Laura Nicole Tensen

Laura Nicole Tensen is a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Copenhagen, affiliated with the Department of Biology. Her work bridges carnivore ecology with landscape genomics, focusing on how anthropogenic stressors like habitat loss and hunting shape genetic diversity and population structure.

• Education: BSc in Wildlife Management, MSc in Ecology, PhD in Conservation & Genetics of African Wild Dogs
• Positions: Postdoc at University of Johannesburg (South Africa), University of Koblenz (Germany), and University of Copenhagen (Denmark)

Her research leverages next-generation sequencing to study adaptive genetic variation, heterozygote deficiency, and speciation impacts. Recent work includes mitogenomic characterization of leopards linked to Mid-Pleistocene climatic shifts and guidelines for conservation translocations. She collaborates internationally, with studies published in Evolution, Scientific Reports, and African Journal of Wildlife Research.

Key research areas include:

• Genetic consequences of habitat fragmentation
• Color polymorphism in big cats
• Hybridization and speciation dynamics
• Climate history's role in evolution
• Conservation genomics
• Founder effects and gene introgression

Her work informs conservation strategies by mapping evolutionary lineages and advocating for genetic diversity preservation in translocation practices.