun, Zhe; Stenseth, Nils Christian & Zhang, Zhibin (2019). Historical and genomic data reveal the influencing factors on global transmission velocity of plague during the Third Pandemic. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. ISSN 0027-8424. 116(24), s 11833- 11838 . doi: 10.1073/pnas.1901366116 Full text in Research Archive.
Yu, ChaoQing; Huang, Xiao; Chen, Han; Godfray, H. Charles J.; Wright, Jonathon S.; Hall, Jim W.; Gong, Peng; Ni, ShaoQiang; Qiao, ShengChao; Huang, GuoRui; Xiao, YuChen; Zhang, Jie; Feng, Zhao; Ju, XiaoTang; Ciais, Philippe; Stenseth, Nils Christian; Hessen, Dag Olav; Sun, ZhanLi; Yu, Le; Cai, WenJia; Fu, HaoHuan; Huang, XiaoMeng; Zhang, Chi; Liu, HongBin & Taylor, James (2019). Managing nitrogen to restore water quality in China. Nature. ISSN 0028-0836. 567, s 516- 520 . doi: 10.1038/s41586-019-1001-1 Show summary
The nitrogen cycle has been radically changed by human activities1 . China consumes nearly one third of the world’s nitrogen fertilizers. The excessive application of fertilizers2,3 and increased nitrogen discharge from livestock, domestic and industrial sources have resulted in pervasive water pollution. Quantifying a nitrogen ‘boundary’4 in heterogeneous environments is important for the effective management of local water quality. Here we use a combination of water-quality observations and simulated nitrogen discharge from agricultural and other sources to estimate spatial patterns of nitrogen discharge into water bodies across China from 1955 to 2014. We find that the critical surface-water quality standard (1.0 milligrams of nitrogen per litre) was being exceeded in most provinces by the mid-1980s, and that current rates of anthropogenic nitrogen discharge (14.5 ± 3.1 megatonnes of nitrogen per year) to fresh water are about 2.7 times the estimated ‘safe’ nitrogen discharge threshold (5.2 ± 0.7 megatonnes of nitrogen per year). Current efforts to reduce pollution through wastewater treatment and by improving cropland nitrogen management can partially remedy this situation. Domestic wastewater treatment has helped to reduce net discharge by 0.7 ± 0.1 megatonnes in 2014, but at high monetary and energy costs. Improved cropland nitrogen management could remove another 2.3 ± 0.3 megatonnes of nitrogen per year—about 25 per cent of the excess discharge to fresh water. Successfully restoring a clean water environment in China will further require transformational changes to boost the national nutrient recycling rate from its current average of 36 per cent to about 87 per cent, which is a level typical of traditional Chinese agriculture. Although ambitious, such a high level of nitrogen recycling is technologically achievable at an estimated capital cost of approximately 100 billion US dollars and operating costs of 18–29 billion US dollars per year, and could provide co-benefits such as recycled wastewater for crop irrigation and improved environmental quality and ecosystem services.
Zheng, Xiaoqi; Lu, Yonglong; Yuan, Jingjing; Baninla, Yvette; Zhang, Yvette; Stenseth, Nils Christian; Hessen, Dag Olav; Tian, Hanqin; Obersteiner, Michael & Chen, Deliang (2019). Drivers of change in China’s energy-related CO2 emissions. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. ISSN 0027-8424. 117(1), s 29- 36 . doi: 10.1073/pnas.1908513117 Full text in Research Archive.
Zinner, Dietmar; Delkaso, Dereje Tesfaye; Stenseth, Nils Christian; Bekele, Afework; Mekonnen, Aemro; Doeschner, Steve; Atickem, Anagaw Meshesha & Roos, Christian (2019). Is Colobus guereza gallarum a valid endemic Ethiopian taxon?. Primate Biology (PB). ISSN 2363-4707. 6(1), s 7- 16 . doi: 10.5194/pb-6-7-2019 Full text in Research Archive.
