Michael Le Pepke
Background and activities
I am a PhD student at the Centre for Biodiversity Dynamics and I have a broad interest in molecular ecology, ornithology, life-history evolution, phylogenetics and biogeography. In my PhD project, I investigate telomere dynamics and life-history trade-offs in populations of free-living (wild) house sparrows in northern Norway, where I do field work. I am collaborating with the University of Glasgow (telomere ecology), the University of Copenhagen (avian diversification) and the Norwegian Institute for Nature Research (DNA barcoding).
I have an undergraduate background in nanoscience and a master in ecology and evolution from the University of Copenhagen. My PhD supervisor is Thor Harald Ringsby, co-supervisors are Thomas Kvalnes, Henrik Jensen and Jonathan Wright.
Contact me if you like avian insularity, telomere biology or are interested in master projects involving field work – projects range wide within ecology and eco-evolutionary dynamics; insects, parasites, feeding rates, ecophysiology.
Scientific, academic and artistic work
Displaying a selection of activities. See all publications in the database
Journal publications
- (2022) Artificial size selection experiment reveals telomere length dynamics and fitness consequences in a wild passerine. Molecular Ecology.
- (2022) Inbreeding is associated with shorter early-life telomere length in a wild passerine. Conservation Genetics.
- (2021) Variation in generation time reveals density regulation as an important driver of pace of life in a bird metapopulation. Ecology Letters. vol. 24.
- (2021) On the comparative biology of mammalian telomeres: Telomere length co‐evolves with body mass, lifespan and cancer risk. Molecular Ecology.
- (2021) Genetic architecture and heritability of early-life telomere length in a wild passerine. Molecular Ecology.
- (2020) Birds and bugs: Trapping and tracking the vital insect food for young birds. NTNU Fagblogg.
- (2020) Accounting for phylogenetic relatedness in cross-species analyses of telomere shortening rates. Experimental Results. vol. 1.
- (2019) Reconciling supertramps, great speciators and relict species with the taxon cycle stages of a large island radiation (Aves: Campephagidae). Journal of Biogeography. vol. 46 (6).
- (2018) Komparativ kognition og naturlig intelligens: Kloge krager, intelligente insekter og dumme dyr. Kvant: tidsskrift for fysik og astronomi. vol. 2.
- (2018) Vilde dyr ældes også. Aktuel Naturvidenskab. vol. 1.
- (2018) Phylogeography of a ‘great speciator’ (Aves: Edolisoma tenuirostre) reveals complex dispersal and diversification dynamics across the Indo-Pacific. Journal of Biogeography. vol. 45 (4).
Books
- (2020) Chapter 18: How species diversity accumulated over time. In: The Largest Avian Radiation. The Evolution of Perching Birds, or the Order Passeriformes. 2020. ISBN 978-84-16728-33-6.
Report/dissertation
- (2021) The Ecological and evolutionary role of telomere length in house sparrows. 2021. Doctoral theses at NTNU (420).
- (2019) The effect of arthropod availability on reproductive phenology and success in a multi-brooded passerine Passer domesticus. 2019.
- (2019) Nest Microclimate in Relation to Maternal Phenotypic Quality and Reproductive Success in a Wild Population of House Sparrows (Passer domesticus). 2019.
- (2016) Phylogeny and biogeography of Campephagidae (Aves: Passeriformes): Great speciators, supertramps and taxon cycles. Master thesis. 2016.