Field site at Risør fjord in Norway.
About
We are the Transatlantic Fish Lab, a group of marine evolutionary ecologists led by Dr. Rebekah Oomen that spans both sides of the Atlantic and studies fishes that do the same. We're based at the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of New Brunswick Saint John, the University of Gothenburg, the University of Agder, and the University of Oslo.
We're interested in how organisms respond to environmental change, including how adaptation to local environments in the past influences contemporary plastic responses and current/future environmental adaptation. Our research uses interdisciplinary experimental, genomic, and modelling studies of natural populations to understand how these responses are structured across heterogeneous environments and within the genome itself. We believe that the answers to these questions are critical for predicting the persistence of species in the face of environmental change and for managing populations effectively to mitigate biodiversity loss.
We primarily focus on adaptation and speciation in marine fishes like Atlantic cod and Atlantic bluefin tuna. Our research is ultimately aimed at integrating ecological and genomic data to forecast population responses to environmental change. We aim to support evidence-based decision making in fisheries while providing insights into the predictability of ecology and evolution.
We also share a passion for science communication, such as through the scientific and artistic project TORSKETROMMING ('COD DRUMMING'), which investigates the role of drumming vocalisations in the Atlantic cod mating ritual and human-cod connection by combining natural scientific, artistic, and social scientific practices.
We're interested in how organisms respond to environmental change, including how adaptation to local environments in the past influences contemporary plastic responses and current/future environmental adaptation. Our research uses interdisciplinary experimental, genomic, and modelling studies of natural populations to understand how these responses are structured across heterogeneous environments and within the genome itself. We believe that the answers to these questions are critical for predicting the persistence of species in the face of environmental change and for managing populations effectively to mitigate biodiversity loss.
We primarily focus on adaptation and speciation in marine fishes like Atlantic cod and Atlantic bluefin tuna. Our research is ultimately aimed at integrating ecological and genomic data to forecast population responses to environmental change. We aim to support evidence-based decision making in fisheries while providing insights into the predictability of ecology and evolution.
We also share a passion for science communication, such as through the scientific and artistic project TORSKETROMMING ('COD DRUMMING'), which investigates the role of drumming vocalisations in the Atlantic cod mating ritual and human-cod connection by combining natural scientific, artistic, and social scientific practices.
News:
21/01/26: We published 'A beginner’s guide to structural variants in eco-evolutionary population genomics' in Molecular Ecology and 'Addressing key challenges in sample handling for high-quality reference genome generation' in Molecular Ecology Resources this week!
20/12/25: 2025 was a big year for reference genomes! We celebrated 10 new genome notes passing peer review, including Atlantic bluefin tuna, Azores bullfinch, several mollusks and plants, an annelid, and a gorgonian.
12/12/25: Huge congratulations to Bec for passing her MSc defense on 'The role of chromosomal inversions in temperature and salinity adaptation in Atlantic cod (Gadus Morhua) eggs'!! Check out her preprints here and here.
14/08/25: Congratulations to Iris for passing her PhD Preliminary Examination!
09/07/25: A stellar showing from the lab at the Canadian Society for Ecology and Evolution meeting in Sherbrooke, Quebec. Simon, Bec, and Rebekah gave talks and Iris, Remy, and Steph presented posters.
11/06/25: Claudia, Simon, and Rebekah spent 2 weeks sailing on the full-rigged tall ship Sørlandet (est. 1927), recording the sound of the Skagerrak Sea and spreading ocean solutions to Norway, Denmark, and Sweden.
10/04/25: Congratulations to Honours students Stephanie Maheux and Abbi Scher who completed their theses on bluefin tuna genomics!
27/03/25: Our paper 'The genome sequence of Atlantic Bluefin Tuna, Thunnus thynnus (Linnaeus, 1758)' is published open access on Wellcome Open Research.
23/01/25: It's an incredible honour to receive the Sidnie Manton Award from the British Ecological Society for my paper 'Genomic reaction norms inform predictions of plastic and adaptive responses to climate change'.
06/01/25: New year, new social media platform! You can now find me on Bluesky @rebekahoomen.bsky.social.
01/09/24: We welcome MSc student Remy Durocher and PhD student Iris Jia to the lab! They are working on understanding the roles of structural genomic variants in Atlantic cod and Atlantic bluefin tuna adaptation, respectively.
