NIOO-KNAW

Heb je altijd al willen weten hoe ecologisch onderzoek eruit ziet? Ervaar en bekijk het zelf!

Op 3 oktober openen de deuren van het Nederlands Instituut voor Ecologie (NIOO-KNAW). Neem een kijkje achter de schermen tijdens onze Open Dag.

Omwonenden, groene professionals en beleidsmakers, kinderen (met hun ouders), iedereen is welkom. Ga mee met een rondleiding door de labs, help de vijver schoonfilteren, of leer over de nieuwste inzichten in ecologisch onderzoek.

Eens in de drie jaar, tijdens het nationale Weekend van de Wetenschap, opent NIOO de deuren. Dit jaar in het thema "Netwerken in de natuur", leer over ecologische connecties of maak die zelf met NIOO-wetenschappers.

Stijn van den Bergh defended his PhD thesis, titled “Solving the methane mitigation mystery? Effect of compost application on the atmospheric methane uptake of agricultural soils” yesterday.

His promotors were Wietse de Boer and Paul Bodelier.

Congratulations Dr Van den Bergh!

NIOO researcher Koen Verhoeven has been named professor by special appointment in Plant Ecology and Evolution at the Institute of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics (IBED), part of the Faculty of Science of the University of Amsterdam (UvA). Congratulations!

His research focuses on micro-evolution and how plants adapt to rapidly changing environments. “Urban evolution is an extreme example of how humans have changed the environment, and I'm interested in how plants deal with it.” He uses ecological observations, greenhouse experiments, genetic analysis and bioinformatics to understand how plants cope with such environmental changes.

Keep reading: https://nioo.knaw.nl/en/news/koen-verhoeven-named-professor-by-special-appointment-in-plant-ecology-and-evolution

Germán Pérez Pesamosca successfully defended his PhD thesis today, titled "Methane-oxidizing bacteria; “the gatekeepers of methane” Insights into their niche differentiation in freshwater systems".

His research focused on the ecology of methane-oxidizing bacteria, a bacterial group that their activity is essential de decrease methane emissions.

His promotor was Wietse de Boer and co-promotor Paul Baudelier.

Congratulations Dr Pérez Pesamosca!

Today Zhaoqi Bin defended her PhD thesis, titled “Application of trait-based plant-soil feedback for agroecosystem optimization”. The defence took place at Wageningen University.
Congratulations Dr. Bin!

Yesterday, Muhammad-Syamsu Rizaludin succesfully defended his PhD thesis, titled "Underground alarms: volatile-mediated recruitment of beneficial soil bacteria by plants under biotic stress". The defense was held at Leiden University.

His promotor was Jos Raaijmakers and his co-promotor was Paolina Garbeva.

Congratulations Dr Rizaludin!

Jurrian van Irsel successfully defended his PhD thesis last week, titled "From mosquitoes to birds: Unravelling the role of avian hosts in vector-borne pathogen dynamics".

His research focused on the effects of the mosquito-borne Usutu virus on bird populations, using citizen science, fieldwork and ecological modelling to investigate the role of birds in the transmission cycle of Usutu virus in the Netherlands.

His promotor was Ruud Foppen (Radboud University) and his co-promotors were Henk van der Jeugd (NIOO-KNAW) and Kevin Matson (Wageningen University & Research).

Congratulations Dr Van Irsel!

Today Stalin Sarango Flores defended his PhD thesis, titled “Microbial footprints of tomato domestication”. The defence took place at Leiden University.

His promotor was NIOO-researcher Jos Raaijmakers, and his co-promotors were Pieter van 't Hof and NIOO-researcher Viviane Cordovez.

De resultaten van het grote burgerwetenschapsproject de Bodemdierendagen 2025 zijn bekend gemaakt.

Al voor het elfde achtereenvolgende jaar gingen mensen in de herfst rond Dierendag in hun eigen tuin, het park om de hoek of bijvoorbeeld op het schoolplein op zoek naar bodemdieren.

De winnaar is dit jaar een vertrouwde: net als vorig jaar werd de regenworm in de meeste tuinen gezien. Opvallend was verder de opmars van de miljoen- en duizendpoten, en juist de terugval van de huisjes- en de naaktslakken.

Lees verder over de resultaten van dit jaar: https://nioo.knaw.nl/nl/nieuws/resultaten-11e-editie-bodemdierendagen

Linda Gouka successfully defended her PhD yesterday at Leiden University, with a talk titled Catching cereal killers: A multi-omics approach to disentangle yeast- Fusarium interactions in the phyllosphere. Congratulations Dr. Gouka!

Her supervisors were NIOO researchers Jos Raaijmakers and Viviane Cordovez, and Prof. Lars Hestbjerg Hansen (University of Copenhagen).