657 search results for “biodiversity” in the Public website
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Economic expansion and land use cause bird extinction
Population growth, economic expansion and the associated land use caused an increase in the number of bird species facing extinction and a reduction in carbon storage worldwide. These are the findings of an international team of scientists, also from the Leiden University Institute of Environmental…
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The eel, a swimming paradox
Why is the swimming efficiency of the European eel higher than predicted?
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The complicated conservation problem of genetic pollution
How does invasive hybridization affect threatened native species?
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Dynamic biogeography – Hybrid zone movement
Does a moving hybrid zone leave a genomic footprint?
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Evolutionary traps – Balanced lethal systems
How do balanced lethal systems originate and persist in nature?
- About this minor
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Hybrid zones: a quick guide by Ben Wielstra
Ben Wielstra studies hybrid zones, regions in which distinct populations of organisms meet, mate and produce genetically admixed offspring. In the journal Current Biology, he introduces hybrid zones in an accessible way.
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If we do nothing, more plants will go extinct
A wide range of plant species is essential to our earth because of the different materials and foods these plants provide. But plant diversity has decreased drastically in recent decades. PhD candidate Kaixuan Pan explains what we can do to increase it once again.
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Balanced lethal systems: a quick guide by Ben Wielstra
Ben Wielstra studies balanced lethal systems, in which half of the offspring die before birth. In the journal Current Biology, he explains in an accessible way how such a disadvantage can originate in nature.
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Management implications for invertebrate assemblages in the Midwest American agricultural landscape
Promotor: G.R. de Snoo Co-promotor: C.J.M. Musters
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Living legacies: Influence of plant-mediated changes in soil communities on aboveground plant-insect interactions
We examine how soil-derived legacy effects of plants structure natural ecosystems, determine aboveground plant insect interactions, and how we can use soil legacy effects to restore degraded ecosystems.
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Assemblage and functioning of bacterial communities in soil and rhizosphere
Promotores: J.A.van Veen, P.L.G.Klinkhamer. Co-promotor: E.E.Kuramae
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The tension between nature conservation and economic valuation of ecosystem services
Promotores: G.R. de Snoo, W.T. de Groot, Co-promotor: C.J.M. Musters
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The serosa: an evolutionary novelty in insect eggs
What is the function of the insect serosa?
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Evolutionary diversification of coral-dwelling gall crabs (Cryptochiridae)
Promotor: Prof.dr. E Gittenberger, Co-Promotores: C.H.J.M. Fransen, Dr. B.W. Hoeksema
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‘Seeing voices’: the role of multimodal cues in vocal learning
Can birds - like people- ‘see’ voices and learn how to sing by listening and watching?
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Weathering the Ice Age
Where did species survive the cold cycles of the current Ice Age?
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Integrative taxonomy of araneomorph spiders: Breathing new life into an old science
Taxonomy as a science has accumulated data and knowledge for more than 250 years.
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Research
Research at the department of Environmental Biology
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Four Leiden Scientists: 'Environmental risks of new pesticides with nanoparticles insufficiently examined'
The environmental risks of new pesticides containing nanoparticles are inadequately researched, according to four Leiden scientists in the scientific journal Environmental Science & Technology. They call for an examination of the long-term and environmental effects of pesticides containing nanoparti…
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Bamboo
Biodiversity and trade: mitigating the impacts of non-food biomass global supply chains.
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NWO grant of 350.000 for Wielstra lab
Ben Wielstra and his team have received a ENW-M-1 grant. This grant of 354.000 euros is awarded by NWO, and will enable the researchers of the Institute of Biology Leiden and Naturalis to continue their evolutionary newt research.
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Education
Education in Environmental Biology
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Hans Slabbekoorn receives NWA grant to study fish around wind farms in the North Sea
The Dutch Research Council (NWO) awarded behavioural biologist Hans Slabbekoorn (Institute of Biology Leiden) a grant of 750,000 euros to study fish and sounds around wind farms in the North Sea.
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The evolution of the diversity of secondary metabolites
Why do plants produces always produced so many slightly differing metabolites within a particular chemical class?
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Institute of Environmental Sciences
Natural resources are becoming increasingly scarce. If we want to maintain our current standard of living, we will need inventive solutions. The researchers at the Institute of Environmental Sciences (CML) share their thoughts on how to achieve a fully circular economy in which as little use as possible…
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Synergy Study: Sentinel2 –Sentinel3 Land Products
To deliver a Virtual Sensor tool optimised to exploit the synergy between Sentinels 2 and 3 to allow the consistent retrieval of land surface parameters (Albedo, LAI, and LST); To extend the existing capabilities of land EO data assimilation tools to add capacity to handle data in the thermal domain…
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Noise pollution affects marine life worldwide
Man-made sounds in and around the oceans stress marine life and have an impact on marine species and ecosystems by changing the underwater acoustic climate. Hans Slabbekoorn from the Institute of Biology Leiden pleads for technical solutions to mitigate problems of noise pollution. Science review paper…
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(Bio)diversity and sustainability
Conservation of biodiversity is one of the main challenges today. A higher degree of biodiversity results in ecosystems that can withstand adverse conditions and better provide essential ecosystem services. This is the case for both agricultural and natural systems.
