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Nicolas Straube

Associate Professor, Curator of ichthyology and associate professor
University Museum of Bergen Department of Natural History
Shark References
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My research foci lie on deciphering the phylogeny and systematics of deep-sea sharks, where I am making use of morphological and phylogenomic methods (including sequencing of preserved museum material) to explore adaptation, diversity, phylogeography and population structures in present and past.

 

 

Publications (selection)

 

Methods:

Straube, N. & Lyra, M.L. & Paijmans, J.L.A. & Preick, M. & Basler, N. & Penner, J. & Rödel, M.-O. & Westbury, M.V. & Haddad, C.F.B. & Barlow, A. & Hofreiter, M. (2021)Successful application of ancient DNA extraction and library construction protocols to museum wet collection specimens. Molecular Ecology Resources, 21(7), 2299–2315DOI: 10.1111/1755-0998.13433

Agne, S. & Straube, N. & Preick, M. & Hofreiter, M. (2022). Simultaneous barcode sequencing of diverse museum collection specimens using a mixed RNA bait set. Front. Ecol. Evol. doi: 10.3389/fevo.2022.909846

McCormack, J. & Griffiths, M.L. & Kim, S.L. & Shimada, K. & Karnes, M. & Maisch, H. & Pederzani, S. & Bourgon, N. & Jaouen, K. & Becker, M.A. & Jöns, N. & Sisma-Ventura, G. & Straube, N. & Pollerspöck, J. & Hublin, J.-J. & Eagle, R.A. & Tütken, T. (2022)Trophic position of Otodus megalodon and great white sharks through time revealed by zinc isotopes. Nature Communications, 13, Article 2980DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-30528-9

Li, C. & Hofreiter, M. & Straube, N. & Corrigan, S. & Naylor G.J.P. (2013) Capturing protein-coding genes across highly divergent species BioTechniques 2013 54:6, 321-326

 

Museomics

Baer, Jan, Schliewen, Ulrich K., Schedel, Frederic D. B., Straube, Nicolas, Roch, Samuel, and Brinker, Alexander. 2023. “ Cryptic Persistence and Loss of Local Endemism in Lake Constance Charr Subject to Anthropogenic Disturbance.” Ecological Applications 33( 2): e2773. https://doi.org/10.1002/eap.2773

Agne, S. & Naylor, G.J.P. & Preick, M. & Yang, L. & Thiel, R. & Weigmann, S. & Paijmans, J.L.A. & Barlow, A. & Hofreiter, M. & Straube, N. (2022)Taxonomic Identification of Two Poorly Known Lantern Shark Species Based on Mitochondrial DNA From Wet-Collection Paratypes. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, 10, Article fevo.2022.910009DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2022.910009

Straube, N. & Preick, M. & Naylor, G.J.P. & Hofreiter, M. (2021)Mitochondrial DNA sequencing of a wet-collection syntype demonstrates the importance of type material as genetic resource for lantern shark taxonomy (Chondrichthyes: Etmopteridae). Royal Society Open Science, 8(9), Article 210474DOI: 10.1098/rsos.210474

Li, C. & Corrigan, S. & Yang, L. & Straube, N. & Harris, M. & Hofreiter, M. & White, W.T. & Naylor, G.J.P. (2015)DNA capture reveals transoceanic gene flow in endangered river sharks. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 112(43), 13302–13307DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1508735112

 

Technical comment:

Feichtinger, I. & Adnet, S. & Cuny, G. & Guinot, G. & Kriwet, J. & Neubauer, T.A. & Pollerspöck, J. & Shimada, K. & Straube, N. & Underwood, C. & Vullo, R. & Harzhauser, M. (2021)Comment on “An early Miocene extinction in pelagic sharks”. Science, 374(6573), Article abk0632DOI: 10.1126/science.abk0632

 

