Ten years of marine evolutionary biology—Challenges and achievements of a multidisciplinary research initiative

Abstract

The Centre for Marine Evolutionary Biology (CeMEB) at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, was established in 2008 through a 10‐year research grant of 8.7 m€ to a team of senior researchers. Today, CeMEB members have contributed >500 scientific publications, 30 PhD theses and have organised 75 meetings and courses, including 18 three‐day meetings and four conferences. What are the footprints of CeMEB, and how will the centre continue to play a national and international role as an important node of marine evolutionary research? In this perspective article, we first look back over the 10 years of CeMEB activities and briefly survey some of the many achievements of CeMEB. We furthermore compare the initial goals, as formulated in the grant application, with what has been achieved, and discuss challenges and milestones along the way. Finally, we bring forward some general lessons that can be learnt from a research funding of this type, and we also look ahead, discussing how CeMEB’s achievements and lessons can be used as a springboard to the future of marine evolutionary biology.

A decade of progress in marine evolutionary biology

“…The first article of the issue is therefore an invited perspective, which reflects on the networking and scientific activities of the Centre, co‐authored by the steering committee of the Centre from 2008–2018. Here, Johannesson et al ( 2022 ) go from lessons learned to a look into the future and give their viewpoint on how the field of marine evolutionary biology has been, and still is, evolving. The authors state that the 10‐year funding of the Centre has allowed it to act like a “large sailing ship,” riding the winds of science forward, and highlighting the marine realm as an important focus for evolutionary biology.…”

“…This Special Issue is a celebration of the first European network for marine evolutionary biology, the Linnaeus Centre for Marine Evolutionary Biology (CeMEB), established in 2008 at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden. The creation of CeMEB was inspired by the societal need to better understand adaptation to changing marine environments and facilitated by funding from the Swedish Research Councils (see Johannesson et al, 2022 ; this issue, for more details). Key scientific topics addressed in the more than 500 CeMEB‐related publications to date include local adaptation, modeling of the distribution and genetic structure of marine species, and the incorporation of genomic information into conservation management.…”

“…This Issue consists of 26 articles with perspectives, review articles, and original research in Marine Evolution. Perspective/ review pieces include reflections on the development of Marine Evolutionary Biology research as a whole (Johannesson et al, 2022), as well as detailed considerations of marine evo-devo research (Stracke & Hejnol, 2022), on divergence and speciation in the sea (De Jode et al, 2022), and on human-mediated evolution (Touchard et al, 2022). Furthermore, several manuscripts describe how technological improvements have allowed for more in-depth studies of genomic divergence (Pampoulie et al, 2022), the evolution of polymorphic traits (Gefaell et al, 2022), and the genomic mechanisms underlying phenotypic traits (Li & Hui, 2022).…”

Obituary: Michael C. Thorndyke (1946–2022)

“…Mike was on the Scientific Advisory Board of the European Project on Ocean Acidification (EPOCA), the German BIOACID project on the Biological Impacts of Ocean Acidification, and his work with Sam Dupont was highlighted in key policy documents, including recent reports of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and the United Nations World Ocean Assessment Panel. Ocean acidification was also central in the work of the Centre for Marine Evolutionary Biology (https://www.gu.se/en/cemeb-marine-evolutionary-biology), which was established in 2008 at the University of Gothenburg with the support of a 10-year grant and has had an impressive scientific footprint at an international level (Johannesson et al, 2022).…”

Professor Kerstin Johannesson–winner of the 2022 Molecular Ecology Prize

“…Over the last decade or so, Kerstin has been instrumental in adopting genomic tools to understand the Littorina system, as well as other marine models. She has been a driving force in the Centre for Marine Evolutionary Biology, CeMEB (Johannesson et al, 2022), which formed in 2008 with one aim being to assemble multiple marine genomes. The increasing availability of genomic data allowed for many new insights in L. saxatilis .…”