Two Master's thesis topics on Atlantic salmon eco-evolutionary change across Europe at the University of Helsinki
Location: Helsinki, Finland
Organization: University of Helsinki - Evolution, Conservation and Genomics Lab (PI: Prof. Craig Primmer)
Contract Type: Master's thesis (3-6 months duration)
Main Description:
Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) populations worldwide have faced a decline or have already been extirpated (ICES 2025), mainly due to human-induced pressures over the past two centuries. Alongside these demographic declines, long-term monitoring programs have reported rapid phenotypic changes, including shifts in age at maturity and growth across their North Atlantic distribution. Genetic changes have also been documented, including increasing homogenization among populations. Considering these phenotypic and genotypic traits influence salmon fitness and population resilience, understanding their temporal dynamics is crucial.
European populations benefit from long-term monitoring programs, providing a unique opportunity to study temporal trends in life-history and genetic diversity across a broad geographic scale and environmental gradient. Using these datasets, we offer two Master's thesis projects:
Project 1: Long-term changes in life-history strategies of Atlantic salmon across Europe
- Starting date: as soon as possible (from February 1, 2026)
- Research questions: What is the extent of life-history diversity across European populations? How have these life-history strategies changed over decades?
- Available data: Life-history traits (age at maturity, age at smoltification, sex, length, and weight) derived from scales and biometric measurements for approximately 45,000 individuals collected through long-term monitoring (~1973–2022) across several European populations.
- Student tasks: The student will analyze the already available database to characterize the diversity of life-history strategies across populations and apply statistical time-series methods to quantify phenotypic trends over time. The student will compare trends among populations.
Project 2: Past and present genetic diversity of Atlantic salmon populations across Europe
- Starting date: flexible
- Research questions: How has genetic diversity in European salmon populations changed over time? Are populations becoming more or less homogeneous?
- Data available: Genotypic data (140 SNPs) from approximately 11,000 historical and contemporary samples, derived from scales collected through long-term monitoring (1956–2022) across multiple European populations.
- Student tasks: The student will assess changes in genetic diversity, structure, and effective population size (Ne) over time in several European populations using standard population genetic methodologies.
Requirements:
Master's level student with interests in population genetics, genomics, evolution, conservation, eco-evolutionary dynamics, and/or life-history traits evolution.
Benefits/Conditions:
- Work with unique long-term datasets covering decades of monitoring
- Access to extensive databases (45,000 individuals for Project 1; 11,000 samples for Project 2)
- Supervision by experienced postdoctoral researchers
- Duration: 3-6 months
Supervisors:
- Dr. María Cádiz Escobar (maria.cadiz-escobar@helsinki.fi): Postdoctoral researcher with interests in population genetics, genomics, evolution, conservation, and bioinformatics
- Dr. Amaïa Lamarins (amaia.lamarins@helsinki.fi): Postdoctoral researcher with interests in eco-evolutionary dynamics, persistence, and adaptation of (meta)populations
How to Apply:
Interested candidates should contact the supervisors directly via email:
- Dr. María Cádiz Escobar: maria.cadiz-escobar@helsinki.fi
- Dr. Amaïa Lamarins: amaia.lamarins@helsinki.fi
Application deadline: March 31, 2026
