James H. Barrett
Gunnerushuset, Kalvskinnet
Om
I study ecological globalisation. My background is in medieval, historical and environmental archaeology, with special interests in the trade of fish, furs and ivory. I am particularly drawn to the complex links between rural and Indigenous producers of the north and (often distant) urban consumers, and their implications. Thus I am also interested in the construction of local (including island) identities and the social, economic and ecological consequences of resource depletion and/or sustainability.
In methodological terms, most of my research has involved the combination of archaeological science, medieval/historical archaeology and history, with the ultimate aim of reconciling archaeology's divergent scientific and humanistic traditions. I started academic life as a zooarchaeologist, but have since been directly or indirectly involved in applying a diverse range of techniques and am better described as a historical ecologist. As a proponent of the holistic study of historical ecology, I am equally interested in the study of ecofacts (bones, plant remains, soils, etc.) and artefacts. Much of my research relates to the study of marine resources, but I am interested in the interface of nature and culture on land and sea.
I am presently one of four Principal Investigators of the ERC Synergy Project 4-OCEANS, a 10 million Euro initiative exploring global historical ecology through meta-analysis and primary scientific analysis of ten marine taxa (key examples being walrus, bowhead whale and cod). I also coordinate a long-term project, the Northern Seas Synthesis, to harvest the power of archaeological fish bone records for archaeology, environmental history and conservation biology. Examples of other collaborative projects include the Demise of the Atlantic Grey Whale (as supervisor of Youri van den Hurk's Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowship at NTNU), the SeaChanges Innovative Training Network (led by the University of York), FoodImpact (led by the University of Oslo with funding from the Research Council of Norway) and the Glacial Archaeology Program which is rescuing the archaeology of reindeer hunting sites melting out of ice patches in Jotunheimen (led by Oppland County Council).
I have previously worked at the University of Toronto (1996-1998), the University of York (1999-2007) and the University of Cambridge (2007-2021). At the latter, I remain a Senior Research Fellow of the McDonald Institute for Archaeological research. I moved to a professorship at Trondheim in July 2021, to join a university fully committed to sustainability and oceans (two of NTNU's four strategic research areas), and to realise a lifelong goal of living among forests, mountains and fjords.
Publikasjoner
2025
-
Furness, Lydia Hildebrand;
Sabin, Richard;
Torvanger, Marianne Strand;
Kersten, Oliver Sven;
Barrett, James Harold;
Star, Bastiaan.
(2025)
Historical Collections of Tropical Marine Mammals Are an Excellent Resource for Ancient
<scp>DNA</scp>.
Molecular Ecology Resources
Vitenskapelig artikkel
-
Barrett, James Harold;
Grav, Ellen J..
(2025)
Havets elfenbein Sea Ivories.
NTNU Vitenskapsmuseet
NTNU Vitenskapsmuseet
Utstillingskatalog
-
Hurk, Youri van den;
Sikström, Fanny;
Amkreutz, Luc;
Bakker, Hidde;
Buss, Danielle Lia;
Ersmark, Erik.
(2025)
Dating the first historic extirpation of a whale species: The demise of the grey whale (Eschrichtius robustus) in the eastern North Atlantic.
Quaternary Science Reviews
Vitenskapelig artikkel
-
Dierickx, Katrien Alfred C;
Kersten, Oliver Sven;
Hurk, Youri van den;
Frasier, Brenna A.;
Sabin, Richard;
Star, Bastiaan.
(2025)
Ontogenetic changes and sexual dimorphism in the cranium and mandible of the Atlantic walrus (Odobenus rosmarus rosmarus L.).
The Anatomical Record: Advances in Integrative Anatomy and Evolutionary Biology
Vitenskapelig artikkel
-
Barrett, James Harold;
Eivindsen, Tove;
Pawel, Daniela;
Rønning, Marte Iversen;
Bakken, Torkild;
Hårsaker, Karstein.
(2025)
Havets elfenbein.
Museumsutstilling
-
Barrett, James Harold.
(2025)
Havets elfenbein - En introduksjon.
Spor
Populærvitenskapelig artikkel
2024
-
Furness, Lydia Hildebrand;
Kersten, Oliver Sven;
Boilard, Aurélie;
Keith-Diagne, Lucy;
Brito, Cristina;
Barrett, James Harold.
