Month: March 2026

Ambitious Experiment Discovers ‘Flipped’ Genetic Secrets of a Small Fish

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A grueling road trip led to an extraordinary experiment at UConn’s Rankin Seawater lab that discovered how inverted chromosomal segments help Atlantic silversides adapt

When a species lives in two distinct types of habitats, individuals with traits better suited to each habitat will thrive and reproduce, naturally selecting descendants with those traits. But what about mobile, aquatic species that live across a broad range of temperatures and latitudes? How do they maintain their genetic differences if individuals are free to mix and interbreed?

New research published on 5 March 2026 in Science finds that chromosomal inversions – which occur when a chunk of chromosome containing tens to thousands of genes breaks off, flips 180 degrees and reattaches to the same chromosome – play a central role in shaping these advantageous adaptations.

Read the whole story at UConn Today (9 March 2026)

Alternative Science magazine cover featuring the Atlantic silverside
Science-inspired alternative of a cover featuring an adult Atlantic silverside

Hannes visits Emma’s sand lance experiment in Norway

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1 March 2026. Hannes just returned from a weeklong trip to Norway, where he spread the word about our lab's sand lance research to colleagues and the Water Research Institute (NIVA) in Oslo and the Marine Research Institute (IMR) in Austevoll near Bergen.

Caroline Durif, Howard Browman, Hannes Baumann
Hannes (r.) with Howard Browman (m.), and Caroline Durif (l.) at the Animal Movement lab at Austevoll

Austevoll-institute-sunset
On 27 February 2026, the sun sets on the main building of the sprawling Austevoll research station

Austevoll, the world-famous marine research station, has also been PhD student Emma Siegfried's home for the past 2 1/2 months. Emma became the first US recipient of a European Union exchange fellowship (AQUASERV program) that covered the costs of her stay and her research in Norway. The goal of her project is to rear embryos of a local sand lance species, the Lesser sandeel Ammodytes marinus, under different levels of CO2 to then compare the results to what is already known for the Northern sand lance A. dubius on the western side of the Atlantic ocean.

Emma Siegfried pipetting
Emma carefully samples each newly hatched sand lance larva

Sand lance larvae swimming in a tank
Newly hatched sand lance larvae swimming in a tank

Emma's experiment has been a success so far, thanks in no small part to the incredible help of our Norwegian collaborators. Every one at the station has been welcoming, friendly and eager to show us the large-scale aquaculture research on cod, halibut, haddock, plaice and many other fish species that is being conducted here every day of the year.

As we gape at the impressive tanks and installations, as we chat eagerly about deepening our collaborative ties and enjoy Norwegian hospitality and nature, we feel that this may indeed be the beginning of another great chapter of sand lance science to come.

Spawning ripe cod swimming in a tank
On 26 February 2026, spawning ripe cod swim in a large brood stock tank

Waves crash ahore in Skansen, Austevoll, Norway
Waves crash ahore in Skansen, Austevoll, Norway

Emma returns to the US on 12. March 2026, eager to work up the collected data and tell her peers about the experience.

  • Baumann, H., Jones, L., and Murray, C. 2026. The unusual CO2 sensitivity of sand lances (sand eels) on the Northwest-Atlantic Shelf. Invited seminar. Institute for Water Research (NIVA), Oslo, 24 February 2026 | Institute for Marine Research, Austevoll Research Station, 26 February 2026