Phylogenetics & Evolution

Wang, Q. & Dizaj, L. P. & Huang, J. & Sarker, K. K. & Kevrekidis, C. & Reichenbacher, B. & Esmaeili, H. R. & Straube, N. & Moritz, T. & Li, C. (2022) Molecular phylogenetics of the Clupeiformes based on exon-capture data and a new classification of the order, Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution,Volume 175,2022,107590,https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ympev.2022.107590

Claes, J.M. & Nilsson, D.-E. & Mallefet, J. & Straube, N. (2015)The presence of lateral photophores correlates with increased speciation in deep-sea bioluminescent sharks. Royal Society Open Science, 2, Article 150219DOI: 10.1098/rsos.150219

Claes, J.M. & Nilsson, D.-E. & Straube, N. & Collin, S.P. & Mallefet, J. (2014)Iso-luminance counterillumination drove bioluminescent shark radiation. Scientific Reports, 4, Article 4328DOI: 10.1038/srep04328

Straube, N. & Li, C. & Claes, J.M. & Corrigan, S. & Naylor, G.J.P. (2015)Molecular phylogeny of Squaliformes and first occurrence of bioluminescence in sharks. BMC Evolutionary Biology, 15, Article 162 DOI: 10.1186/s12862-015-0446-6

 

Conservation

Villate-Moreno, M, & Cubillos-M, J.C. & Stibor, H. & Crawford, A.J. & Straube, N. (2022)Molecular identification and first demographic insights of sharks based on artisanal fisheries bycatch in the Pacific Coast of Colombia: implications for conservation. PeerJ, 10, Article e13478DOI: 10.7717/peerj.13478

Villate-Moreno, M. & Pollerspöck, J. & Kremer-Obrock, F. & Straube, N. (2021)Molecular analyses of confiscated shark fins reveal shortcomings of CITES implementations in Germany. Conservation Science and Practice, 3(6), Article e398DOI: 10.1111/csp2.398

Palaeontology

Pollerspöck, J. & Güthner, T. & Straube, N. (2022)Re-evaluation of the Lower Miocene (Burdigalian, Ottnangian) elasmobranch fauna (Elasmobranchii, Neoselachii) from Upper Austria (Allerding, near Schärding, Austria) with comments on the paleogeographic distribution of the recorded squaliform sharks. Annalen des Naturhistorischen Museums in Wien, Series A, 122, 87–163

Feichtinger, I. & Guinot, G. & Straube, N. & Harzhauser, M. & Auer, G. & Ćorić, S. & Kranner, M. & Schellhorn, S. & Ladwig, J. & Thies, D. & Pollerspöck, J. (2022)Revision of the Cretaceous shark Protoxynotus (Chondrichthyes, Squaliformes) and early evolution of somniosid sharks. Cretaceous Research, 140, Article 105331DOI: 10.1016/j.cretres.2022.105331

Pollerspöck, J. & Beaury, B. & Straube, N. & Feichtinger, I. (2021)Oldest evidence of the genus Squalus in the north alpine realm with remarks on its evolution and distribution through time. Paleoichthys, 2, 1–9

Pollerspöck, J. & Beaury, B. & Straube, N. & Feichtinger, I. (2021)Oldest evidence of the genus Squalus in the north alpine realm with remarks on its evolution and distribution through time. Paleoichthys, 2, 1–9

Pollerspöck, J. & Straube, N. (2021)Phylogenetic placement and description of an extinct genus and species of kitefin shark based on tooth fossils (Squaliformes: Dalatiidae). Journal of Systematic Palaeontology, 19(15), 1083–1096DOI: 10.1080/14772019.2021.2012537

 

 

 

 