(2024)
Population structure of Dugong dugon across the Indo-Pacific revealed by historical mitogenomes.
Royal Society Open Science
Vitenskapelig artikkel
-
Buss, Danielle Lia;
Dierickx, Katrien;
Falahati-Anbaran, Mohsen;
Elliot, Deirdre;
Rankin, Lisa K.;
Whitridge, Peter.
(2024)
Archaeological evidence of resource utilisation of walrus, Odobenus rosmarus, over the past two millennia: A systematic review protocol.
Open Research Europe
Vitenskapelig artikkel
-
Garcia, Lourdes Martinez;
Cuevas, Angelica;
Ferrari, Giada;
Hufthammer, Anne Karin;
Vedeler, Marianne;
Hirons, Alex.
(2024)
Tracing 600 years of long-distance Atlantic cod trade in medieval and post-medieval Oslo using stable isotopes and ancient DNA.
Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Biological Sciences
Vitenskapelig artikkel
-
Atmore, Lane;
Jagt, Inge van der;
Boilard, Aurélie;
Häberle, Simone;
Blevis, Rachel;
Dierickx, Katrien Alfred C.
(2024)
The Once and Future Fish: Assessing a Millennium of Atlantic Herring Exploitation Through Mixed-Stock Analysis and Ancient DNA.
Global Change Biology
Vitenskapelig artikkel
2023
-
Hurk, Youri van den;
Sikström, Fanny;
Amkreutz, Luc;
Bleasdale, Madeleine;
Borvon, Aurélia;
Ephrem, Brice.
(2023)
The prelude to industrial whaling: Identifying the targets of ancient European whaling using zooarchaeology and collagen mass-peptide fingerprinting.
Royal Society Open Science
Vitenskapelig artikkel
-
Ruiz-Puerta, Emily J.;
Keighley, Xénia;
Desjardins, Sean P. A.;
Gotfredsen, Anne Birgitte;
Pan, Shyong En;
Star, Bastiaan.
(2023)
Holocene deglaciation drove rapid genetic diversification of Atlantic walrus.
Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Biological Sciences
Vitenskapelig artikkel
-
Buss, Danielle Lia;
Hurk, Youri van den;
Falahati-Anbaran, Mohsen;
Elliott, Deirdre;
Evans, Sally;
Frasier, Brenna A..
(2023)
Archaeological evidence of resource utilisation of the great whales over the past two millennia: A systematic review protocol.
PLOS ONE
Vitenskapelig oversiktsartikkel/review
2022
-
Garcia, Lourdes Martinez;
Ferrari, Giada;
Cuevas, Angelica;
Atmore, Lane Margaret;
López-Arias, Begoña;
Culling, Mark.
(2022)
Ancient DNA evidence for the ecological globalization of cod fishing in medieval and post-medieval Europe.
Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Biological Sciences
Vitenskapelig artikkel
-
Garcia, Lourdes Martinez;
Ferrari, Giada;
Hufthammer, Anne Karin;
Jakobsen, Kjetill Sigurd;
Jentoft, Sissel;
Barrett, James Harold.
(2022)
Ancient DNA reveals a southern presence of the Northeast Arctic cod during the Holocene.
Biology Letters
Vitenskapelig artikkel
-
Atmore, Lane Margaret;
Ferrari, Giada;
Garcia, Lourdes Martinez;
Jagt, Inge van der;
Blevis, Rachel;
Granado, José.
(2022)
Ancient DNA sequence quality is independent of fish bone weight.
Journal of Archaeological Science
Vitenskapelig artikkel
-
Atmore, Lane Margaret;
Garcia, Lourdes Martinez;
Makowiecki, Daniel;
André, Carl;
Lõugas, Lembi;
Barrett, James.
(2022)
Population dynamics of Baltic herring since the Viking Age revealed by ancient DNA and genomics.
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (PNAS)
Vitenskapelig artikkel
-
Barrett, James;
Khamaiko, Natalia;
Ferrari, Giada;
Cuevas, Angelica;
Kneale, Catherine;
Hufthammer, Anne Karin.
