Trond Amundsen

Research 
profile


My 
research 
is 
focused 
on 
the 
evolutionary 
understanding 
of 
animal 
behaviour.
 I 
have 
conducted 
research 
on
 several
 issues 
related 
to 
parental 
care 
and
 sexual 
selection, 
and 
the 
interplay 
between 
the 
two 
processes. 
In 
addressing 
these
 topics, 
 I 
have 
studied
 a 
wide 
range
 of 
fish 
and 
bird 
species. 
My 
current 
research 
is 
focused 
on 
three 
main 
issues: 
(1) 
Sex
 role
 dynamics,
 (2) 
Female 
ornamentation 
in
 relation 
to 
male 
mate 
choice 
and 
female‐female 
competition, 
and 
(2) 
Social
 and 
genetic 
mating 
systems; 
all 
of 
these 
relating 
to 
the 
larger 
issue 
of 
animal 
signaling. 
My
 current
 main
 model 
species
 is 
the 
two‐spotted 
goby 
(Gobiusculus 
flavescens), 
a 
small 
but 
ecologically 
important
 marine
 fish.
 The
 research is
 focused
 on 
reproductive 
dynamics, 
including 
behavioral 
and 
ecological 
factors 
that 
promote 
or 
restrain 
reproduction. 
I
 have
 also 
recently 
initiated 
a 
project 
on
 coral 
reef 
fish 
coloration, 
diversity 
and
 speciation. While the majority of my work has aimed to understand basic biological phenomena and processes, I am also involved in projects related to conservation biology and climate change. 
A current main focus is the effects of coral bleaching and coral mortality on reef fishes. My
 research 
involves
 collaboration 
with 
specialists 
around 
the 
world, 
and 
with 
students, 
post‐docs 
and 
senior 
researchers 
at 
my 
NTNU
 lab.


You find more info about the research in my lab at the Sex Roles Lab website (link to the right).

Teaching and supervision

I enjoy teaching and teach at all levels, from introductory undergraduate to PhD level. Topics for courses include general animal behaviour, communication and reproductive behaviour, sexual selection, and the theory and philosophy of biological science. I also enjoy supervising MSc and PhD students.

Courses taught

How To Do Science

Introductory course for the MSc in biology. I am responsible for teaching Theory of Science. The course is taught in English. The course manager is Associate Professor Thorsten Hamman.

BI3052 Study Design

This is a fairly new MSc course aimed to provide an extensive and hands-on introduction to good study design for MSc projects and in general. I teach the course together with professors Jon Wright (course manager) and Christophe Pélabon. My part of the course is on "Testing Hypotheses in Science", "Experimental vs Observational Studies", and "Laboratory vs Field Studies". The course is taught in English, and involves extensive student-teacher interaction and group assignments.

BI1003 Evolution, Behaviour og Ecology

First-year course in evolution, behaviour and ecology - the very first biology course in the study program of the Department. I am responsible for teaching behaviour, life history (and a bit evolution), alternating with Professor Gunilla Rosenqvist (I do odd-number years, she does even-number years). The course is tought in Norwegian, and includes lectures and a project on an assigned topic (group work). The course manager is Professor Lars Söderström.

BI 2045 Communication and Reproductive Behaviour

This course explores communication, sexual selection and reproductive behaviour in animals - and a little bit in plants. It fits into the curriculum towards the end of a BSc degree. The course is based on lectures and a supervised literature review project, and is taught in English (provided foreign-speaking course participants). The course starts on Tuesday 17 February. More info about the course can be obtained at trondamundsen.com, from the NTNU studies catalogue, and - once you have signed up for the course - at it:s learning.

MN 8000 Doing science: methods, ethics and dissemination

This course provides a down-to-earth introduction to the fundamental issues of doing science - the challenges and potentials of the scientific endeavour. It also deals with contemporary controversial issues related to the interaction between science and society. The course is a PhD course that is mandatory for all PhD candidates at the Faculty of Natural Sciences and Technology (the "NT Faculty"), normally to be taken at the start of the PhD study. The course is intensive course and is taught during January - February. MN 8000 is a collaborative effort by all departments at the faculty, with teachers from all departments as well. The course includes plenary sessions for all students (e.g. scientific writing, dissemination, history of science) and seminar sessions focusing on fundamental issues of doing science. These seminars are split by topic/department. I am responsible for the seminars for biology and biotechnology candidates (and potentially for biophysics). The course manager is Professor Signe Kjelstrup.

Outreach

I like communicating science to lay audiences, and do so through lectures, newspapers, magazines, radio, etc. I also provide research news (mostly from research by others but sometimes also my own) on my twitter account https://twitter.com/Trond_Amundsen and sometimes also on my Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/trond.amundsen.940; open profile).