Dr Samantha Beck
Marie Skłodowska-Curie Global Fellow
Sam is a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Global Research Fellow currently working on the EU funded SAL-MOVE project in collaboration with the Institute of Biodiversity and Freshwater Conservation at UHI Inverness, Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada and Dalhousie University. She specialised in molecular ecology during her BSc and MRes at Bangor University in North Wales before starting her PhD at Hólar University and University of Iceland, where she explored the evolution of intraspecific diversity using both molecular and morphological tools. She finished her PhD in 2019 and now integrates her interests in evolutionary biology, genomics, and their practical use in the conservation management of freshwater and anadromous fishes.
- PhD: The influence of egg size for the diversification of Arctic charr (Salvelinus alpinus) morphs. Hólar University / University of Iceland (2019)
- MRes: Genetic insights into the management and conservation of Arctic charr in North Wales: past, present and future. Bangor University (2014)
- BSc: Zoology and Conservation. Bangor University (2013)
Research interest:
- Use of genomic tools to inform conservation management of freshwater and anadromous fishes
- Integration of genetic, genomic and morphological tools to understand how intraspecific diversity is generated and/or maintained
Research project highlights:
- SAL-MOVE: Migration timing genotype as a predictor of salmon vulnerability to environmental change.
- AS3IG: Atlantic salmon stock assessment - integrating genetics
Past projects:
- Dee tracking project: https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-south-scotland-65843407; https://www.gallowayfisheriestrust.org/smolt-tracking-work.php; https://gallowayglens.org/tracking-salmon-as-they-travel-down-the-dee/
- West Coast Tracking Project: https://atlanticsalmontrust.org/our-work/west-coast-tracking-project/
Publications:
Beck, S. V., Carvalho, G. R., Barlow, A., Rüber, L., Tan, H. H., Nugroho, E., Wowor, D., Nor, S. A. M., Herder, F., Muchlisin, Z. A., & Bruyn, M. de. (2017). Plio-Pleistocene phylogeography of the Southeast Asian Blue Panchax killifish, Aplocheilus panchax. PLOS ONE, 12(7), e0179557. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0179557
Beck, S. V., Räsänen, K., Ahi, E. P., Kristjánsson, B. K., Skúlason, S., Jónsson, Z. O., & Leblanc, C. A. (2019). Gene expression in the phenotypically plastic Arctic charr (Salvelinus alpinus): A focus on growth and ossification at early stages of development. Evolution & Development, 21(1), 16–30. https://doi.org/10.1111/ede.12275
Beck, S. V., Räsänen, K., Leblanc, C. A., Skúlason, S., Jónsson, Z. O., & Kristjánsson, B. K. (2020). Differences among families in craniofacial shape at early life-stages of Arctic charr (Salvelinus alpinus). BMC Developmental Biology, 20(1), 21. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12861-020-00226-0
Karvonen, A., Beck, S. V., Skúlason, S., Kristjánsson, B. K., & Leblanc, C. A. (2021). Variation in parasite resistance of Arctic charr, Salvelinus alpinus, between and within sympatric morphs. Ecology and Evolution, 11(20), 14024–14032. https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.8109
Beck, S. V., Räsänen, K., Kristjánsson, B. K., Skúlason, S., Jónsson, Z. O., Tsinganis, M., & Leblanc, C. A. (2022). Variation in egg size and offspring phenotype among and within seven Arctic charr morphs. Ecology and Evolution, 12(10), e9427. https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.9427
Nugent, C. M., Kess, T., Brachmann, M. K., Langille, B. L., Holborn, M. K., Beck, S. V., Smith, N., Duffy, S. J., Lehnert, S. J., Wringe, B. F., Bentzen, P., & Bradbury, I. R. (n.d.). Genomic and machine learning-based screening of aquaculture-associated introgression into at-risk wild North American Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) populations. Molecular Ecology Resources, n/a(n/a). https://doi.org/10.1111/1755-0998.13811