Gutema, Tariku Mekonnen; Atickem, Anagaw Meshesha; Lemma, Alemayehu; Bekele, Afework; Sillero-Zubiri, Claudio; Zinner, Dietmar; Farstad, Wenche Kristin; Arnemo, Jon Martin & Stenseth, Nils Christian (2018). Capture and immobilization of African wolves (Canis lupaster) in the Ethiopian Highlands. Journal of Wildlife Diseases. ISSN 0090-3558. 54(1), s 175- 179 . doi: 10.7589/2017-03-063
Atickem, Anagaw Meshesha; Stenseth, Nils Christian; Drouilly, Marine; Bock, Steffen; Roos, Christian & Zinner, Dietmar (2018). Deep divergence among mitochondrial lineages in African jackals. Zoologica Scripta. ISSN 0300-3256. 47(1), s 1- 8 . doi: 10.1111/zsc.12257
Carlson, Colin; Getz, Wayne M.; Kausrud, Kyrre Linné; Cizauskas, Carrie A.; Blackburn, Jason K.; Bustos Carrillo, Fausto A; Colwell, Rita; Easterday, William Ryan; Ganz, Holly H.; Kamath, Pauline L.; Økstad, Ole Andreas Løchen; Turner, Wendy Christine; Kolstø, Anne-Brit & Stenseth, Nils Christian (2018). Spores and soil from six sides: interdisciplinarity and the environmental biology of anthrax (Bacillus anthracis). Biological Reviews. ISSN 1464-7931. 93(4), s 1813- 1831 . doi: 10.1111/brv.12420
Cristofari, Robin; Liu, Xiaoming; Bonadonna, Francesco; Cherel, Yves; Pistorius, Pierre; Le Maho, Yvon; Raybaud, Virginie; Stenseth, Nils Christian; Le Bohec, Celine & Trucchi, Emiliano (2018). Climate-driven range shifts of the king penguin in a fragmented ecosystem. Nature Climate Change. ISSN 1758-678X. 8(3), s 245- 251 . doi: 10.1038/s41558-018-0084-2
Dean, Katharine Rose; Krauer, Fabienne; Walløe, Lars; Lingjærde, Ole Christian; Bramanti, Barbara; Stenseth, Nils Christian & Schmid, Boris Valentijn (2018). Human ectoparasites and the spread of plague in Europe during the Second Pandemic. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. ISSN 0027-8424. 115(6), s 1304- 1309 . doi: 10.1073/pnas.1715640115
Gamelon, Marlène; Tufto, Jarle; Nilsson, Anna; Jerstad, Kurt; Røstad, Ole Wiggo; Stenseth, Nils Christian & Sæther, Bernt-Erik (2018). Environmental drivers of varying selective optima in a small passerine: A multivariate, multiepisodic approach. Evolution. ISSN 0014-3820. 72(11), s 2325- 2342 . doi: 10.1111/evo.13610 Full text in Research Archive.
Guellil, Meriam; Kersten, Oliver; Namouchi, Amine; Bauer, Egil Lindhart; Derrick, Michael; Jensen, Anne Østergaard; Stenseth, Nils Christian & Bramanti, Barbara (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), s 10422- 10427 . doi: 10.1073/pnas.1807266115 Full text in Research Archive. Show summary
Louse-borne relapsing fever (LBRF) is known to have killed millions of people over the course of European history and remains a major cause of mortality in parts of the world. Its pathogen, Borrelia recurrentis, shares a common vector with global killers such as typhus and plague and is known for its involvement in devastating historical epidemics such as the Irish potato famine. Here, we describe a European and historical genome of B. recurrentis, recovered from a 15th century skeleton from Oslo. Our distinct European lineage has a discrete genomic makeup, displaying an ancestral oppA-1 gene and gene loss in antigenic variation sites. Our results illustrate the potential of ancient DNA research to elucidate dynamics of reductive evolution in a specialized human pathogen and to uncover aspects of human health usually invisible to the archaeological record.
