1,191 search results for “evolution biodiversity” in the Public website
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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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MOOC ‘Evolution Today’
Evolution is all around you every day. This is the message of a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) of Leiden University and Naturalis that is offered free of charge to anyone interested.
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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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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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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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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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Evolution of bacterial movement revealed
An international team with researchers from Leiden revealed how a bacterium repurposed an internal system to control its movements. Movement control is very important in host invasion, which can lead to disease. Publication on 27 April in Nature Communications.
- Green Infrastructure, Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services
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PhD candidate - biodiversity & society: the Dutch home as a multispecies space
Social and Behavioural Sciences
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Shaping Massive Galaxies: the structural evolution of galaxies across
Galaxies in the local Universe fall into two main categories of spirals and ellipticals. In this Thesis, we explore the structural evolution of galaxies into this bimodal distribution.
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Silva Nova – Restoring soil biology and soil functions to gain multiple benefits in new forests
We will study how inoculation of former arable land with soil (including the microbiome, soil fauna and seeds/rhizomes of ground flora) from old forests along with planting targeted tree species mixtures will improve productivity and more rapidly restore forest-adapted communities and ulttimately result…
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Plant ageing, rejuvenation and life history strategy
What are key regulators of plant ageing that can reverse ageing in plants (rejuvenation), and how can we use this knowledge to improve crop plants?
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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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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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Diplomatic Negotiation – Essence and Evolution
Negotiation can only really be an alternative to warfare, if the parties agree on a framework of rules and procedures. And if the confidence of the partners may increase in another. But negotiations continue to wage war by peaceful means.
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Balsaminaceae in Southeast Asia: systematics, evolution, and pollination biology
Balsaminaceae is a diverse plant family characterized by a huge floral morphological diversity.
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The Ecology and Evolution of Microbial Warfare in Streptomyces
The soil-dwelling, filamentous bacteria of the genus Streptomyces are renowned for their production of useful secondary metabolites including antibiotics. The work described in this thesis provides new insights on the role and regulation of antibiotic production and resistance in these bacteria.
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The evolution of Dutch
In order to compare languages, it is important to have a thorough knowledge of the specific languages you are studying. Gijsbert Rutten and his team are investigating the origin of Standard Dutch and the repression of ‘non-standard’ variants between 1750 and 1850.
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DNAmarkerpoint
The main purpose of DNAmarkerpoint is to better understand the ecology, evolution and biodiversity through the study of ancient- and modern DNA.
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Tracing the evolution of protoplanetary disks
Promotores: Prof.dr. A.G.G.M. Tielens, Prof.dr. L.B.F.M. Waters (UvA), Prof.dr. C. Dominik (UvA)
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ecosystem services and alternative ways to express the value of biodiversity
Do sustainability values play a role in motivating people to act for biodiversity in successful projects and in successful leadership action? And how could these values be incorporated in current economic valuation methods?
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A PCAD-model for fish to study the impact of airgun sound exposure on free-ranging cod
We are developing the conceptual framework, which is new to this taxonomic group, and evaluate the current state of the art with respect to all critical parameters and transfer functions for a fully developed Population Consequences of Acoustic Disturbance (PCAD) model.
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Long term dynamics of stochastic evolution equations
Promotor: S.M. Verduyn Lunel, Co-promotor: O. van Gaans
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Selectivity and competition between the anodic evolution of oxygen and chlorine
Sustainable energy from wind and solar is most readily available near the sea.
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Bloomington Grove Kickapoo Creek Restoration to Enhance Biodiversity
Does a high quality prairie restoration in an urban/agricultural landscape provide invertebrates necessary for a sustainable ecosystem?
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The electrode-electrolyte interface in CO2 reduction and H2 evolution: a multiscale approach
Electrocatalysis allows for storing electricity or converting it into chemical bonds, producing chemical building blocks and fuels using renewable resources.
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Star formation and aging at cosmic noon: the spectral evolution of galaxies from z=2
Promotores: Prof.dr. M. Franx & Prof.dr. P.G. van Dokkum (Yale University)
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The shell evolution of the Hydrocenidae of Malaysian Borneo
The thesis is about the study of shell evolution of the Hydrocenidae of the genus Georissa. This thesis started with a general overview on the evolutionary process of animals due to ecological changes.
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Unravelling the genes responsible for life history traits in the giant woody cabbage (Brassica oleracea)
Which genes are involved in woodiness and associated traits such as drought tolerance, flowering time, stem elongation, life span, and plant herbivory, and how do these gene regulatory pathways overlap?
