Christoffer Schander

Christoffer Schander is professor in marine biology at the University of Bergen, Norway. He is also thematic leader at the Centre of excellence in Geobiology. He was born in Sweden in 1960. His doctoral thesis (1997), from University of Gothenburg, Sweden, treated the evolutionary relationships of the parasitic gastropod family Pyramidellidae. He works on marine invertebrates, mainly mollusks, and has published more than 90 scientific papers in peer-reviewed journals, whereof 76 are indexed in Web of Knowledge. Fourteen of them have been cited ten times or more.

According to his web page, the goal of his research is to understand the role that evolutionary forces and phylogeny have played in creating organismal diversity. To develop this understanding he uses phylogenetic analyses that integrate morphological, ultrastructural and molecular data. His research focuses on the molluscs, because of the amazing morphological diversity of recent taxa, and because of their fossil record dating back to the Precambrian. More specifically, his research has focused on the ectoparasitic pyramidellid gastropods and the, shell-less, primary deep-sea aplacophorans. He is also interested in the biogeography of these animals, and is also studying the relationship between the molluscs, and other animal groups and population genetics of several organisms.

In addition to taxonomy and systematics, he has also published several papers on the use of formalin fixed tissue for molecular studies. He is also active in the DNA barcoding community.

Bibliography

• Schander C. (1993). "Bathyarca grenophia (Mollusca, Bivalvia) utilises Astrorhitza arenaria and Rhabdammina abyssorum (Foraminifera) as hard substrate on ooze bottoms". Fauna Norvegica 14(3): 61-62.
• Warén A., Gofas S. & Schander C. (1993). "Systematic position of three European heterobranch Gastropods". Veliger 36(1): 1-15.
• Nofroni I. & Schander C. (1994). "Description of three new species of Pyramidellidae (Gastropoda, Heterobranchia) from West Africa". Notiziario CISMA 15(1): 1-10.
• Schander C. (1994). "Twenty-eight new species of Pyramidellidae (Gastropoda, Heterobranchia) from West Africa". Notiziario CISMA 15(1): 11-76.
• Schander C. (1995). "Pyramidellidae (Mollusca, Gastropoda, Heterobranchia) of the Faroe Islands". Sarsia 80: 55-65.
• Schander C. & Thollesson M. (1995). "Phylogenetic taxonomy - Some Comments". Zoologica Scripta 24(3): 263-268. doi:10.1111/j.1463-6409.1995.tb00404.x.
• Lundberg, J., Schander C. & Stokland Ø. (1996). "A preliminary cladistic analysis of North Atlantic Oenopota Moerch, 1852 and Propebela Iredale, 1918 (Gastropoda, Conoidea)". Journal of Molluscan Studies 62: 289-298.
• Schander C. (1997). "Turbonilla angelinagagiliniae, new name for Turbonilla scrobiculata Schander, 1994 (Gastropoda, Heterobranchia, Pyramidellidae)". Bolletino Malacologico 13: 45-46.
• Schander C. (1998). "Types, emendations and names - a reply to Lidén et al." Taxon 47: 401-406
• Scheltema A. & Schander C. (2000). "Discrimination and phylogeny of solenogaster species through the morphology of hard parts (Mollusca, Aplacophora, Neomeniomorpha)". Biological Bulletin 198(1): 121-151. PubMed, abstract.
• Dahlgren T. G., Akesson B., Schander C., et al. (2001). "Molecular phylogeny of the model annelid Ophryotrocha". Biological Bulletin 201(2): 193-203. PubMed, abstract, PDF.
• Schander C. & Sundberg P. (2001). "Useful characters in gastropod phylogeny: soft information or hard facts?". Systematic Biology 50(1): 136-141. PubMed, PDF.
• Schander C. & Halanych K. M. (2003). "DNA, PCR and formalinized animal tissue - a short review and protocols". Organisms, Diversity and Evolution 3(3): 195-205. doi:doi:10.1078/1439-6092-00071. PDF.
• Dayrat B., Schander C., Angielczyk K. D. (2004). "Suggestions for a new species nomenclature". Taxon 53(2): 485-491. JSTOR.
• Passamaneck Y. J., Schander C., Halanych K. M. (2004). "Investigation of molluscan phylogeny using large-subunit and small-subunit nuclear rRNA sequences". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 32(1): 25-38. PubMed, doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2003.12.016.
• Schander C. & Willassen E. (2005). "What can biological barcoding do for marine biology?" Marine Biology Research 1(1): 79-83. PDF.
• Caron J. B., Scheltema A., Schander C. & Rudkin D. (2006). "A soft-bodied mollusc with radula from the Middle Cambrian Burgess Shale". Nature 442(7099): 159-163. doi:10.1038/nature04894.
• Pleijel F., Jondelius U., Norlinder E., Nygren A., Oxelman B., Schander C., Sundberg S. & Thollesson M. (2008). "Phylogenies without roots? A plea for the use of vouchers in molecular phylogenetic studies". Molecular phylogenetics and evolution 48(1): 369-371. PubMed, doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2008.03.024.
• Cárdenas P., Xavier JR., Reveillaud J., Schander C., Rapp HT. (2011). "Molecular phylogeny of the Astrophorida (Porifera, Demospongiaep) reveals an unexpected high level of spicule homoplasy". PLOS ONE 6(4): 18pp. [1].

External links

• Christoffer Schander
• The aplacophora homepage