Gutema, Tariku Mekonnen; Atickem, Anagaw Meshesha; Bekele, Afework; Sillero-Zubiri, Claudio; Kasso, Mohammed; Alemu, Diress Tsegaye; Venkataraman, Vivek V.; Fashing, Peter; Zinner, Dietmar & Stenseth, Nils Christian (2018). Competition between sympatric wolf taxa: an example involving African and Ethiopian wolves. Royal Society Open Science. ISSN 2054-5703. 5(5), s 1- 9 . doi: 10.1098/rsos.172207 Full text in Research Archive.
Hermansen, Jo Skeie; Starrfelt, Jostein; Voje, Kjetil L. & Stenseth, Nils Christian (2018). Macroevolutionary consequences of sexual conflict. Biology Letters. ISSN 1744-9561. 14(6), s 1- 4 . doi: 10.1098/rsbl.2018.0186
Langangen, Øystein; Färber, Leonie Anette; Stige, Leif Christian; Diekert, Florian Klaus; Barth, Julia Maria Isis; Matschiner, Michael; Berg, Paul Ragnar; Star, Bastiaan; Stenseth, Nils Christian; Jentoft, Sissel & Durant, Joel Marcel (2018). Ticket to spawn: Combining economic and genetic data to evaluate the effect of climate and demographic structure on spawning distribution in Atlantic cod. Global Change Biology. ISSN 1354-1013. 25(1), s 134- 143 . doi: 10.1111/gcb.14474 Full text in Research Archive.
Mekonnen, Addisu; Fashing, Peter; Bekele, Afework; Hernandez-Aguilar, Raquel Adriana; Rueness, Eli Knispel & Stenseth, Nils Christian (2018). Dietary flexibility of Bale monkeys (Chlorocebus djamdjamensis) in southern Ethiopia: effects of habitat degradation and life in fragments. BMC Ecology. ISSN 1472-6785. 18(4), s 1- 20 . doi: 10.1186/s12898-018-0161-4 Full text in Research Archive.
Mekonnen, Addisu; Fashing, Peter; Sargis, Eric J.; Venkataraman, Vivek V.; Bekele, Afework; Hernandez-Aguilar, Raquel Adriana; Rueness, Eli Knispel & Stenseth, Nils Christian (2018). Flexibility in positional behavior, strata use, and substrate utilization among Bale monkeys (Chlorocebus djamdjamensis) in response to habitat fragmentation and degradation. American Journal of Primatology. ISSN 0275-2565. 80(5) . doi: 10.1002/ajp.22760 Full text in Research Archive.
Mekonnen, Addisu; Rueness, Eli Knispel; Stenseth, Nils Christian; Fashing, Peter; Bekele, Afework; Hernandez-Aguilar, Raquel Adriana; Missbach, Rose; Haus, Tanja; Zinner, Dietmar & Roos, Christian (2018). Population genetic structure and evolutionary history of Bale monkeys (Chlorocebus djamdjamensis) in the southern Ethiopian Highlands. BMC Evolutionary Biology. ISSN 1471-2148. 18(1), s 1- 15 . doi: 10.1186/s12862-018-1217-y Full text in Research Archive.
Namouchi, Amine; Guellil, Meriam; Kersten, Oliver; Hänsch, Stephanie; Ottoni, Claudio; Schmid, Boris Valentijn; Pacciani, Elsa; Quaglia, Luisa; Vermunt, Marco; Bauer, Egil Lindhart; Derrick, Michael; Jensen, Anne Østergaard; Kacki, Sacha; Cohn Jr., Samuel; Stenseth, Nils Christian & Bramanti, Barbara (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), s E11790- E11797 . doi: 10.1073/pnas.1812865115 Full text in Research Archive. Show summary
Over the last few years, genomic studies on Yersinia pestis, the causative agent of all known plague epidemics, have considerably increased in numbers, spanning a period of about 5,000 y. Nonetheless, questions concerning historical reservoirs and routes of transmission remain open. Here, we present and describe five genomes from the second half of the 14th century and reconstruct the evolutionary history of Y. pestis by reanalyzing previously published genomes and by building a comprehensive phylogeny focused on strains attributed to the Second Plague Pandemic (14th to 18th century). Corroborated by historical and ecological evidence, the presented phylogeny, which includes our Y. pestis genomes, could support the hypothesis of an entry of plague into Western European ports through distinct waves of introduction during the Medieval Period, possibly by means of fur trade routes, as well as the recirculation of plague within the human population via trade routes and human movement.
