Sarah van Straaten – Browsing in Neotropical Forest Canopy Gaps: The Role of Plant Functional Traits and Microclimate
Universiteit Utrecht Large herbivores are essential for tropical forest composition and functioning, such as through their roles as seed dispersers and browsers1,2. However, their populations are declining due to anthropogenic pressures3. Browsing is an often-overlooked ecological role of herbivores, despite research indicating its importance for the composition and regeneration of tropical plant communities4. To predict […]
Ludovica Visca – The Effect of Edge Effect on Bat Acoustic Activity in Indonesian Borneo: A Bioacoustics Approach
Utrecht University Forest fragmentation and edge effects have risen in recent decades with expanding agriculture. IUCN declared that 50% of deforestation in Borneo from 2005 to 2015 was caused by palm oil production. Borneo is a habitat of many animals, which are responsible for the ecosystem’s health. For example, insectivorous bats are crucial for plants’ […]
Kees van Kollenburg – High spatiotemporal resolution microclimate modelling reveals fine-scale patterns of Arctic vegetation
Universiteit Utrecht Climate change is reshaping ecosystems worldwide, especially in the Arctic, which is warming much faster than the global average. However, the climate data commonly used in ecological studies often describe broad regional averages and may not reflect the temperatures that plants and animals experience close to the ground. In mountainous and Arctic landscapes, […]
Wies Bos – Adjusting PALMSIM model to fit the growth of the fronds of OxG oil palm hybrid
Wageningen University and Research Oil palm is the most cultivated oil crop worldwide by volume. Colombian palm oil cultivation has been suffering from the presence of bud rot disease (BD); the introduction of the tolerant interspecific OxG hybrid (E. oleifera x E. guineensis) has provided relief to farmers in Colombia. This thesis aims to adjust […]
Marije van de Poll – The influence of habitat structure, herbivore behaviour and leaf functional traits on browsing pressure in tropical forests of French Guiana
Universiteit Utrecht Large herbivores influence tropical forest regeneration through browsing, trampling, and selective feeding, yet the behavioural processes determining where and when browsing occurs remain poorly understood. This project aimed to investigate how habitat structure influences large Neotropical herbivore activity, behaviour, and browsing pressure in tropical forests of French Guiana. Specifically, the study compared canopy […]
Qiong Fang – Recent dispersal history of edible aroids (Araceae) via humans between continents
Wageningen University and Research Edible aroids (plants from the family Araceae) are among the top five most cultivated tuber crops globally, but their consumer acceptance is hindered by extreme acridity Acridity is caused by aroids sap that severely irritate the throat, lips or skin if not correctly processed. However, no in-depth studies exist on acridity […]
Mario Martens – Succession beneath the canopy: How does the forest understory recover In tropical restoration plantings?
Wageningen University and Research De Atherton Tablelands in Australië bezit waardevolle stukjes tropisch regenwoud, maar voor de rest is het een zeer gefragmenteerd landschap. Landeigenaren proberen hier het regenwoud te herstellen, maar doordat invasieve grassen en struiken de natuurlijke successie tegenhouden planten ze een grote diversiteit aan boomsoorten volgens de Framework Species Method. In mijn […]
Youri Witmer – Herbivoren op steeneik
Universiteit Leiden – Hortus botanicus De afgelopen jaren zagen we opwarming van de aarde versnellen en weersextremen toenemen. Nederland krijgt steeds meer te maken met extreme droogte wat een voorbode kan zijn voor een transitie naar een mediterraans klimaat en waardoor inheemse soorten onder druk staan. In een natuurlijke situatie zou de ecologie met het […]
Evelien Terwel – The only way is up: Drivers of non-native species’ dispersal patterns along trails acrossthe Scandic mountains
Universiteit Utrecht The Scandic mountains in northern Sweden are home to a wide range of unique plants and animals living in diverse ecosystems. These ecosystems are increasingly disturbed by human activity, such as hikers on mountain trails. Hikers disturb the ground and can unknowingly transport plant seeds on their shoes and clothes, enabling them to […]
Joep van den Heuvel – Using multivariate CT-DS to assess the relation between fruit availability and the spatiotemporal distribution of frugivores
Universiteit Utrecht Tropische bossen verschaffen ons allerlei ecosysteemdiensten, zoals koolstofopslag, waterzuivering, en een vruchtbare bodem. Frugivoren, dieren die voornamelijk fruit eten, spelen een belangrijke rol in het in stand houden van deze ecosysteemdiensten door de bos-samenstelling te beïnvloeden via zaadverspreiding. Dit onderzoek richt zich op de relatie tussen de fruitbeschikbaarheid en de spatiële verspreiding van […]