Jon Thomassen Hestetun

I am a marine biologist and ecologist mainly working with marine benthic fauna and associated microorganism communities with experience from both academia and in the environmental consultancy sector. Currently, I am working on how environmental DNA can be used as an ecological tool to characterize seafloor communities and complement existing parameters in marine environmental monitoring surveys. This includes both marine invertebrate animals living on the seafloor, and microorganisms such as protists and prokaryotes. I am also trained as an invertebrate taxonomist with indepth experience with current regulations and monitoring parameters in coastal and shelf habitats, as well as deep-sea areas such as the Mid-Arctic Ridge. Finally, I have been working with the taxonomy, phylogenetics and evolution of phylum Porifera, the sponges, with a particular focus on the so-called carnivorous sponges.