Nilsson, Anna; L'Abee-Lund, Jan Henning; Vøllestad, Leif Asbjørn; Jerstad, Kurt; Larsen, Bjørn Mejdell; Røstad, Ole Wiggo; Saltveit, Svein Jakob; Skaugen, Thomas; Stenseth, Nils Christian & Walseng, Bjørn (2018). The potential influence of Atlantic salmon Salmo salar and brown trout Salmo trutta on density and breeding of the white-throated dipper Cinclus cinclus. Ecology and Evolution. ISSN 2045-7758. 8(8), s 4065- 4073 . doi: 10.1002/ece3.3958 Full text in Research Archive. Show summary
Interactions between birds and fish are often overlooked in aquatic ecosystems. We studied the influence of Atlantic salmon and brown trout on the breeding population size and reproductive output of the white-throated dipper in a Norwegian river. Acidic precipitation led to the extinction of salmon, but salmon recolonized after liming was initiated in 1991. We compared the dipper population size and reproductive output before (1978–1992) and after (1993–2014) salmon recolonization. Despite a rapid and substantial increase in juvenile salmon, the breeding dipper population size and reproductive output were not influenced by juvenile salmon, trout, or total salmonid density. This might be due to different feeding strategies in salmonids and dippers, where salmonids are mainly feeding on drift, while the dipper is a benthic feeder. The correlation between the size of the dipper population upstream and downstream of a salmonid migratory barrier was similar before and after recolonization, indicating that the downstream territories were not less attractive after the recolonization of salmon. Upstream dipper breeding success rates declined before the recolonization event and increased after, indicating improved water quality due to liming, and increasing invertebrate prey abundances and biodiversity. Surprisingly, upstream the migratory barrier, juvenile trout had a weak positive effect on the dipper population size, indicating that dippers may prey upon small trout. It is possible that wider downstream reaches might have higher abundances of alternative food, rending juvenile trout unimportant as prey. Abiotic factors such as winter temperatures and acidic precipitation with subsequent liming, potentially mediated by preyabundance, seem to play the most important role in the life history of the dipper. birds, breeding, predators, river, salmonids
Nordbotten, Jan Martin; Levin, Simon A.; Szathmáry, Eörs & Stenseth, Nils Christian (2018). Ecological and evolutionary dynamics of interconnectedness and modularity. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. ISSN 0027-8424. 115(4), s 750- 755 . doi: 10.1073/pnas.1716078115 Full text in Research Archive.
Spies, Ingrid; Hauser, Lorenz; Jorde, Per Erik; Knutsen, Halvor; Punt, André E.; Rogers, Lauren & Stenseth, Nils Christian (2018). Inferring genetic connectivity in real populations, exemplified by coastal and oceanic Atlantic cod. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. ISSN 0027-8424. 115(19), s 4945- 4950 . doi: 10.1073/pnas.1800096115 Full text in Research Archive.