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Unsprayed field margins: effects on environment, biodiversity and agricultural practice
A management strategy has been developed for field margins to reduce pesticide drift to non-target areas and to promote biodiversity on arable land. To this end, 3 and 6 m wide strips along the edges of winter wheat, sugar beet and potato crops have been left unsprayed with herbicides and insecticides…
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clusters collide: the impact of merger shocks on cluster gas and galaxy evolution
Promotor: Prof.dr. H.J.A. Rottgering, Co-promotor: David Sobral
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The evolution of shell form in tropical terrestrial microsnails
Promotor: Prof.dr. M. Schilthuizen
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Fire use in human evolution: A genetic approach
Are traces of fire use detectable in ancient hominin genomes?
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Digging for data: the rise and fall of a Miocene mammal biodiversity hotspot in the Vallès-Penedès (Catalonia, Spain)
The Vallesian, 11.1-9 Ma, was a special time in the Vallès-Penedes basin near Barcelona, where a biodiversity hotspot existed. Europe had a subtropical climate, with rhinos, forest giraffes, lions, hyenas, flying squirrels and primates.
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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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Evolution of Molecular Resistance to Snake Venom α-Neurotoxins in Vertebrates
We have examined sequences from the ligand-binding domain of the nicotinic acetyl choline receptor (nAChR) in 148 vertebrate species. We are in interested in this receptor because the α-neurotoxins of many venomous snakes binds to this receptor in its location at the neuromuscular junction in all ve…
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Snake venom glands grown in lab
For the first time, researchers were able to grow organoids from snake venom glands. The lab-grown 3-D structures can produce snake venom molecules. This is a major step in finding treatments to tackle snakebite, which causes over 100,000 deaths each year. Publication in top journal Cell.
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Fires, Food and the Evolution of Human Detoxification Capabilities
A study by a Leiden-Wageningen group shows that present-day humans are biologically poorly equipped to deal with the toxins they are regularly exposed to in smoky environments: compared to earlier hominins, we modern humans are probably even worse off. The study appeared in Molecular Biology and Evolution.…
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Longevity gene discovered in plants
Harvesting rice from the same field, without planting new rice plants? A discovery may bring this scenario closer. Leiden scientists have discovered a gene that allows annual plants to grow after flowering, instead of dying. Publication on 13 April in Nature Plants.
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Biomimetic models of [NiFe] hydrogenase for electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution
The growing demand of energy indicates that global energy resources in the form of fossil fuels will not be sufficient in the future. In order to solve potential future energy problems development of a sustainable hydrogen economy is highly desirable.
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Galactic substructures as tracers of dark matter and stellar evolution
One of the most important puzzles in modern astrophysics is the nature of dark matter.
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Producing new plants without sowing
Producing offspring of a crop without sowing and that is even bigger than the parent plant. According to Leiden researchers this can be achieved by overstimulating a single gene that rejuvenates cells, including bringing them back to the embryonic phase.
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Electrocatalysis of CO2/CO interconversion and Hydrogen Evolution in Bicarbonate Buffers
Bicarbonate buffer is largely found in nature due to its ability to regulate pH variations around neutral values. As the pH changes, so does the speciation of the buffer.
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The Evolution of Human Diet, Health and Lifestyle
Research into the evolutionary backgrounds of our diets can help us make the right choices in diet, health and lifestyle.
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Animal Sciences
We perform multidisciplinary research at molecular, cellular, and organismal levels of animal biology to increase fundamental understanding of health and disease.
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‘Unimportant’ plant gene turns out to be essential
Leiden biologists have shown that a gene present in plants, animals and yeasts does play an important role in plants, although for years the gene was considered unimportant. It turns out the gene plays a crucial role in the development of vascular tissue in plants. Publication in Nature Plants on 11…
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Altruism in bacteria: colonies divide the work
Bacteria found in soil specialise in the colony by division of labour. Some of the bacteria produce antibiotics, even when it comes at the expense of their individual reproduction success, to defend their colony against competitors. Publication in Science Advances.
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Towards an effective biodiversity conservation and governance in the Pontocaspian region
Freshwater and brackish water ecosystems are arguably the most vulnerable ecosystems on earth, due to concentrated human developments in and around them. The Pontocaspian (PC) region located at the border of Europe and Asia contains a variety of brackish water ecosystems and unique inhabitants, known…