Paul Acker

Paul Acker is an evolutionary ecologist at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), focusing on how biodiversity responds to environmental change. His work integrates empirical studies with conceptual frameworks to understand interactions between natural selection, phenotypic plasticity, and genetic variation in wild populations.

• Affiliation: Department of Biology, NTNU
• Projects: Spatio-Seasonal Eco-Evolutionary Dynamics (ERC-funded), Early-life eco-evolutionary dynamics of migration (NFR-funded), Centre for Biodiversity Dynamics (CBD)

Research interests center on eco-evolutionary responses to environmental variability, with key traits including:

• Seasonal migration
• Survival and reproduction strategies
• Phenotypic plasticity in discrete traits
• Quantitative genetic analysis of threshold traits
• Population dynamics under climate change

His methodology combines Bayesian statistics, capture-recapture models, and quantitative genetics to analyze long-term ecological monitoring data.

Teaching includes PhD courses on:

• Quantitative genetics in wild populations (BI8091)
• Natural selection analysis via Bayesian capture-recapture models
• Plasticity in adaptive evolution (BI8083)

He previously taught capture-recapture methodologies at the University of Aberdeen.

Supervision involves co-guiding five PhD students across institutions in Western Britanny, NTNU, and Montpellier, focusing on migration phenology, plumage trait selection, and metapopulation dynamics. He has supervised eight past master's students.

Scientific awards include

• ERC Advanced Grant (via Prof. Jane Reid)
• SQUID Student Fellowship
• ESEB Hewitt Mobility Award
• Mobility grants from UBO and ISBLUE

Collaborations span institutions in UK (University of Aberdeen), France (Montpellier SupAgro), and Norway (NTNU, CBD). He contributes to EURING, ESEB, and BOU conferences.