Stige, Leif Christian; Ottersen, Geir; Yaragina, Nathalia A.; Vikebø, Frode Bendiksen; Stenseth, Nils Christian & Langangen, Øystein (2018). Combined effects of fishing and oil spills on marine fish: Role of stock demographic structure for offspring overlap with oil. Marine Pollution Bulletin. ISSN 0025-326X. 129(1), s 336- 342 . doi: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2018.02.056 Full text in Research Archive.
Tian, Huaiyu; Feng, Yunpeng; Vrancken, Bran; Cazelles, Bernard; Tan, Hua; Gill, Mandev S.; Yang, Qiqi; Li, Yidan; Yang, Weihong; Zhang, Yuzhen; Zhang, Yunshi; Lemey, Philippe; Pybus, Oliver G.; Stenseth, Nils Christian; Zhang, Hailin & Dellicour, Simon (2018). Transmission dynamics of re-emerging rabies in domestic dogs of rural China. PLoS Pathogens. ISSN 1553-7366. 14:e1007392(12), s 1- 18 . doi: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1007392
Tian, Huaiyu; Hu, Shixiong; Cazelles, Bernard; Chowell, Gerardo; Gao, Lidong; Laine, Marko; Li, Yapin; Yang, Huisuo; Li, Yidan; Yang, Qiqi; Tong, Xin; Huang, Ru; Bjornstad, Ottar N.; Xiao, Hong & Stenseth, Nils Christian (2018). Urbanization prolongs hantavirus epidemics in cities. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. ISSN 0027-8424. 115(18), s 4707- 4712 . doi: 10.1073/pnas.1712767115 Full text in Research Archive.
Zinner, Dietmar; Atickem, Anagaw Meshesha; Beehner, Jacinta C.; Bekele, Afework; Bergman, Thore J.; Burke, Ryan; Dolotovskaya, Sofya; Fashing, Peter; Gippoliti, Spartaco; Knauf, Sascha; Knauf, Yvonne; Mekonnen, Addisu; Moges, Amera; Nguyen, Nga; Stenseth, Nils Christian & Roos, Christian (2018). Phylogeography, mitochondrial DNA diversity, and demographic history of geladas (Theropithecus gelada). PLOS ONE. ISSN 1932-6203. 13:e0202303(8), s 1- 18 . doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0202303 Full text in Research Archive.
Atickem, Anagaw Meshesha; Simeneh, Getachew; Bekele, Afework; Gutema, Tariku Mekonnen; Sillero-Zubiri, Claudio; Hill, Russell A & Stenseth, Nils Christian (2017). African wolf diet, predation on livestock and conflict in the Guassa mountains of Ethiopia. African Journal of Ecology. ISSN 0141-6707. 55(4), s 632- 639 . doi: 10.1111/aje.12399
Barnosky, Anthony D.; Hadly, Elizabeth A.; Gonzalez, Patrick; Head, Jason; Polly, P. David; Lawing, A. Michelle; Eronen, Jussi T.; Ackerly, David D.; Alex, Ken; Biber, Eric; Blois, Jessica; Brashares, Justin; Ceballos, Gerardo; Davis, Edward; Dietl, Gregory P.; Dirzo, Rodolfo; Doremus, Holly; Fortelius, Mikael; Greene, Harry W.; Hellmann, Jessica; Hickler, Thomas; Jackson, Stephen T.; Kemp, Melissa; Koch, Paul L.; Kremen, Claire; Lindsey, Emily L.; Looy, Cindy; Marshall, Charles R.; Mendenhall, Chase; Mulch, Andreas; Mychajliw, Alexis M.; Nowak, Carsten; Ramakrishnan, Uma; Schnitzler, Jan; Das Shrestha, Kashish; Solari, Katherine; Stegner, Lynn; Stegner, M. Allison; Stenseth, Nils Christian; Wake, Marvalee H. & Zhang, Zhibin (2017). Merging paleobiology with conservation biology to guide the future of terrestrial ecosystems. Science. ISSN 0036-8075. 355(6325), s 1- 10 . doi: 10.1126/science.aah4787
Barth, Julia Maria Isis; Berg, Paul Ragnar; Jonsson, Per R; Bonanomi, Sara; Corell, Hanna; Hemmer-Hansen, Jakob; Jakobsen, Kjetill Sigurd; Johannesson, Kerstin; Jorde, Per Erik; Knutsen, Halvor; Moksnes, Per-Olav; Star, Bastiaan; Stenseth, Nils Christian; Svedang, Henrik; Jentoft, Sissel & Andre, Carl (2017). Genome architecture enables local adaptation of Atlantic cod despite high connectivity. Molecular Ecology. ISSN 0962-1083. 26(17), s 4452- 4466 . doi: 10.1111/mec.14207 Full text in Research Archive.
