Personal profile
Short presentation
The marine mammal ecology and evolution group seeks to document and understand effects of environmental change, pathogens, and human activities on the abundance, distribution, diversity and speciation of marine organisms with a focus on marine mammals, their prey and predators.
Our research is interdisciplinary with a focus on ancient, environmental and modern DNA analyses, museum collections and observations in the wild.
We teach Marine Mammal Biology and Research, Molecular Ecology, Arctic Biology, and Danish Vertebrate Zoology, and are always looking for new Postdocs, PhDs, MScs and BScs student to join our group.
Current research
Main research areas
Marine mammal ecology and evolution
Environmental change, pathogens and human interactions
Applied molecular ecology
Postdocs
Jacob Roved - Pinniped immune gene diversity
PhD students
Xenia Weber - Prehistoric population structure and human utilisation of Atlantic walrus
Maiken Hemme Bro-Jørgensen - Colonisation and extinction of harp seals in the Baltic
Iben Stokholm - Zoonotic diseases in marine mammals
Dóra Székely - eDNA for marine mammal monitoring
Morgan McCarthy - Beaked whale phylogenomics
Magie Aiken - Exploitation and phylogenomics of Black Sea cetaceans
Emily Ruiz - Walrus exploitation and genetic diversity
MSc students
Stefanie Nielsen - Bearded seal genomics
Ida-Marie Mollerup - eDNA and trophic interactions in Disko Bay
BSc students
Sarah Saboia - Baltic Sea cetacean zooarchaeology
Teaching
Marine Mammal Biology and Research (lecturer and course manager) http://kurser.ku.dk/course/NNMB15001U
Molecular Ecology (lecturer and co-manager)
Danmarks Fauna (guest lecturer)
Basic Arctic Biology (guest lecturer)
Arctic Field Course (guest lecturer)
Forensic Geobiology (guest lecturer)
Keywords
- Faculty of Science
Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years
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Circumpolar Population Structure, Diversity and Recent Evolutionary History of the Bearded Seal in Relation to Past and Present Icescapes
McCarthy, M. L., Martínez, A. R., Ferguson, S. H., Rosing-Asvid, A., Dietz, R., De Cahsan, B., Schreiber, L., Lorenzen, E. D., Hansen, R. G., Stimmelmayr, R., Bryan, A., Quakenbush, L., Lydersen, C., Kovacs, K. M. & Olsen, M. T., 2025, In: Molecular Ecology. 34, 4, 15 p., e17643.Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › Research › peer-review
Open AccessFile2 Citations (Scopus)25 Downloads (Pure) -
Complex Origins and History of the Relict Fennoscandian Ringed Seals
Olsen, M. T., Löytynoja, A., Valtonen, M., Knudsen, S. W., Bang, S., Gunnersen, C., Rosing-Asvid, A., Ferguson, S. H., Dietz, R., Kovacs, K. M., Lydersen, C., Jernvall, J., Auvinen, P. & Galatius, A., 2025, In: Ecology and Evolution. 15, 3, 17 p., e71067.Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › Research › peer-review
Open AccessFile6 Citations (Scopus)30 Downloads (Pure) -
Continuous mitochondrial diversity of Danube sturgeon species over millennia: insights from ancient DNA
Zampirolo, G., McCarthy, M. L., Živaljević, I., Penezić, K., Vuković, S., Mladenović, T., Marković, D., Marković, N., Radmanović, D., Orton, D., Olsen, M. T. & Pedersen, M. W., 2025, In: Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 380, 1930, 12 p., 20240034.Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › Research › peer-review
3 Citations (Scopus) -
Deep origins, distinct adaptations, and species-level status indicated for a glacial relict seal
Löytynoja, A., Pohjoismäki, J., Valtonen, M., Laakkonen, J., Morita, W., Kunnasranta, M., Väinölä, R., Olsen, M. T., Auvinen, P. & Jernvall, J., 2025, In: PNAS. 122, 25, 10 p., e2503368122.Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › Research › peer-review
Open AccessFile7 Citations (Scopus)37 Downloads (Pure) -
Hiding in plain sight: the biomolecular identification of pinniped use in medieval manuscripts
Lévêque, É., Teasdale, M. D., Fiddyment, S., Bro-Jørgensen, M. H., Spindler, L., Macleod, R., Bougard, F., Olsen, M. T. & Collins, M., 2025, In: Royal Society Open Science. 12, 4, 17 p., 241090.Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › Research › peer-review
Open AccessFile1 Citation (Scopus)45 Downloads (Pure) -
Phylogenomic, morphological and acoustic data support a revised taxonomy of the lissodelphinine dolphin subfamily
Galatius, A., Kinze, C. C., Olsen, M. T., Tougaard, J., Gotzek, D. & McGowen, M. R., 2025, In: Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 205, 11 p., 108299.Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › Research › peer-review
Open AccessFile9 Citations (Scopus)13 Downloads (Pure) -
Range-Wide Genomic Analysis Reveals Regional and Meta-Population Dynamics of Decline and Recovery in the Grey Seal
McCarthy, M. L., Cammen, K. M., Granquist, S. M., Dietz, R., Teilmann, J., Thøstesen, C. B., Kjeldgaard, S., Valtonen, M., Kunnasranta, M., Jenssen, B. M., Ahola, M. P., Bäcklin, B.-M., Bowen, W. D., Puryear, W. B., Runstadler, J. A., Russell, D. J. F., Galatius, A. & Olsen, M. T., 2025, In: Molecular Ecology. 34, 14, 17 p., e17824.Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › Research › peer-review
Open AccessFile2 Citations (Scopus)19 Downloads (Pure) -
Shifting seas: understanding deep-time human impacts on marine ecosystems
Holman, L. E., Bohmann, K., Craig, O. E., Orton, D., Pedersen, M. W., Olsen, M. T., Thurstan, R. H. & Scourse, J., 2025, In: Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 380, 1930, 10 p., 20240026.Research output: Contribution to journal › Review › peer-review
Open AccessFile6 Citations (Scopus)46 Downloads (Pure)
Activities
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The activity page will not be updated (January 2019)
Olsen, M. T. (Participant)
2019Activity: Presentations, memberships and other activity types › Other
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Age- and sex-biased dispersal in harbour seals assessed by genetic analyses at the individual and population level
Olsen, M. T. (Lecturer)
10 Dec 2013Activity: Presentations, memberships and other activity types › Lecture and oral contribution
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Havpattedyr: Et liv som postdoc
Olsen, M. T. (Lecturer)
20 Nov 2013Activity: Presentations, memberships and other activity types › Lecture and oral contribution
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HELCOM Seal Expert Group
Olsen, M. T. (Participant)
15 Oct 2013 → 17 Oct 2013Activity: Participating in an event - types › Participation in workshop, seminar, course
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Mit liv som forsker
Olsen, M. T. (Lecturer)
7 Oct 2013 → 8 Oct 2013Activity: Presentations, memberships and other activity types › Lecture and oral contribution
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The 10th Danish Marine Mammal Symposium
Olsen, M. T. (Organizer)
19 Apr 2013 → 20 Apr 2013Activity: Participating in an event - types › Organisation of and participation in conference
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Using genetic data to identify populations and management units: Concepts, cases and consequences with focus on marine mammals
Olsen, M. T. (Lecturer)
19 Apr 2013Activity: Presentations, memberships and other activity types › Lecture and oral contribution
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Integrating genetic and demographic data for the identification of harbour seal management units
Olsen, M. T. (Lecturer)
9 Apr 2013Activity: Presentations, memberships and other activity types › Lecture and oral contribution