(2022)
Walruses on the Dnieper: new evidence for the intercontinental trade of Greenlandic ivory in the Middle Ages.
Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Biological Sciences
Vitenskapelig artikkel
-
Pilø, Lars;
Reitmaier, Thomas;
Fischer, Andrea;
Barrett, James;
Nesje, Atle.
(2022)
Ötzi, 30 years on: A reappraisal of the depositional and post-depositional history of the find.
The Holocene
Vitenskapelig artikkel
-
Holm, Poul;
Barrett, James;
Brito, Cristina;
Ludlow, Francis.
(2022)
New challenges for the Human Oceans Past agenda.
Open Research Europe
Vitenskapelig artikkel
2021
-
Barrett, James.
(2021)
A radiocarbon revolution sheds light on the Vikings.
Nature
Vitenskapelig artikkel
-
Barrett, James.
(2021)
The exploitation of walrus ivory in medieval Europe.
Vitenskapelig Kapittel/Artikkel/Konferanseartikkel
-
Pilø, Lars;
Finstad, Espen;
Wammer, Elling Utvik;
Post-Melbye, Julian Robert;
Rømer, Axel Hee;
Andersen, Øystein Rønning.
(2021)
On a Mountain High: Finding and Documenting Glacial Archaeological Sites During the Anthropocene.
Journal of Field Archaeology
Vitenskapelig artikkel
-
Garcia, Lourdes Martinez;
Ferrari, Giada;
Oosting, Tom;
Ballantyne, Rachel;
Jagt, Inge van der;
Ystgaard, Ingrid.
(2021)
Historical demographic processes dominate genetic variation in ancient Atlantic cod mitogenomes.
Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution
Vitenskapelig artikkel
-
Ferrari, Giada;
Cuevas, Angelica;
Wyrozemska, Agata Teresa;
Ballantyne, Rachel;
Kersten, Oliver;
Palsdottir, Albina Hulda.
(2021)
The preservation of ancient DNA in archaeological fish bone.
Journal of Archaeological Science
Vitenskapelig artikkel
-
Ferrari, Giada;
Atmore, Lane Margaret;
Jentoft, Sissel;
Jakobsen, Kjetill Sigurd;
Makowiecki, Daniel;
Barrett, James.
(2021)
An accurate assignment test for extremely low-coverage whole-genome sequence data.
Molecular Ecology Resources
Vitenskapelig artikkel
2020
-
Pilø, Lars Holger;
Finstad, Espen;
Barrett, James.
(2020)
Crossing the ice: an Iron Age to medieval mountain pass at Lendbreen, Norway.
Antiquity
Vitenskapelig artikkel
-
Pilø, Lars Holger;
Barrett, James;
Eiken, Trond;
Finstad, Espen;
Grønning, Sunniva;
Martinsen, Julian Robert Post.
(2020)
Interpreting archaeological site-formation processes at a mountain ice patch: A case study from Langfonne, Norway.
The Holocene
Vitenskapelig artikkel
2019
-
Barrett, James;
Boessenkool, Sanne;
Kneale, Catherine;
O'Connell, Tamsin C;
Star, Bastiaan.
(2019)
Ecological globalisation, serial depletion and the medieval trade of walrus rostra.
Quaternary Science Reviews
Vitenskapelig artikkel
Tidsskriftspublikasjoner
-
Furness, Lydia Hildebrand;
Sabin, Richard;
Torvanger, Marianne Strand;
Kersten, Oliver Sven;
Barrett, James Harold;
Star, Bastiaan.
(2025)
Historical Collections of Tropical Marine Mammals Are an Excellent Resource for Ancient
<scp>DNA</scp>.
Molecular Ecology Resources
Vitenskapelig artikkel
-
Hurk, Youri van den;
Sikström, Fanny;
Amkreutz, Luc;
Bakker, Hidde;
Buss, Danielle Lia;
Ersmark, Erik.
(2025)
Dating the first historic extirpation of a whale species: The demise of the grey whale (Eschrichtius robustus) in the eastern North Atlantic.
Quaternary Science Reviews
Vitenskapelig artikkel
-
Dierickx, Katrien Alfred C;
Kersten, Oliver Sven;
Hurk, Youri van den;
Frasier, Brenna A.;
Sabin, Richard;
Star, Bastiaan.
