Christoffer Schander
Encyclopedia
Christoffer Schander is professor in marine biology
at the University of Bergen
, Norway
. He is also thematic leader at the Centre of excellence in Geobiology. He was born in Sweden
in 1960. His doctoral thesis (1997), from University of Gothenburg, Sweden, treated the evolutionary relationships of the parasitic gastropod family Pyramidellidae
. He works on marine invertebrates, mainly mollusks, and has published more than 90 scientific papers in peer-reviewed journals, whereof 76 are indexed in Web of Knowledge. Fourteen of them have been cited ten times or more.
According to his web page, the goal of his research is to understand the role that evolutionary forces and phylogeny have played in creating organismal diversity. To develop this understanding he uses phylogenetic analyses that integrate morphological, ultrastructural and molecular data. His research focuses on the molluscs, because of the amazing morphological diversity of recent taxa, and because of their fossil record dating back to the Precambrian
. More specifically, his research has focused on the ectoparasitic pyramidellid gastropods and the, shell-less, primary deep-sea aplacophora
ns. He is also interested in the biogeography
of these animals, and is also studying the relationship between the molluscs, and other animal groups and population genetics of several organisms.
In addition to taxonomy and systematics, he has also published several papers on the use of formalin fixed tissue for molecular studies. He is also active in the DNA barcoding
community.
Marine biology
Marine biology is the scientific study of organisms in the ocean or other marine or brackish bodies of water. Given that in biology many phyla, families and genera have some species that live in the sea and others that live on land, marine biology classifies species based on the environment rather...
at the University of Bergen
University of Bergen
The University of Bergen is located in Bergen, Norway. Although founded as late as 1946, academic activity had taken place at Bergen Museum as far back as 1825. The university today serves more than 14,500 students...
, Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
. He is also thematic leader at the Centre of excellence in Geobiology. He was born in Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
in 1960. His doctoral thesis (1997), from University of Gothenburg, Sweden, treated the evolutionary relationships of the parasitic gastropod family Pyramidellidae
Pyramidellidae
Pyramidellidae, common name the pyram family, or pyramid shells, is a voluminous taxonomic family of mostly small and minute ectoparasitic sea snails, marine heterobranch gastropod molluscs or micromolluscs....
. He works on marine invertebrates, mainly mollusks, and has published more than 90 scientific papers in peer-reviewed journals, whereof 76 are indexed in Web of Knowledge. Fourteen of them have been cited ten times or more.
According to his web page, the goal of his research is to understand the role that evolutionary forces and phylogeny have played in creating organismal diversity. To develop this understanding he uses phylogenetic analyses that integrate morphological, ultrastructural and molecular data. His research focuses on the molluscs, because of the amazing morphological diversity of recent taxa, and because of their fossil record dating back to the Precambrian
Precambrian
The Precambrian is the name which describes the large span of time in Earth's history before the current Phanerozoic Eon, and is a Supereon divided into several eons of the geologic time scale...
. More specifically, his research has focused on the ectoparasitic pyramidellid gastropods and the, shell-less, primary deep-sea aplacophora
Aplacophora
Aplacophora is a monophyletic group of small, deep-water, exclusively benthic, shell-less marine mollusks found in all oceans of the world. The group comprises the two clades Solenogastres and Caudofoveata , which between them contain 28 families and about 320 species...
ns. He is also interested in the biogeography
Biogeography
Biogeography is the study of the distribution of species , organisms, and ecosystems in space and through geological time. Organisms and biological communities vary in a highly regular fashion along geographic gradients of latitude, elevation, isolation and habitat area...
of these animals, and is also studying the relationship between the molluscs, and other animal groups and population genetics of several organisms.
In addition to taxonomy and systematics, he has also published several papers on the use of formalin fixed tissue for molecular studies. He is also active in the DNA barcoding
DNA barcoding
DNA barcoding is a taxonomic method that uses a short genetic marker in an organism's DNA to identify it as belonging to a particular species. It differs from molecular phylogeny in that the main goal is not to determine classification but to identify an unknown sample in terms of a known...
community.