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Neonicotinoids in nature: The effects on aquatic invertebrates and their role in ecosystems
This thesis describes the role of pollution, specifically neonicotinoid insecticides, as an actor of the ongoing biodiversity decline.
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Committees
The Organising Committee and the Scientific Committee consist of the following people:
- Prof Dr John Vandermeer
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About the programme
The Biodiversity and Sustainability consists of 120 European Credit Transfer System (EC) points and includes a theoretical part (30-60 EC) and and one or more research projects (60-90 EC).
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Chat with a student
Do you have a question about studying at Leiden University or student life in Leiden? Do you want more information about the Biodiversity and Sustainability master's specialisation? Chat with a current student for answers to your questions!
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Living Lab Vrouwe Vennepolder
The 'living lab' Vrouwe Vennepolder is situated just north of Leiden, The Netherlands, and aims to find ways to improve the agriculture of the future.
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Nature in farmland
The Netherlands is not particularly rich in ‘wild nature’. Comparatively, what we have is a lot of intensively used agricultural land. This means that from nature’s perspective there much to be gained by combining the ‘nature’ and ‘agriculture’ functions. Not an easy task in such a densely populated…
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Even a duck can parrot
That a parrot can copycat sounds is nothing new. But vocal learning is not common in animals. Researcher Carel ten Cate of the Institute of Biology Leiden (IBL) of Leiden University has now discovered a duck species that can imitate sounds. ‘It started with an obscure reference about an Australian musk…
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Veni-grant for Michelle Spierings: ‘Do birds hear tick-tock too, or tock-tick?’
‘I did not expect to receive the grant, but it will make an amazing research possible,’ Michelle Spierings says. The researcher of the Institute of Biology Leiden (IBL) got awarded a Veni-grant of the Dutch Research Council (NWO).
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Collaborating bacteria sacrifice themselves for the greater good
Like ants, termites and bees, some bacteria work together as a multicellular group. There is a strict division of labour in such colonies, to make the group more resilient to the outside world. Now researchers have found that some parts of the bacterial colony can take ‘for the greater good’ to a whole…
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Cities have a direct influence on evolution
A global biological study has provided the most direct evidence to date that humans, and specifically cities, are the drivers of evolutionary change on Earth. Leiden University, Naturalis and the Municipality of Leiden worked on and helped fund the study.
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Tropical bananaquits lose song quality in the city
I think we should go this way. This way! THIS! WAY!! Making yourself heard in a city can be difficult. That is not only the case for humans, but birds seem to be hindered by urban noise as well. Researcher Hans Slabbekoorn of Leiden University already showed that great tits in Leiden communicate differently…
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Is it possible to avoid dehydration? Gene promotes wood formation
‘It was a discovery we did not expect,’ says Remko Offringa, professor of Plant developmental genetics. Today he publishes a new trait of a versatile gene in Current Biology: it makes the difference in plants between herbaceous and woody stem growth. A useful feature to prevent dehydration.
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Michelle Spierings aims for Klokhuis Wetenschapsprijs with musicality animals
Tapping to a rhythm, recognizing sound patterns and enjoying music: For people, it is common sense. But is this also the case for animals? It is the research topic of Michelle Spierings, a researcher at the Institute of Biology Leiden, and it is nominated for the Klokhuis Wetenschapsprijs.
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Student hauls in NWO grant for research into 'rejuvenating gene'
Master's student Thalia Luden receives an NWO grant for her research proposal about a gene that brings flowering plants back into a growth phase. Companies in floriculture and vegetable seed breeding also contribute to the research.
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MIGRADROME: new study on the impact of vessel sound pollution on fish behaviour
Fishes rely heavily on sound to find their way during migration or dispersal. Many species are affected by noise pollution. Hans Slabbekoorn from the Institute of Biology Leiden received a HORIZON2020 grant of 500,000 euros to study the impact of sound conditions on movement decisions of fishes.
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Biologist Carel ten Cate will now really retire. Right?
Pigeons, zebra finches and parakeets. Carel ten Cate studied bird sounds. But not just that. Together with linguists from Leiden, he investigated parallels between birdsong and language. On 9 June, his farewell symposium was held to mark the end of his broad career. Well, the end? Carel ten Cate has…
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Birds around airports may be deaf and more aggressive
Birds around airports are more aggressive and sing as if they have hearing loss. Collaboration between researchers of Manchester Metropolitan University and the Institute of Biology Leiden has led to surprising new findings about the impact of anthropogenic noise on birds around airports. Publication…
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Supergenes make bizarre traits possible
Within the same species of butterfly many different wing patterns can occur. How is this possible? According to researchers Ben Wielstra and Emma Berdan, of the Institute of Biology Leiden (IBL), the answer lies within supergenes. A supergene is a part of a chromosome that contains many strongly linked…
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Ten thousand types of plant outgrowths bundled
For nine years he worked on the three-volume standard work Plant Galls of Europe. It yielded 2300 pages about 10,000 species of European galls, abnormal outgrowths in plants caused by parasites. Hans Roskam from the Institute of Biology Leiden: ‘The abundance of galls says something about the natural…
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Knowledge Extraction from Archives of Natural History Collections
Natural history collections provide invaluable sources for researchers with different disciplinary backgrounds, aspiring to study the geographical distribution of flora and fauna across the globe as well as other evolutionary processes.