Bonachela, Juan; Wortel, Meike Tessa & Stenseth, Nils Christian (2017). Eco-evolutionary Red Queen dynamics regulate biodiversity in a metabolite-driven microbial system. Scientific Reports. ISSN 2045-2322. 7 . doi: 10.1038/s41598-017-17774-4 Full text in Research Archive.
Büntgen, Ulf; Greuter, Lucie; Bollmann, Kurt; Jenny, Hannes; Liebhold, Andrew; Galván, J. Diego; Stenseth, Nils Christian; Andrew, Carrie Joy & Mysterud, Atle (2017). Elevational range shifts in four mountain ungulate species from the Swiss Alps. Ecosphere. ISSN 2150-8925. 8(4), s 1- 15 . doi: 10.1002/ecs2.1761 Full text in Research Archive.
Cadahia, Luis; Labra, Antonieta; Knudsen, Endre; Nilsson, Anna; Lampe, Helene M.; Slagsvold, Tore & Stenseth, Nils Christian (2017). Advancement of spring arrival in a long‑term study of a passerine bird: sex, age and environmental effects. Oecologia. ISSN 0029-8549. 184(4), s 917- 929 . doi: 10.1007/s00442-017-3922-4 Full text in Research Archive.
dos Santos Schmidt, Thassya Christina; Slotte, Aril; Kennedy, James; Sundby, Svein; Johannessen, Arne; Óskarsson, Gudmundur Jóhann; Kurita, Yutaka; Stenseth, Nils Christian & Kjesbu, Olav Sigurd (2017). Oogenesis and reproductive investment of Atlantic herring are functions of not only present but long-ago environmental influences as well. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. ISSN 0027-8424. 114(10), s 2634- 2639 . doi: 10.1073/pnas.1700349114
Gamelon, Marlène; Grøtan, Vidar; Nilsson, Anna L. K.; Engen, Steinar; Hurrell, James W.; Jerstad, Kurt; Phillips, Adam S.; Røstad, Ole Wiggo; Slagsvold, Tore; Walseng, Bjørn; Stenseth, Nils Christian & Sæther, Bernt-Erik (2017). Interactions between demography and environmental effects are important determinants of population dynamics. Science Advances. ISSN 2375-2548. 3(2) . doi: 10.1126/sciadv.1602298 Full text in Research Archive. Show summary
Climate change will affect the population dynamics of many species, yet the consequences for the long-term persistence of populations are poorly understood. A major reason for this is that density-dependent feedback effects caused by fluctuations in population size are considered independent of stochastic variation in the environment. We show that an interplay between winter temperature and population density can influence the persistence of a small passerine population under global warming. Although warmer winters favor an increased mean population size, density-dependent feedback can cause the local population to be less buffered against occasional poor environmental conditions (cold winters). This shows that it is essential to go beyond the population size and explore climate effects on the full dynamics to elaborate targeted management actions.
Langangen, Øystein; Ohlberger, Jan; Stige, Leif C.; Durant, Joel M.; Ravagnan, Elisa; Stenseth, Nils C. & Hjermann, Dag Ø. (2017). Cascading effects of mass mortality events in Arctic marine communities. Global Change Biology. ISSN 1354-1013. 23(1), s 283- 292 . doi: 10.1111/gcb.13344 Full text in Research Archive.
Langangen, Øystein; Olsen, Erik Joel Steinar; Stige, Leif Christian; Ohlberger, Jan Philipp; Yaragina, Natalia A.; Vikebø, Frode Bendiksen; Bogstad, Bjarte; Stenseth, Nils Christian & Hjermann, Dag Øystein (2017). The effects of oil spills on marine fish: Implications of spatial variation in natural mortality. Marine Pollution Bulletin. ISSN 0025-326X. 119(1), s 102- 109 . doi: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2017.03.037 Full text in Research Archive.

