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​Skúli Skúlason
Professor
skuli@holar.is

Curriculum Vitae
Google Scholar
​Researchgate 

Beverton's medallist 2024
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​I study processes of diversification within species, with an integrated approach to ecology, evolution and development, and a focus on freshwater fishes. Related to this, I am interested in the philosophical basis of biology, especially theories about the organism-environment relationship, the concept of biological diversity, the sources of values in nature and environmental ethics.

Research interest

Skúli Skúlason (b. 1958) obtained a BS degree in biology from the University of Iceland in 1981, completed a fourth-year program in biology at the same university in 1983, earned a master's degree in 1986, and a PhD in zoology in 1991 from the University of Guelph, Canada. In 1991, he was a postdoctoral researcher at the University of California, Berkeley, USA. Since then, Skúli has worked as a teacher and later as the headmaster of Hólar College and the rector of Hólar University. He is currently a professor in the Department of Aquaculture and Fish Biology and, since 2019, also a researcher at the Icelandic Museum of Natural History. Skúli has dedicated his research to evolutionary biology, with a focus on northern freshwater fish. He participated in the establishment of BIODICE in 2020 and serves as the chairman of its governing board.
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Publications (2020-2025)
Sandberg, O. M., Schultz, A., Guðmundsdóttir, R., & Skúlason, S. (2025). ‘Species’ is not the (only) unit of biodiversity: A process‐philosophical perspective on conservation concepts. Marine Ecology, 46(1), e12857. https://doi.org/10.1111/maec.12857

Koene, J. P., Bean, C. W., Kristjánsson, B. K., Skúlason, S., Leblanc, C. A., & Adams, C. (2024). Patterns, processes and conservation management consequences of intraspecific diversity, illustrated by fishes from recently glaciated lakes. Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems, 34, Article e4076. https://doi.org/10.1002/aqc.4076

Leblanc, C. A., Räsänen, K., Morrissey, M., Skúlason, S., Ferguson, M., & Kristjánsson, B. K. (2024). Fine-scale diversity in the lava: Genetic and phenotypic diversity in small populations of Arctic charr (Salvelinus alpinus). BMC Ecology and Evolution, 24, Article 45. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12862-024-02232-3

Pilakouta, N., Humble, J. L., Hill, I. D. C., Arthur, J., Costa, A. P. B., Smith, B. A., Kristjánsson, B. K., Skúlason, S., Killen, S. S., Lindström, J., Metcalfe, N. B., & Parsons, K. J. (2023). Testing the predictability of morphological evolution in contrasting thermal environments. Evolution, 77(1), 239-253. https://doi.org/10.1093/evolut/qpac018

Pilakouta, N., Killen, S. S., Kristjánsson, B. K., Skúlason, S., Lindström, J., Metcalfe, N. B., & Parsons, K. J. (2023). Geothermal stickleback populations prefer cool water despite multigenerational exposure to a warm environment. Ecology and Evolution, 13(1), 8. https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.9654

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, e9427. https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.9427

Bouvier, L. D., Baylis, J. R., Klementsen, A., Kristjánsson, B. K., Li, J. L., Magnan, P., McLaughlin, R. L., Muir, A. M., Sakakura, Y., & Skúlason, S. (2022). What is fish? The life and legend of David L.G. Noakes. Environmental Biology of Fishes. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10641-022-01344-3

Brachmann, M. K., Parsons, K., Skúlason, S., Gaggiotti, O., & Ferguson, M. (2022). Variation in the genomic basis of parallel phenotypic and ecological divergence in benthic and pelagic morphs of Icelandic Arctic charr (Salvelinus alpinus). Molecular Ecology, 31, 5826–5840. https://doi.org/10.1111/mec.16625
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Leblanc, C. A., Schreck, C., Kristjánsson, B. K., Skúlason, S., & Noakes, D. L. G. (2022). Egg size-related traits during the first year of growth and smolting in hatchery and wild juveniles of steelhead trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss). Environmental Biology of Fishes. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10641-022-01377-8

Pilakouta, N., O'Donnell, P. J., Crespel, A., Levet, M., Claireaux, M., Humble, J. L., Kristjánsson, B. K., Skúlason, S., Lindström, J., Metcalfe, N. B., Killen, S. S., & Parsons, K. J. (2022). A warmer environment can reduce sociability in an ectotherm. Global Change Biology, 29, 2341–2352. https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.16451

