Who we are
Coordinators and researchers
Erlend B. Nilsen
Researcher & lab coordinator
I’m a Professor in ecology and wildlife management at Nord University and senior researcher at the Norwegian Institute for Nature Research (NINA). I have a wide set of research interests that includes population ecology of vertebrates (in particular in mountain ecosystems), trophic interactions and food web ecology, wildlife management. I also has a strong interest in open science. I’m the project leader of Hønsefuglportalen and Living Norway Ecological Data Network.
Link to publications: Google scholar and Orcid
Jan Eivind Østnes
Researcher & lab coordinator
I’m an associate professor in biology and wildlife management at Nord University in Steinkjer. I have a keen interest in avian biology, and my previous research projects have focused on various topics within ecology, physiology, and ecotoxicology. In recent years, I have been particularly involved in projects that focus on the ecology and behaviour of birds that inhabit mountain habitats in central Norway.
Link to publications: Orcid
Rakel Blaalid
Researcher
I’m an associate professor in molecular ecology at Nord University. My main research areas are mainly focusing on fungal ecology and systematics, fungi as nutrient mediators across ecosystems and botany. I am also very passionate about preserving and protecting biodiversity.
Link to publications: Google scholar and Orcid
Lasse Frost Eriksen
Researcher
I am a researcher at NINA, working with willow ptarmigan and how it responds to climatic variation. I have been connected to the willow ptarmigan projects in Central Norway for about a decade. I defended my PhD in March 2024, and now then continue to work at NINA with grouse research and monitoring, as well as other topics in ecology.
Link to publications: Orcid
Elise W. Ingvaldsen
Senior engineer and field work coordinator
I work as a senior engineer at the Faculty of Biosciences and Aquaculture at Nord University. Here I am responsible for laboratory teaching and operation of our research laboratory. I also contribute to field-teaching and guidance/field training of our students. I wrote my master’s thesis at the ptarmigan project, where I investigated willow ptarmigan diet. I am particularly interested in alpine ecology, trophic interactions, and food web dynamics.
Link to publications: Orcid
Markus F. Israelsen
Senior technician, field work coordinator and data curator
I’m working as a Senior technician at the Norwegian Institute for Nature Research (NINA) in Trondheim on various projects connected to population ecology, wildlife monitoring and radioecology. I’m currently the project leader for the safety equipment group at NINA, being responsible for supplying necessary equipment to field personnel. I also have interests related to data management, GIS and programming using a number of languages such as R, QGIS, Python, HTML/CSS and SQL.
Link to publications: Google scholar
Oddmund Kleven
Researcher
I’m a researcher at the Norwegian Institute for Nature Research (NINA) in Trondheim. I have a broad research interest and are currently mainly working with DNA-based monitoring of large carnivores and raptors in Scandinavia.
Link to publications: Google scholar and Orcid
Rolf Terje Kroglund
Researcher
I’m an associate professor in biology and wildlife management at Nord university in Steinkjer. In the recent years I have focused on mapping and monitoring of vulnerable and threatened species. In several of these studies we have employed satellite transmitters and light-loggers (GLS). For many years now, I’ve collaborated with fellow researchers in studying the taiga bean goose in the mountainous regions of central Norway.
Jenny Mattisson
Researcher
I’m a researcher at the Norwegian Institute for Nature Research (NINA) in Trondheim. My main research interest involves carnivore ecology, predator - prey interactions, wildlife-human conflicts and management of carnivores in Scandinavia. I’m also involved in studies of the effects of kelp harvest on sea birds. Part of my time is dedicated to the monitoring of golden eagles and wolverines within Rovdata (NINA).
Link to publications: Google scholar and Orcid
Pål F. Moa
Researcher
I have a part-time position as an associate professor in biology and wildlife management at Nord University in Steinkjer. I have been connected to the willow ptarmigan projects in Central Norway since its inception in 2015 and still contribute to parts of this project. Research interests mainly cover different aspects of ptarmigan ecology and management.
Link to publications: Google Scholar
Chloé R. Nater
Researcher
I’m a statistical ecologist working at the Norwegian Institute for Nature Research. My specialty is making the best possible use of available data by combining information from different sources and monitoring programmes in integrated models. I have done that for a large range of species including freshwater fish, resident and migratory birds, and marine and terrestrial mammals, and the list of species is still growing. Willow ptarmigan is a newer addition to my list, and I am involved in designing and maintaining reproducible analysis pipelines for data collected through Hønsefuglportalen.
Link to publications: Google scholar and Orcid
Lars Rød-Eriksen
Researcher
I’m a research scientist at the Norwegian Institute for Nature Research (NINA), working mainly within the fields of landscape and community ecology, with a focus on mountainous, alpine and arctic ecosystems. My main background is on small to medium sized carnivores, extended over the years to include birds and ungulates. Research interests cover road ecology and climate change, and in particular anthropogenic impacts on species distributions. I’m the lead administrator of Hønsefuglportalen.
Link to publications: Google scholar and Orcid
PhD candidates
Annabel J. Slettenhaar
PhD candidate
I started my PhD at Nord University in Steinkjer in 2023, investigating the interaction between the gyrfalcon and the ptarmigan. For the project I am interested in their predator-prey dynamics and how climate change affects this system. I am originally from the Netherlands, where I worked on projects relating to behavioural ecology, bird migration and conservation in temperate and arctic ecosystems. My favourite thing about research is the fieldwork, and I feel very lucky to be able to do that now in the amazing Norwegian mountains!
Link to publications: Orcid
Saria Sato Bajracharya
PhD candidate
I joined Nord University in Spring 2024. I study the diet and fitness of ptarmigans under climate change. By using DNA barcoding, I will analyze fecal samples to understand how their food composition and selection varies with the timing of spring. My broad interests are in avian ecology, climate change and human impacts. Prior to joining here, I was mainly involved in research related to terrestrial ecotoxicology but also worked on seabird monitoring projects at NINA. I share my home between Japan and Nepal, and enjoy my free time climbing and biking.
Link to publications: Orcid
MSc students
Hilvi Emerense Hamar
MSc student
I´m a master student in Biosciences at Nord University, Steinkjer, specializing in Terrestrial Ecology and Nature Management. Currently, I´m writing on my master´s thesis about breeding success in golden eagle (Aquila chrysaetos) related to climate and food availability focusing on the willow ptarmigan (Lagopus lagopus), and plan to deliver it during spring 2024. I have a general interest in ecology and how everything is connected in ecosystems, but what I might find the most interesting is predator-prey interactions.
Børje Cato Moen
MSc student
I’m currently an MSc student at Nord University, with a keen interest in mountain ecology, particularly avian studies. Over the past decade, I’ve been actively involved as a fieldworker in numerous research and wildlife management projects especially targeting species within mountain ecosystems in central Norway. I hold a full-time position as a mountain ranger in Lierne municipality, where I contribute to wildlife management and various research initiatives.
Link to publications: Google shcolar and Orcid
Stian Sundsvik
MSc student
I’m a master’s student at Nord University, specializing in terrestrial ecology and nature management. In research, I have interest in terrestrial ecology, and specially in tetraonid ecology and management. In addition, I also enjoy working with maps in general and in GIS-software. At the time, I’m working on my master’s thesis about the detectability of willow ptarmigan (Lagopus lagopus) in relation to environmental and sampling event variables.
Eirik Wiik
MSc student
Eirik is….