(2025)
Ontogenetic changes and sexual dimorphism in the cranium and mandible of the Atlantic walrus (Odobenus rosmarus rosmarus L.).
The Anatomical Record: Advances in Integrative Anatomy and Evolutionary Biology
Vitenskapelig artikkel
-
Barrett, James Harold.
(2025)
Havets elfenbein - En introduksjon.
Spor
Populærvitenskapelig artikkel
-
Furness, Lydia Hildebrand;
Kersten, Oliver Sven;
Boilard, Aurélie;
Keith-Diagne, Lucy;
Brito, Cristina;
Barrett, James Harold.
(2024)
Population structure of Dugong dugon across the Indo-Pacific revealed by historical mitogenomes.
Royal Society Open Science
Vitenskapelig artikkel
-
Buss, Danielle Lia;
Dierickx, Katrien;
Falahati-Anbaran, Mohsen;
Elliot, Deirdre;
Rankin, Lisa K.;
Whitridge, Peter.
(2024)
Archaeological evidence of resource utilisation of walrus, Odobenus rosmarus, over the past two millennia: A systematic review protocol.
Open Research Europe
Vitenskapelig artikkel
-
Garcia, Lourdes Martinez;
Cuevas, Angelica;
Ferrari, Giada;
Hufthammer, Anne Karin;
Vedeler, Marianne;
Hirons, Alex.
(2024)
Tracing 600 years of long-distance Atlantic cod trade in medieval and post-medieval Oslo using stable isotopes and ancient DNA.
Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Biological Sciences
Vitenskapelig artikkel
-
Atmore, Lane;
Jagt, Inge van der;
Boilard, Aurélie;
Häberle, Simone;
Blevis, Rachel;
Dierickx, Katrien Alfred C.
(2024)
The Once and Future Fish: Assessing a Millennium of Atlantic Herring Exploitation Through Mixed-Stock Analysis and Ancient DNA.
Global Change Biology
Vitenskapelig artikkel
-
Hurk, Youri van den;
Sikström, Fanny;
Amkreutz, Luc;
Bleasdale, Madeleine;
Borvon, Aurélia;
Ephrem, Brice.
(2023)
The prelude to industrial whaling: Identifying the targets of ancient European whaling using zooarchaeology and collagen mass-peptide fingerprinting.
Royal Society Open Science
Vitenskapelig artikkel
-
Ruiz-Puerta, Emily J.;
Keighley, Xénia;
Desjardins, Sean P. A.;
Gotfredsen, Anne Birgitte;
Pan, Shyong En;
Star, Bastiaan.
(2023)
Holocene deglaciation drove rapid genetic diversification of Atlantic walrus.
Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Biological Sciences
Vitenskapelig artikkel
-
Buss, Danielle Lia;
Hurk, Youri van den;
Falahati-Anbaran, Mohsen;
Elliott, Deirdre;
Evans, Sally;
Frasier, Brenna A..
(2023)
Archaeological evidence of resource utilisation of the great whales over the past two millennia: A systematic review protocol.
PLOS ONE
Vitenskapelig oversiktsartikkel/review
-
Garcia, Lourdes Martinez;
Ferrari, Giada;
Cuevas, Angelica;
Atmore, Lane Margaret;
López-Arias, Begoña;
Culling, Mark.
(2022)
Ancient DNA evidence for the ecological globalization of cod fishing in medieval and post-medieval Europe.
Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Biological Sciences
Vitenskapelig artikkel
-
Garcia, Lourdes Martinez;
Ferrari, Giada;
Hufthammer, Anne Karin;
Jakobsen, Kjetill Sigurd;
Jentoft, Sissel;
Barrett, James Harold.
(2022)
Ancient DNA reveals a southern presence of the Northeast Arctic cod during the Holocene.
Biology Letters
Vitenskapelig artikkel
-
Atmore, Lane Margaret;
Ferrari, Giada;
Garcia, Lourdes Martinez;
Jagt, Inge van der;
Blevis, Rachel;
Granado, José.
(2022)
Ancient DNA sequence quality is independent of fish bone weight.