  • Show author(s) (2024). Wide-spread dispersal in a deep-sea brooding polychaete: the role of natural history collections in assessing the distribution in quill worms (Onuphidae, Annelida). Frontiers in Zoology.
  • Show author(s) (2023). The Hidden Sea Creatures in Norway's Fjords - On Mission.
  • Show author(s) (2023). På tokt med OceanX.
  • Show author(s) (2023). New records of fossil deep-sea shark teeth from the Lillebælt Clay (Early–Middle Eocene) of Denmark. Bulletin of the Geological Society of Denmark. 153-173.
  • Show author(s) (2023). Head anatomy of a lantern shark wet-collection specimen (Chondrichthyes: Etmopteridae). Journal of Anatomy.
  • Show author(s) (2023). First in situ documentation of a fossil tooth of the megatooth shark Otodus (Megaselachus) megalodon from the deep sea in the Pacific Ocean. Historical Biology.
  • Show author(s) (2023). Diversity of fish inside and around hydrothermal vent fields on the Arctic Mid-Ocean Ridge.
  • Show author(s) (2023). Comment on “4.4 First record of the goblin shark Mitsukurina owstoni Jordan, 1898 (Lamniformes: Mitsukurinidae) in the Mediterranean Sea” by Athanasios Anastasiadis, Evangelos Papadimitriou and Frithjof C. Küpper in: Kousteni, V., Anastasiadis, A., Bariche, M., Battaglia, P., Bonifazi, A. et al. (2022). New records of rare species in the Mediterranean Sea (May 2022). Mediterranean Marine Science, 23 (3), 417-446. Mediterranean Marine Science. 101-103.
  • Show author(s) (2023). Can We Film this Bioluminescent Shark? .
  • Show author(s) (2022). Trophic position of Otodus megalodon and great white sharks through time revealed by zinc isotopes. Nature Communications.
  • Show author(s) (2022). Taxonomic Identification of Two Poorly Known Lantern Shark Species Based on Mitochondrial DNA From Wet-Collection Paratypes. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution.
  • Show author(s) (2022). Simultaneous Barcode Sequencing of Diverse Museum Collection Specimens Using a Mixed RNA Bait Set. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution.
  • Show author(s) (2022). Revision of the Cretaceous shark Protoxynotus (Chondrichthyes, Squaliformes) and early evolution of somniosid sharks. Cretaceous research (Print).
  • Show author(s) (2022). Placoid scales in bioluminescent sharks: Scaling their evolution using morphology and elemental composition. Frontiers in Marine Science. 1-15.
  • Show author(s) (2022). Molecular phylogenetics of the Clupeiformes based on exon-capture data and a new classification of the order. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution.
  • Show author(s) (2022). Molecular identification and first demographic insights of sharks based on artisanal fisheries bycatch in the Pacific Coast of Colombia: implications for conservation. PeerJ.
  • Show author(s) (2022). Keratose sponge MuseOMICS: setting reference points in dictyoceratid demosponge phylogeny. Zootaxa. 296-300.
  • Show author(s) (2022). Cryptic persistence and loss of local endemism in Lake Constance charr subject to anthropogenic disturbance. Ecological Applications.
  • Show author(s) (2021). Successful application of ancient DNA extraction and library construction protocols to museum wet collection specimens. Molecular Ecology Resources. 2299-2315.
  • Show author(s) (2021). Phylogenetic placement and description of an extinct genus and species of kitefin shark based on tooth fossils (Squaliformes: Dalatiidae). Journal of Systematic Palaeontology. 1083-1096.
  • Show author(s) (2021). Molecular analyses of confiscated shark fins reveal shortcomings of CITES implementations in Germany. Conservation Science and Practice (CSP). 1-8.
  • Show author(s) (2021). Mitochondrial DNA sequencing of a wet-collection syntype demonstrates the importance of type material as genetic resource for lantern shark taxonomy (Chondrichthyes: Etmopteridae). Royal Society Open Science. 1-13.
  • Show author(s) (2021). Fisker (Myxini, Petromyzontiformes, Chondrichthyes, Osteichthyes). Norsk rødliste for arter 2021. .
  • Show author(s) (2021). Comment on “An early Miocene extinction in pelagic sharks”. Science.
  • Show author(s) (2020). Two centuries of marine biodiversity collections and research.
  • Show author(s) (2020). Target-enriched DNA sequencing from historical type material enables a partial revision of the Madagascar giant stream frogs (genus Mantidactylus). Journal of Natural History. 87-118.
  • Show author(s) (2020). Intraspecific dental variations in the deep-sea shark Etmopterus spinax and their significance in the fossil record. Zoomorphology. 483-491.
  • Show author(s) (2019). The whale hall - The great swarm.
  • Show author(s) (2019). The Garra species (Cyprinidae) of the Main Nile basin with description of three new species. Cybium. 311-329.
  • Show author(s) (2019). Mission (im)possible: identifying skate species accurrately, fast, easy and untrained, is that possible?