Brachmann, M., Parsons, K., Skúlason, S., & Ferguson, M. M. (2021). The interaction of resource use and gene flow on the phenotypic divergence of benthic and pelagic morphs of Icelandic Arctic charr (Salvelinus alpinus). Ecology and Evolution, 11. https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.7563

Helgadóttir, G., Renssen, H., Olk, R. R., Oredalen, T. J., Haraldsdóttir, L., Skúlason, S., & Thoraresen, H. (2021). Wild and farmed Arctic charr as a tourism product in an era of climate change. Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems, 5. https://doi.org/10.3389/fsufs.2021.654117

Karvonen, A., Beck, S., 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, 14024–14032. https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.8109

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Magalhaes I. S., Whiting J. R., D'Agostino D., Hohenlohe P. A., Mahmud M., Bell M. A., Skúlason S., & MacColl A. D. C. (2021). Intercontinental genomic parallelism in multiple three-spined stickleback adaptive radiations. Nature Ecology & Evolution, 5. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-020-01341-8

Beck, S. V., Räsänen, K., Leblanc, C. A., Skulason, 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(21), 1-15. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12861-020-00226-0

Kristjánsson B. K., & Skúlason S. (2020). Iðnvæðing háskóla – Hvernig markaðs- og nýfrjálshyggja mótar starfsemi háskóla á 21. öld. Skírnir, 194, 177-196.

Magalhaes, I. S., Whiting, J. R., D’Agostino, D., Hohenlohe, P. A., Mahmud, M., Bell, M. A., Skúlason, S., & MacColl, A. D. C. (2020). Intercontinental genomic parallelism in multiple three-spined stickleback adaptive radiations. bioRxiv. https://doi.org/10.1101/856344

Paccard, A., Hanson, D., Stuart, E. Y., von Hippel, F. A., Kalbe, M., Klepaker, T., Skúlason, S., Kristjánsson, B. K., Bolnick, I. D., Hendry, A. P., Barrett, R. D. H. (2020). Repeatability of adaptive radiation depends on spatial scale: regional versus global replicates of stickleback in lake versus stream habitats. Journal of Heredity, 111(1), 43–56. https://doi.org/10.1093/jhered/esz056

Pilakouta, N., Humble, J. L., Hill, I. D. C., Arthur, J., Costa, A. P. B., Smith, B. A., Kristjánsson, B. K., Skúlason, S., Killen, S. S., Lindström, J., Metcalfe, N. B., & Parsons, K. J. (2020). Testing the predictability of morphological evolution in contrasting thermal environments. bioRxiv. https://doi.org/10.1101/609933

Pilakouta, N., Killen, S. S., Kristjánsson, B. K., Skúlason, S., Lindström, J., Metcalfe, N. B., & Parsons, K. J. (2020). Multigenerational exposure to elevated temperatures leads to a reduction in standard metabolic rate in the wild. Functional Ecology, 34(6), 1205–1214. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2435.13538
​
  • Home
  • People +
    • ACADEMIC STAFF >
      • Bjarni Kristófer Kristjánsson
      • Camille A. Leblanc
      • David Benhaim
      • Paul V. Debes
      • Skúli Skúlason
      • Stefán Óli Steingrímsson
    • SUPPORT STAFF >
      • Marie Delbasty
    • STUDENTS AND POSTDOC >
      • Grant Haines
    • ALUMNI
  • Education
    • AQUACULTURE DIPLOMA
    • MASTER IN AQUATIC BIOLOGY
    • NORDIC MASTER - MARBIO
  • Research +
    • Biodiversity lab >
      • FishFAR
      • ECO-EVO-DEVO
      • Evolution of cognition: A study of sympatric morphs of Arctic charr
      • Microevolutionary processes in small populations
      • The importance of egg size for phenotypic variations and divergence in wild populations
    • Aquaculture lab >
      • Development of personality in the Arctic charr
      • Egg quality and growth in selected Arctic charr
      • Enhanced Soy Protein for Salmonid Aquafeeds
      • Breeding program
    • Publications
    • Research policy >
      • Research Policy of the Department of Aquaculture & Fish Biology
      • Appendix 1 - Focus of Research
      • Appendix 2 - Storage and access to databases
      • Appendix 3 - Storage and registration of samples
  • Facilities+
    • Our research station
    • Breeding station
  • SYMPOSIUM
    • SEMINAR SERIES
    • Mývatn Conference 2024
    • Stickleback 2022
  • News
  • WORK WITH US
    • INTERNSHIPS AND JOBS
    • LIVE AT HÓLAR
  • CONTACT