Journal of Archaeological Science
Vitenskapelig artikkel
-
Atmore, Lane Margaret;
Garcia, Lourdes Martinez;
Makowiecki, Daniel;
André, Carl;
Lõugas, Lembi;
Barrett, James.
(2022)
Population dynamics of Baltic herring since the Viking Age revealed by ancient DNA and genomics.
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (PNAS)
Vitenskapelig artikkel
-
Barrett, James;
Khamaiko, Natalia;
Ferrari, Giada;
Cuevas, Angelica;
Kneale, Catherine;
Hufthammer, Anne Karin.
(2022)
Walruses on the Dnieper: new evidence for the intercontinental trade of Greenlandic ivory in the Middle Ages.
Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Biological Sciences
Vitenskapelig artikkel
-
Pilø, Lars;
Reitmaier, Thomas;
Fischer, Andrea;
Barrett, James;
Nesje, Atle.
(2022)
Ötzi, 30 years on: A reappraisal of the depositional and post-depositional history of the find.
The Holocene
Vitenskapelig artikkel
-
Holm, Poul;
Barrett, James;
Brito, Cristina;
Ludlow, Francis.
(2022)
New challenges for the Human Oceans Past agenda.
Open Research Europe
Vitenskapelig artikkel
-
Barrett, James.
(2021)
A radiocarbon revolution sheds light on the Vikings.
Nature
Vitenskapelig artikkel
-
Pilø, Lars;
Finstad, Espen;
Wammer, Elling Utvik;
Post-Melbye, Julian Robert;
Rømer, Axel Hee;
Andersen, Øystein Rønning.
(2021)
On a Mountain High: Finding and Documenting Glacial Archaeological Sites During the Anthropocene.
Journal of Field Archaeology
Vitenskapelig artikkel
-
Garcia, Lourdes Martinez;
Ferrari, Giada;
Oosting, Tom;
Ballantyne, Rachel;
Jagt, Inge van der;
Ystgaard, Ingrid.
(2021)
Historical demographic processes dominate genetic variation in ancient Atlantic cod mitogenomes.
Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution
Vitenskapelig artikkel
-
Ferrari, Giada;
Cuevas, Angelica;
Wyrozemska, Agata Teresa;
Ballantyne, Rachel;
Kersten, Oliver;
Palsdottir, Albina Hulda.
(2021)
The preservation of ancient DNA in archaeological fish bone.
Journal of Archaeological Science
Vitenskapelig artikkel
-
Ferrari, Giada;
Atmore, Lane Margaret;
Jentoft, Sissel;
Jakobsen, Kjetill Sigurd;
Makowiecki, Daniel;
Barrett, James.
(2021)
An accurate assignment test for extremely low-coverage whole-genome sequence data.
Molecular Ecology Resources
Vitenskapelig artikkel
-
Pilø, Lars Holger;
Finstad, Espen;
Barrett, James.
(2020)
Crossing the ice: an Iron Age to medieval mountain pass at Lendbreen, Norway.
Antiquity
Vitenskapelig artikkel
-
Pilø, Lars Holger;
Barrett, James;
Eiken, Trond;
Finstad, Espen;
Grønning, Sunniva;
Martinsen, Julian Robert Post.
(2020)
Interpreting archaeological site-formation processes at a mountain ice patch: A case study from Langfonne, Norway.
The Holocene
Vitenskapelig artikkel
-
Barrett, James;
Boessenkool, Sanne;
Kneale, Catherine;
O'Connell, Tamsin C;
Star, Bastiaan.
(2019)
Ecological globalisation, serial depletion and the medieval trade of walrus rostra.
Quaternary Science Reviews
Vitenskapelig artikkel
Bøker
-
Barrett, James Harold;
Grav, Ellen J..
(2025)
Havets elfenbein Sea Ivories.
NTNU Vitenskapsmuseet
NTNU Vitenskapsmuseet
Utstillingskatalog
Del av bok/rapport
-
Barrett, James.
(2021)
The exploitation of walrus ivory in medieval Europe.
Vitenskapelig Kapittel/Artikkel/Konferanseartikkel
UTSTILLING
-
Barrett, James Harold;
Eivindsen, Tove;
Pawel, Daniela;
Rønning, Marte Iversen;
Bakken, Torkild;
Hårsaker, Karstein.
