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  1. Extinction of Pleistocene herbivores induced major vegetation and landscape changes

    Press release
    The extinction of large herbivores such as mammoths could explain massive prehistoric changes in vegetation and landscape structure, with major implications for our understanding of present-day ecosystems. Modern and paleo-ecologists joined forces in an international study led by the Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW). The results are being published online by PNAS this week.
    Pleistocene

  2. Evolution in your back garden – great tits may be adapting their beaks to birdfeeders

    Press release
    British enthusiasm for feeding birds may have caused UK great tits to have evolved longer beaks than their European counterparts, according to new research. The findings, published in Science, identify for the first time the genetic differences between UK and Dutch great tits which researchers were then able to link to longer beaks.
    KoolmeesVoerDennisvdWater

  3. Researchers united on international road map to insect recovery

    Press release
    It’s no secret that many insects are struggling worldwide. But we could fix these insects’ problems, according to more than 70 scientists from 21 countries. Their road map to insect conservation and recovery is published in Nature Ecology & Evolution this week. From urgent ‘no-regret’ solutions to long-term global comparisons.
    Foto's van verschillende soorten insecten in een collage

  4. It takes more than two to tango: Microbial communities influence sex and reproduction in animals

    Press release
    The reproductive tracts of males and females contain whole communities of micro-organisms. These microbes can have considerable impact on (animal) fertility and reproduction, as shown by Melissah Rowe from the NIOO-KNAW.
    Illustratie van zaadcel met microben

  5. Gardens can be havens for soil animals in towns and cities

    Press release
    Nearly 1000 'citizen scientists' sent in their observations this year on Soil Animal Days 2019. And a surprisingly high number of people tried to do something in return for the vital services these soil creatures provide for us.
    Top 3 Soil Animals in Dutch Gardens 2019

  6. Large herbivores can bend the curve of biodiversity loss in tropical forests

    News
    A 10-year experiment in Brazil’s endangered Atlantic Forest, led by NIOO-researcher Nacho Villar, has found that there's less biodiversity loss in areas where large herbivores can roam free.
    Morro do Diabo

  7. Carbon storage in nature

    Carbon storage is a hot item. Almost literally, as it is closely linked to climate warming. NIOO researchers discover more and more about the role of the living soil within our planet's carbon cycle. That role is: very influential, invaluable and essential for a sustainable climate policy.
    schimmeldraden verbinden bodemdeeltjes, soil fungi connect soil particles

  8. Green Gold 2: 'Like something out of Star Trek'

    News
    06/10/2014 Dutch broadcaster VPRO has revisited the territory of its award-winning tv documentary Green Gold, about ecosystem restoration. NIOO-director Louise Vet comments on Green Gold 2.
    Groen Goud 2

  9. Microbes for plant health

    Microbes can act as bodyguards for plants and can foster plant growth in other ways as well. At NIOO, we are digging into the mechanisms: in what ways do they interact? And how can we stimulate this, to make our agriculture more sustainable? Let's rewild our microbes!
    Sorghum field infected with the parasitic plant Striga

  10. Rewilding-professor Liesbeth Bakker: "Let nature surprise you"

    News
    Let nature have its way and it will surprise you, NIOO-researcher Liesbeth Bakker said at her inauguration in Wageningen on 30 September as Europe's first professor of Rewilding Ecology.
    Rewilding symposium inaugurele rede Liesbeth Bakker