New PhD student Simon Henriksson will study cod ecotypes
Simon Henriksson is new PhD student at the Department of Marine Sciences. He will investigate how it is that different ecotypes of cod do not mix with each other even though they live and spawn in the same area. But he is not completely new to the Department, as he has worked as a project assistant at the Tjärnö laboratory for the past two years.
What are you going to do here?
"I will mainly work with evolutionary biology and population genetics in cod. There are several so-called "ecotypes" of cod, which are adapted to different environments and lifestyles. In my project, we will look more closely at two ecotypes that live along the Swedish and Norwegian coasts, and try to describe which mechanisms that cause them to remain genetically separate, despite the fact that they, in some cases, spawn in the same area.
"For example, it could be that they do not want to, or cannot, mate with each other, or that the offspring are less well-adapted to the environment in some way. We will apply this knowledge in mathematical models to try to predict how the different cod ecotypes may respond to different climate scenarios and management measures."
What did you do before?
"I did my bachelor's and master's studies at the University of Gothenburg, and my degree project at the Tjärnö laboratory in 2020/2021. The project was about population genetics of cod along the Swedish west coast, and we thought the results were so interesting that I was offered to continue working after my graduation. For the past two years, I have therefore worked as a project assistant at Tjärnö laboratory, and researched population genetics in cod and also in bladder wrack."
"Using genetic methods, we have described the geographical distribution of different cod ecotypes, both along the Swedish west coast and in the Baltic Sea, and investigated how they have adapted to different environments. Such information is highly important to consider in order to preserve the genetic diversity within the species."
What do you do in your free time?
"I love being out in nature, mostly by paddling, hiking, or just standing and gaping in wonder. I also play a number of musical instruments, and have started a little with ceramics and woodwork. Besides that, I like to bake sourdough bread and cook."
Something else you would like to share?
"I have enjoyed myself very much at Tjärnö and in the research group I have been part of. So it feels very good that I will be able to stay as a doctoral student and continue the exciting work."
Interview: Susanne Liljenström