Dr. Henri Thomassen

Research interests

I am fascinated by the enormous diversity of life surrounding us. I am particularly interested in how this diversity came about, and how it can be protected from the negative impacts of human actions. My work thus lies at the interface of evolutionary biology, ecology, and conservation biology. I focus on understanding the mechanisms of diversification at the species and population levels, both spatially and temporally. In addition, I am applying the knowledge about past and current processes to predict how future environmental changes might influence levels of biodiversity. I currently work on both fundamental evolutionary ecological questions and on conservation related issues in Europe, Africa, and the Pacific.

5 key publications

J.C. Geue, C.I. Vágási, M. Schweizer, P.L. Pap, H.A. Thomassen (2016). Environmental selection is a main driver of divergence in house sparrows (Passer domesticus) in Romania and Bulgaria. Ecology and Evolution: DOI: 10.1002/ece3.2509.

H.A. Thomassen, A. Freedman, D.M. Brown, W. Buermann, D.K. Jacobs (2013). Regional differences in seasonal timing of rainfall discriminate between genetically distinct East African giraffe taxa. PloS ONE 8: e77191.

H.A. Thomassen, T. Fuller, W. Buermann, B. Milá, C.M. Kieswetter, P. Jarrín-V., S.E. Cameron, E. Mason, R. Schweizer, J. Schlunegger, J. Chan, O. Wang, M. Peralvo, C.J. Schneider, C.H. Graham, J.P. Pollinger, S. Saatchi, R.K. Wayne, T.B. Smith (2011). Mapping evolutionary process: a multi-taxa approach to conservation prioritization. Evolutionary Applications 4: 397-413.

R.J. Harrigan*, H.A. Thomassen*, W. Buermann, R. Cummings, M.E. Kahn, T.B. Smith (2010). Economic conditions predict prevalence of West Nile virus. PloS ONE 5: e15437. (*these authors contributed equally to this work)

H.A. Thomassen, Z.A. Cheviron, A.H. Freedman, R.J. Harrigan, R.K. Wayne, T.B. Smith (2010). Spatial modeling and landscape-level approaches for visualizing intra-specific variation. Molecular Ecology 19: 3532-3548. (Invited Review)

CV

List of publications