More information in national current research information system (CRIStin)

  • Phylogenomics of archival DNA (German research Foundation; project number 351649567)
  • Lions in Bergen – provenance of three collection specimens of Panthera leo in the University Museum of Bergen (Meltzer Fund)
  • Type Specimen Museomics (Meltzer Fund)

 

 

 

 

 

Since 2019:

  • Stefanie Agne, PhD student at Potsdam University, Germany. Title: Phylogenomic assignment of orphan museum specimens. Further supervision: Nicolas Straube, Michael Hofreiter (Potsdam University) & Ralf Tiedemann (Potsdam University).
  • Melany Villate-Moreno, PhD student at Ludwig Maximilians University, Munich, Germany (LMU). Title: Molecular tools for elasmobranch identification and conservation. Supervision: Nicolas Straube, Herwig Stibor (LMU) & Roland Melzer (LMU)
  • Renate Løvlund Andersen, student at UiB BIO; BIO299: Research Practice in Biology. Title: Intraspecific dental variations in the deep-sea shark Galeus melastomus.

Alumni:

  • Haakon Arthur Pederson, Msc student at NTNU and UiB. Title: Diversity of fish inside and aroundhydrothermal vent fields on theArctic Mid-Ocean Ridge. Supervision: Mari Heggernes Eilertsen (UiB), Torkild Bakken (NTNU) & Nicolas Straube (UiB)
  • Benedikt Auer, Msc studetn at Rostock University, Germany. Title: In full armour - does shark skin protect from parasite infestation? Supervision: Timo Moritz (UR & DMM) & Nicolas Straube (UiB).

  • Michael Matschiner, Natural History Museum, University of Oslo, Norway

The role of gene flow in the evolution of Antarctic icefishes (Norwegian Research Council, project ES714115)

Resolving the taxonomy of Malagasy cichlids with museomics: preliminary phylogenetic results for the genus Paratilapia

  • Ulrich K. Schliewen, Bavarian State Collection of Zoology (SNSB-ZSM), Munich, Germany

Taxonomy and biology of European miniature gobies.

Exploiting the genomic record of selected fish genera to reconstruct the landscape evolution of South-Central Africa (with Frederic B. Schedel, Ludwig Maximilians University, Munich, Germany)

  • Shing-Lai Ng, Department of Environmental Biology and Fisheries Science, National Taiwan Ocean University, Keelung, Taiwan

A taxonomic revision of the lantern shark genus Etmopterus using integrative approaches.

  • Juergen Pollerspoeck, Bavarian State Collection of Zoology (SNSB-ZSM), Munich, Germany

Teeth, times & trees: taxonomy and systematics of neoselachian fossil teeth of Europe.

  • Timo Moritz, Deutsches Meeresmuseum, Stralsund, Germany

Cooperative field work for specimen collection.

  • Rupert Wienerroither, Institute of Marine Research, Bergen, Norway

Cooperative fieldwork for specimen collection.

Fields of competence 
DNA barcoding
DNA NGS sequencing
Evolutionary Biology
Extraction of DNA
Molecular phylogenetics
Phylogenetic analysis