Oystercatchers will decline by 56 to 79 percent on three Wadden Islands over the next 100 years. This is according to results from James Cook University in Australia which continues on previous research by NIOO.

As of 1 October, current director Geert de Snoo will leave the Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW). Wim van der Putten is appointed as interim director by the KNAW.

It can take years to notice the effects of changes in nature. Long-term research is therefore essential. If there are far fewer great tits or winter moths in a year, is that an exception or a new trend due to climate change? The long haul needed to measure this year-on-year is a big challenge. The National Institute for Ecological Research NIOO-KNAW, which celebrates its 70th anniversary this month, does this kind of research. What does it teach us?

Young, naïve starlings are looking for their wintering grounds independently of experienced conspecifics. Starlings are highly social birds throughout the year, but this does not mean that they copy the migration route from each other. By revisiting a classic ‘displacement’ experiment and by adding new data, a team of researchers at the Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW) and the Swiss Ornithological Institute (Vogelwarte Sempach) have settled a long-lasting debate. Their findings are now published in the scientific journal Biology Letters.

The Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences announced the appointment of three members of the Board of Management, effective 1 October 2024. The current director of NIOO Geert de Snoo has been appointed Director of Research Policy, Adriana Esmeijer Director of General Affairs, Iwan Holleman Director of Operational Management. The new Board of Management succeeds the Academy’s acting Board.

A study published in Nature last month described how researchers used artificial intelligence to predict the "lifestyle" of certain bacteria (meaning whether they are beneficial or harmful). For this, the researchers created an algorithm named "bacLIFE", which compares the genome of a species with unknown lifestyle, to that of similar species with known lifestyles.

The Netherlands is losing plant species that rely on pollination by insects. Leiden environmental scientist Kaixuan Pan demonstrates this after analysing 87 years of measurements from over 365,000 plots. The news is alarming for our biodiversity and food security. "75 per cent of our crops and 90% of the wild plants rely on insects."

The government of the Netherlands has allocated €200 million from the country’s National Growth Fund for a public-private consortium that will conduct research into 'microbiomes' and economically interesting applications thereof. In the consortium, NIOO is partnering with ten Dutch universities, five university-medical centres, four universities of applied sciences, many other knowledge organisations and together with dozens of small and large companies and societal organisations.

Spring has started in the Netherlands, and that means our soil life is very active again. How much do we know of the creatures living under our feet? That is where the citizen science project of the Soil Animal Days comes in. What did the results of 2023 show us? Earthworms like wet weather and managed to retain their position in the national soil animals Top 3: they were spotted in 87% of gardens. And in Leeuwarden, people searched for soil animals with such enthusiasm and a clear focus on the importance of soil animals that the Frisian capital may proudly call itself Soil Animal City of the Year.

Human measures to protect lions have an impact on the genetic health of populations. Dutch and Kenyan scientists discovered this by analysing the DNA of 171 Kenyan lions. "By fencing reserves, for example, the chance of inbreeding increases." With the knowledge and tools from the research, management authorities in Kenya can better protect their valuable wildlife in the future.

Meet the new Special Professor of Aquatic Ecosystem Dynamics: Suzanne McGowan. As of 2024 she is appointed at Utrecht University. Her chair offers a unique combination between the university's faculties of Science and Geosciences. McGowan integrates this with her main affiliation as the Head of Aquatic Ecology at the Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW). As a professor, she aims to uncover how water ecosystems have been functioning, and how the major changes on our planet affect this.

Today saw the launch of the Wageningen Microbiome Center, during the yearly Dies celebration of Wageningen University. Within this new Wageningen-wide collaboration, NIOO is jointly working with Wageningen University & Research (WUR) and UNLOCK on stimulating microbiome research - by sharing research infrastructure and knowledge.