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Ims, Rolf Anker; Yoccoz, Nigel; Sæther, Bernt-Erik & Stenseth, Nils Christian (2020). Naturovervåkingen i Norge må trappes kraftig opp. Aftenposten (morgenutg. : trykt utg.). ISSN 0804-3116.
Kausrud, Kyrre; Stenseth, Nils Christian & Hjelle, Dag (2020). Dette er ikke den siste pesten Coronaviruset rammer hardt i et underfinansiert helsevesen.. VG : Verdens gang. ISSN 0805-5203.
Oomen, Rebekah Alice; Thorbjørnsen, Susanna Huneide; Goodwin, Morten & Stenseth, Nils Christian (2020). Torsken vår bruker antakelig sørlandsdialekt. Agderposten. ISSN 0805-3723. Show summary
FORSKNINGSDAGENE: Unike dialekter blant fiskene kan hjelpe torsk til å velge partnere som ligner den selv.
Paasche, Øyvind & Stenseth, Nils Christian (2020). Krever vi mer av havet, vil det kreve mer av oss. Forskning.no. ISSN 1891-635X.
Bramanti, Barbara; Namouchi, Amine; Schmid, Boris Valentijn; Dean, Katharine Rose & Stenseth, Nils Christian (2019). Out of the land of darkness: Plague on the fur trade routes. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. ISSN 0027-8424. 116(16), s 7622- 7623 . doi: 10.1073/pnas.1902274116
Bramanti, Barbara; Namouchi, Amine; Schmid, Boris Valentijn; Dean, Katharine Rose & Stenseth, Nils Christian (2019). Reply to Barbieri et al.: Out of the Land of Darkness: Plague on the fur trade routes. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. ISSN 0027-8424. 116(16) . doi: 10.1073/pnas.1902274116
Atickem, Anagaw Meshesha; Stenseth, Nils Christian; Fashing, Peter; Nguyen, Nga; Chapman, Colin A.; Bekele, Afework; Mekonnen, Addisu; Omeja, Patrick A. & Kalbitzer, Urs (2019). Build science in Africa. Nature. ISSN 0028-0836. 570, s 297- 300 . doi: 10.1038/d41586-019-01885-1
Baril, Laurence; Vallès, Xavier; Stenseth, Nils Christian; Rajerison, Minoarisoa; Ratsitorahina, Maherisoa; Pizarro-Cerdá, Javier; Demeure, Christian; Belmain, Steve; Scholz, Holger; Girod, Romain; Hinnebusch, Joseph; Vigan-Womas, Ines; Bertherat, Eric; Fontanet, Arnaud; Yazadanpanah, Yazdan; Carrara, Guia; Deuve, Jane; D'Ortenzio, Eric; Angulo, Jose Oswaldo Cabanillas; Mead, Paul & Horby, Peter W. (2019). Can we make human plague history? A call to action. BMJ Global Health. ISSN 2059-7908. 4(6), s 1- 4 . doi: 10.1136/bmjgh-2019-001984
Jones, Susan D.; Schmid, Boris Valentijn; Zuk, Marlene & Stenseth, Nils Christian (2019). Reply to McLean et al.: Collections are critical. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. ISSN 0027-8424. 116(29), s 1- 1 . doi: 10.1073/pnas.1909035116
Stige, Leif Christian; Kløver, Geir Olav; Dupont, Nicolas; Borgå, Katrine; Stenseth, Nils Christian; Isachsen, Pål Erik & Sandberg, Sigri (2019). Kunnskap fra isødet. Show summary
Åpent arrangement med disse foredragene: "Kunnskapsinnhøsting i Arktis ombord i Fram 1893-1896" (Kløver); "Arven etter Nansen" (Stige); "Hva skjer med økosystemet når sjøisen forsvinner?" (Dupont); "Miljøgifter i Arktis" (Borgå); "Havstrømmene i Arktis – hvorfor er de spesielle?" (Isachsen); "En djerv polarforsker: Hanna Resvoll-Holmsen (1873-1943)" (Sandberg). Ordstyrere: Stige og Stenseth.
Dean, Katharine Rose; Krauer, Fabienne; Walløe, Lars; Lingjærde, Ole Christian; Bramanti, Barbara; Stenseth, Nils Christian & Schmid, Boris Valentijn (2018). Reply to Park et al.: Human ectoparasite transmission of plague during the Second Pandemic is still plausible. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. ISSN 0027-8424. 115(34), s E7894- E7895 . doi: 10.1073/pnas.1810221115
Blanco Gonzalez, Enrique; Jentoft, Sissel; Hansen, Michael Møller; Knutsen, Halvor; Sodeland, Marte; Mattingsdal, Morten; Stenseth, Nils Christian; Robalo, Joana I. & Jorde, Per Erik (2018). Understanding adaptation in translocating wrasses.
