Group of the month: Calanus (Copepoda)

For this month, the FEZ blog is starring a group of tiny, yet particularly important marine animals. Calanoid copepods of the genus Calanus (raudåte på norsk) are present in all seas of our planet but it is in the northern hemisphere that these little crustaceans are the most […]

The hidden invasion along the Norwegian coast

Last week Line Willersrud, a Master student in our group, successfully defended her Master thesis “Assessing genetic biodiversity in Caprellidae”. She worked very hard for her thesis by collecting caprellid species along the Norwegian coast as part of the Artsdatabanken project “Assessing biodiversity in the marine algae belt“, […]

Doing genomic research with a masonry trowel

When you think about genomic research and sequencing genomes like it is the goal of the Earth Biogenome Project (EBP), Biodiversity Genomics Europe (BGE) or InvertOmics you have in mind all these new fancy technologies called Next-Generation, Third-generation or High-through-put sequencing. All these amazing advances in technologies allowing […]

Group of the month: Rotifera

Rotifers, or “wheel animalcules”, are an interesting group of microscopic animals (size between 0.1 and 1mm in length) commonly found both in fresh water and terrestrial habitats; although less number of species have been described, marine rotifer species exist too. In regards with their classification, rotifers belong to […]

The importance of the small stuff for science

Yesterday, we published an preprint on the meiofauna and why it is important to study them and which scientific questions should be addressed next. The publication involved 42 researchers from 44 institutions all around the world. The research was initiated and led by Alejandro Martínez and Diego Fontaneto […]

FEZ group retreat September 2023

Our group went in the beginning of September on a three day social retreat to the beautiful city in southern Norway, namely Kristiansand. The purpose of this trip was first and foremost to have a good time together and socialize. Unfortunately could not all members of our group […]

Teaching about sea squirts, worms and skeleton shrimps in Drøbak

As part of the ArtsDatabanken project “Assessing biodiversity in the marine algae belt“, we taught a class of eager students and consultants about the species of our project. The course did not only comprise theoretical lectures, but really hands-on experience. We went out to different spots in Drøbak […]

Group of the Month: Syllidae (Annelida)

On the blog this month, it’s time to for me to present another family of polychaetes. I will take a few steps away from my usual tentacles adorned critters to write about a peculiar group of worms, the family Syllidae. Syllids are a diverse family, with about 1100 […]

Beetle hunt in Japan – spring 2023

One of the best things with being a PhD-student at the Natural History Museum is the chance to do fieldwork. Most of our group members are doing fieldwork regularly to collect new material and to expand our collections. Unfortunately, the pandemic put a hold on many such plans, […]

On Pre-Prints, Publishing and Peer Review

Hallo readers, it’s James here again to announce the release of another new manuscript written by the FEZ group! This one is something we’ve been working on for quite some time, and it’s also the result of a really exciting collaboration with Pia Merete Eriksen, a guest researcher […]