25/08/24: The lab had a fantastic field trip to the Wedgeport Tuna Tournament & Festival in southwest Nova Scotia to sample Atlantic bluefin tuna and other tuna species during the tournament to understand what's being fished when.
04/07/24: An early-career perspective on 'Preventing bad behaviour in academia' published today in Science included my opinions about broadening assessments and de-emphasising publication quantity.
01/05/24: Welcome summer/honours students Stephanie Maheux and Abbi Scher to the lab! They'll collaborate with Fisheries & Oceans Canada to understand the genomic basis of migration and recovery in Atlantic bluefin tuna.
12/04/24: Our lab is officially funded by the Canadian Foundation for Innovation (CFI), Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), and the New Brunswick Innovation Foundation (NBIF)! Exciting research ahead!
More...
21/01/26: We published 'A beginner’s guide to structural variants in eco-evolutionary population genomics' in Molecular Ecology and 'Addressing key challenges in sample handling for high-quality reference genome generation' in Molecular Ecology Resources this week!
20/12/25: 2025 was a big year for reference genomes! We celebrated 10 new genome notes passing peer review, including Atlantic bluefin tuna, Azores bullfinch, several mollusks and plants, an annelid, and a gorgonian.
12/12/25: Huge congratulations to Bec for passing her MSc defense on 'The role of chromosomal inversions in temperature and salinity adaptation in Atlantic cod (Gadus Morhua) eggs'!! Check out her preprints here and here.
14/08/25: Congratulations to Iris for passing her PhD Preliminary Examination!
09/07/25: A stellar showing from the lab at the Canadian Society for Ecology and Evolution meeting in Sherbrooke, Quebec. Simon, Bec, and Rebekah gave talks and Iris, Remy, and Steph presented posters.
11/06/25: Claudia, Simon, and Rebekah spent 2 weeks sailing on the full-rigged tall ship Sørlandet (est. 1927), recording the sound of the Skagerrak Sea and spreading ocean solutions to Norway, Denmark, and Sweden.
10/04/25: Congratulations to Honours students Stephanie Maheux and Abbi Scher who completed their theses on bluefin tuna genomics!
27/03/25: Our paper 'The genome sequence of Atlantic Bluefin Tuna, Thunnus thynnus (Linnaeus, 1758)' is published open access on Wellcome Open Research.
23/01/25: It's an incredible honour to receive the Sidnie Manton Award from the British Ecological Society for my paper 'Genomic reaction norms inform predictions of plastic and adaptive responses to climate change'.
06/01/25: New year, new social media platform! You can now find me on Bluesky @rebekahoomen.bsky.social.
01/09/24: We welcome MSc student Remy Durocher and PhD student Iris Jia to the lab! They are working on understanding the roles of structural genomic variants in Atlantic cod and Atlantic bluefin tuna adaptation, respectively.
25/08/24: The lab had a fantastic field trip to the Wedgeport Tuna Tournament & Festival in southwest Nova Scotia to sample Atlantic bluefin tuna and other tuna species during the tournament to understand what's being fished when.
04/07/24: An early-career perspective on 'Preventing bad behaviour in academia' published today in Science included my opinions about broadening assessments and de-emphasising publication quantity.
01/05/24: Welcome summer/honours students Stephanie Maheux and Abbi Scher to the lab! They'll collaborate with Fisheries & Oceans Canada to understand the genomic basis of migration and recovery in Atlantic bluefin tuna.
12/04/24: Our lab is officially funded by the Canadian Foundation for Innovation (CFI), Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), and the New Brunswick Innovation Foundation (NBIF)! Exciting research ahead!
More...
We respectfully acknowledge that UNB stands on the unsurrendered and unceded traditional Wolastoqey (WOOL-US-TOOK-WAY) land. The lands of Wabanaki (WAH-BAH-NAH-KEE) people are recognized in a series of Peace and Friendship Treaties to establish an ongoing relationship of peace, friendship and mutual respect between equal nations. The river that connects our two campuses is known as Wolastoq (WOOL-LUSS-TOOK), along which live Wolastoqiyik (WOOL-US-TOO-GWEEG) – the people of the beautiful and bountiful river. Wolastoq (WOOL-LUSS-TOOK) is also called the St. John River.
All photos are mine unless otherwise specified. This site is optimized for desktop/tablet, so strange things can happen on a mobile/tablet.
All photos are mine unless otherwise specified. This site is optimized for desktop/tablet, so strange things can happen on a mobile/tablet.