Holst-Jensen, Arne; Stenseth, Nils Christian; Bratlie, Sigrid & Graver, Hans Petter (2018, 05. september). Skal genredigering reguleres som GMO? Kavliprisen og EU-domstolens fortolkning av gjeldende GMO-regelverk.. [Radio]. NRK P2.
Llope, Marcos; Blenckner, Thorsten; Vasilakopoulos, Paris; McGinty, Niall; Lynam, Christopher Philip; Helaouët, Pierre; Durant, Joel Marcel; Stige, Leif Christian; Marteinsdóttir, Gudrun & Stenseth, Nils Christian (2018). Continuous and abrupt changes in the resilience of northeast Atlantic marine ecosystems.
Llope, Marcos; Blenckner, Thorsten; Vasilakopoulos, Paris; McGinty, Niall; Lynam, Christopher Philip; Helaouët, Pierre; Durant, Joel Marcel; Stige, Leif Christian; Marteinsdóttir, Gudrun & Stenseth, Nils Christian (2018). Resilience of northeast Atlantic marine ecosystems.
Stenseth, Nils Christian; Holst-Jensen, Arne & Borge, Ole Johan (2018). Ja, CRISPR-teknologien er mer presis. Morgenbladet. ISSN 0805-3847.
Stenseth, Nils Christian; Stige, Leif Christian & Langangen, Øystein (2018). Kunnskapsbasert forvaltning i et varmere klima. Aftenposten (morgenutg. : trykt utg.). ISSN 0804-3116. s 16- 16
Stige, Leif Christian; Langangen, Øystein & Stenseth, Nils Christian (2018). Skreien ikke utenfor livsfare. Dagens næringsliv. ISSN 0803-9372. s 32- 32
Eikeset, Anne Maria; Dunlop, Erin; Heino, Mikko Petteri; Storvik, Geir Olve; Stenseth, Nils Christian & Dieckmann, Ulf (2017). Reply to Enberg and Jørgensen: Ecology and evolution both matter for explaining stock dynamics. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. ISSN 0027-8424. 114(22), s E4322- E4323 . doi: 10.1073/pnas.1703865114
Eikeset, Anne Maria; Mazzarella, Anna; Davidsdottir, Brynhildur; Klinger, Dane H.; Levin, Simon A.; Rovenskaya, Elena & Stenseth, Nils Christian (2017). What is blue growth? The semantics of “Sustainable Development” of marine environments. Marine Policy. ISSN 0308-597X. 87, s 177- 179 . doi: 10.1016/j.marpol.2017.10.019 Show summary
This Special Issue is intended to help readers gain a better understanding of the various definitions of blue growth, as well as to give a heightened awareness of the constraints of, and possibilities within, the important concept. Increased communication among those working together on these topics is of utmost importance, especially considering the diversity of the backgrounds of those who have a role to play in blue growth and sustainable development. Scientists, policy makers, business people, and the larger society need to become more precise and transparent in their language and meanings in order to effectively work together, and hopefully one day succeed in our joint goal to secure blue growth.
Llope, Marcos; Blenckner, Thorstein; McGinty, Niall; Stige, Leif Christian; Marteinsdóttir, Gudrun & Stenseth, Nils Christian (2017). A look at the Arctic ecosystems time series can help us project their future.

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Published May 26, 2011 9:46 PM - Last modified Feb. 23, 2021 1:49 PM

Nils Chr. Stenseth

Background, ambition and motto

Current major research topics of mine include

A selection of my...

Building teams and a Centre of Excellence

Mentoring and supporting younger colleagues

Current and past positions include

Part of my scientific history

Popularizing science and academic issues

Awards, honors, fellowships and commissions of trust include

Publication databases

Publications

Projects

Research groups

Visiting address

Mail address

Phone, fax, e-mail

Nils Chr. Stenseth

Background, ambition and motto

Current major research topics of mine include

A selection of my...

Building teams and a Centre of Excellence

Mentoring and supporting younger colleagues

Current and past positions include

Part of my scientific history

Popularizing science and academic issues

Awards, honors, fellowships and commissions of trust include

Publication databases

Publications

Projects

Completed projects

Research groups