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MSc project: The adaptation of seasonal timing to climate change in winter moths |
Suitable for MSc thesis, at least 5 months General background Climate change threatens many insects with extinction. Only those that can rapidly adapt to this change will eventually survive. The winter moth is one of the few species found to show rapid microevolution to climate change. Increasing...Read more |
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Sperm biology and evolution |
House sparrow male Sperm are critical to successful fertilisation in sexually reproducing animals. The function of sperm – to find and fertilise ova – is universal throughout the animal kingdom, yet the sperm cell is the most morphologically diverse cell type known. General background Sperm...Read more |
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Adapting to city life: a study of the biological rhythms of forest and city birds |
We are looking for a highly motivated, independent (vocational/bachelor/master) student to join us during the 2020 fieldwork and help us to study urban and forest birds . You will have the opportunity to learn several different methods to work with birds in the field. There are also possibilities...Read more |
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De relatie tussen verstoring, ganzengedrag en landbouwschade |
Project: Het aantal ganzen dat in Nederland overwinterd is in de laatste decennia sterk toegenomen, en deze ganzen veroorzaken veel landbouwschade. Het ganzenbeleid in Friesland is om de ganzen in bepaalde gebieden te verjagen en ze in andere gebieden met rust te laten, om zo de schade te beperken...Read more |
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Does the early bird really catch the worm? |
Seasonal timing of reproduction has major fitness consequences. But global warming causes species of plants, invertebrates, and vertebrates to differently shift their spring phenology in response to increasing ambient temperatures, resulting in mismatches between the phenology of plants, emergence...Read more |
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MSc project: Repeatability (and heritability) of parental care – a meta-analysis |
Parental care is a behaviour that has likely evolved to increase fitness of both offspring and parents (through their offspring). Thus, parental care is expected to be under sexual selection, especially in socially monogamous species where both parents provide care for offspring. In this project,...Read more |
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Oystercatchers: A good move into the city? |
The number of oystercatchers in the Netherlands is dropping rapidly. This is especially true for the traditional breeding habitats: the saltmarshes and agricultural areas. But there is hope, oystercatchers are moving towards the cities. Using flat roofs to breed on, they are safe from mowing...Read more |
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Animal personality in great tits (Parus major) in relation to epigenetic factors |
Just like humans, great tits consistently differ in a set of correlated behavioural traits. These so called personality traits have a genetic basis, but are shaped by the environment. DNA Methylation is a chemical change of the DNA that has a heritable component and is known to affect gene...Read more |
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The evolution of song discrimination in pied flycatchers |
We are seeking a motivated, responsible student to perform song playback experiments to 12-day old nestling flycatcher songbirds to resolve a key question about what factors drive the evolution of song discrimination in birds. The student would gain valuable experience conducting field work and...Read more |
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Reproductive success in arctic and temperate breeding barnacle geese |
During the past decades, the barnacle goose population wintering on the European mainland and traditionally breeding in Arctic Russia, has undergone a dramatic change in breeding range. By colonising new breeding areas in the Baltic and along the North Sea coast, notably the Netherlands, they...Read more |
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Student Projects 2017 - Licht Op Natuur |
Light pollution is increasingly recognised as one of the strongest anthropogenic factors that can impact ecosystems. NIOO is the co-leader (together with Wageningen UR) of a long-term project called “Licht Op Natuur”, the goal of which is to understand the long-term effects of an experimental...Read more |
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Mate preference in great tits - a matter of taste? |
We are looking for MSc students to work on an exciting project testing birds for mate preferences in winter (experiments), and studying reproductive investment in nesting great tits in the spring (fieldwork). Female choice for top quality males is expected to result in the evolution of exaggerated...Read more |
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Ecogenomics and personality |
Ecogenomics and personality in great tits. Personality traits, are just like other behavioural traits plastic, but also have a clear heritable basis. Although we know that there are clear indications of some genes being involved in the pathways explaining personality variation, we can only explain...Read more |
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Personality and extra-pair paternity |
Extra-pair paternity (EPP) is a common phenomenon in many socially monogamous bird species. The male that is feeding the chicks is not always the biological father. Females also mate with other males. We have extra-pair paternity data over of several populations and several years. We have...Read more |
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Bioinformatics project on DNA methylation and personality |
Just like humans, great tits consistently differ in a set of correlated behaviour traits. These so called personality traits have a genetic basis, but are shaped by the environment and through learning. DNA Methylation is a chemical change of the DNA that has a heritable component and that is known...Read more |