(2025)
Havets elfenbein.
Museumsutstilling
Undervisning
Emner
Formidling
2025
-
Vitenskapelig foredragRoyle, Thomas Coulton; Buss, Danielle; Falahati-Anbaran, Mohsen; Boethius, Adam; Dütting, Monica K.; Enehaug, Monica Nordanger. (2025) Casting a Wide Net: Documenting Spatiotemporal Variation in the Species Composition of Northeastern North American and Northern European Fisheries through the Meta-Analysis of Zooarchaeological Datasets. 22nd Meeting of the International Council for Archaeozoology–Fish Remains Working Group , Toronto, Ontario, Canada 2025-08-12 - 2025-08-17
2022
-
IntervjuBarrett, James Harold; Pennisi, Elizabeth. (2022) Loss of Viking-era herring may be a warning to today’s fishers. Science Science [Journal] 2022-11-02
-
IntervjuBarrett, James Harold; Curry, Andrew. (2022) Vikings shipped walrus ivory from Greenland to Kyiv, ancient skulls show. Science Science [Journal] 2022-04-22
-
Vitenskapelig foredragBarrett, James Harold. (2022) The Medieval Walrus Ivory Trade as Ecological Globalisation. Leeds International Medieval Congress , Leeds 2022-07-04 - 2022-07-07
-
PosterBuss, Danielle; Falahati-Anbaran, Mohsen; Ballantyne, Rachel; Boethius, Adam; Dütting, Monica K.; Enghoff, Inge Bødker. (2022) Using the Northern Seas Synthesis database to infer spatiotemporal changes in commercially important fish taxa over the past two millennia. British Ecological Society 2022 conference , Edinburgh 2022-12-18 - 2022-12-22
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Vitenskapelig foredragBarrett, James Harold. (2022) Ecological Globalization and the Medieval Trade of Walrus Ivory. Guest Lecture, UrbNet: Centre for Urban Network Evolutions , Aarhus 2022-10-11 - 2022-10-11
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Vitenskapelig foredragHurk, Youri van den; Collins, Matthew J; Nadeau, Marie-Josee; Barrett, James Harold. (2022) The Demise of the Atlantic Grey Whale. Oceans Past IX , Seattle 2022-05-22 - 2022-05-25
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Vitenskapelig foredragBarrett, James Harold. (2022) Sea Ivories: Tracking Global Networks of the Viking Age and Medieval North. Guest lecture, Viking Studies Research Group , York 2022-11-04 - 2022-11-04
-
Vitenskapelig foredragBarrett, James Harold. (2022) Ecological Globalization and the Medieval Trade of Walrus Ivory. Harvard Medieval History Graduate Workshop , Cambridge, Massachusetts 2022-05-24 - 2022-05-24
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Vitenskapelig foredragHolm, Poul; Barrett, James Harold; Brito, Cristina; Ludlow, Francis. (2022) 4-OCEANS: a global, collaborative project. Oceans Past IX , Seattle 2022-05-22 - 2022-05-25
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IntervjuBarrett, James Harold; Jarman, Catrine. (2022) The Norse Walrus Ivory Trade Crash Gone Medieval Podcast. https://shows.acast.com/gone-medieval/episodes/walrus-ivory https://shows.acast.com/gone-medieval/episodes/walrus-ivory [Internet] 2022-07-27
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Vitenskapelig foredragBarrett, James Harold; Star, Bastiaan; Buss, Danielle; Falahati-Anbaran, Mohsen; Larsen, Thomas; Nadeau, Marie-Josee. (2022) Multi-proxy Approaches to the Historical Ecology of Marine Resource Exploitation c.100 BCE to 1860 CE. Oceans Past IX , Seattle 2022-05-22 - 2022-05-25
2021
-
Vitenskapelig foredragBarrett, James Harold; Brito, Cristina; Ludlow, Francis; Star, Bastiaan; Holm, Poul. (2021) A History of the World in 10 Marine Taxa? An Introduction to 4-OCEANS. ICAZ 3rd Marine Mammal Research Group Meeting , Groningen 2021-09-02 - 2021-09-03