Dr. Henk P. van der Jeugd (1966) graduated from Groningen University in 1991, and obtained his PhD from Uppsala University in Sweden in 1999, working on 'life-history decisions in a changing environment - a long-term study of the Baltic barnacle goose population'. After his PhD he worked on the quantitative genetics of timing of reproduction in great tits at the Edward Grey Institute for Field Ornithology at Oxford University. Simultaneously, he continued to work on barnacle geese, setting up two parallel studies next to the one in the Baltic, one in Northern Russia and one in the Netherlands, to study latitudinal variation in life-history traits. In 2004 Henk made a career-switch into more applied research and became a researcher at SOVON - Dutch Centre for Field Ornithology, mainly working on human-wildlife conflicts involving geese. Apart from his work on geese Henk worked and published on systems as diverse as the mating system of Giraffe, population dynamics of King Penguins, disease in Common Guillemots and the conservation of Little Owls.

In 2009 he became the head of Vogeltrekstation - Dutch Centre for Avian Migration and Demography, part of NIOO-KNAW. Vogeltrekstation coordinates all ringing activities of wild birds in the Netherlands. The extensive databank allows detailed analyses of birds’ survival rates, breeding success and movements. Vogeltrekstation stimulates the use of ringing data by initializing collaborations with research institutes and universities as well as conducting her own research.

 

Board member EURING (European Union for bird Ringing)

member scientific advisory board SOVON Dutch centre for field ornithology

ALW Meerwaarde project: 'Towards an early warning system for the protection of birds, based on insights from population modeling'

The conservation of birds is hampered by ambiguous interpretation of trend data on numbers of birds. Knowledge is currently lacking to separate clear ‘early warning’ signals of significant declines from more natural fluctuations. Using long-term data on population numbers, survival and reproduction population models are constructed for bird species with a range of life cycles. Model analyses will reveal the significance of recent declines for the persistence of the bird populations. In close cooperation with BirdLife International Netherlands we will develop a protocol for an ‘early warning system’ to identify truly vulnerable bird species (Red List).

  
Collaborators:
Radbout University: H de Kroon, E Jongejans, C Hallman; SOVON: RPB Foppen; Vogeltrekstation: HP van der Jeugd; Vogelbescherming: RGM Kwak

 

Project: 'Is plasticity in timing important for population trends of passerine birds in a warming Europe?'

Climate change is a key factor affecting the population dynamics of passerine birds. We model reproduction and survival of the 30 most abundant passerine species ringed within the framework of the Europe-wide Constant Effort Site schemes over a period of more than 20 years in ten countries. Specifically, the following hypotheses will be examined: (1) Species with a higher phenological plasticity maintain reproductive success in early springs while less plastic species experience a resource mismatch and lower reproductive success; (2) first-winter survival counteracts the effects of differential reproduction thus nullifying any potential link between poor breeding success and population size.

  
Collaborators:
SOVON: C. Kampichler; Vogeltrekstation: HP van der Jeugd

 

METAWAD 1 Project: 'Brent geese back in the intertidal zone?'  

Brent geese Branta bernicla ssp. are herbivores, and Eelgrass, Zostera spec. is an important food source for all populations in the circumpolar breeding range. Ecosystems dominated by eelgrass are now among the most endangered habitats in the world. This is an immediate threat to the existence of populations of the Brent goose. In this research project, we aim to investigate the link between habitat use, fitness and population dynamics of Brent geese, and we will study the intricate link between Brent grazing, sedimentation and eelgrass recovery. We make extensive use of state of the art tracking devices to determine year-round habitat use.

  
Collaborators:
Vogeltrekstation: HP van der Jeugd, A. Dokter; IBED: A. Dokter, W. Bouten; University of Groningen: H. Olff, W. Fokkema; NIOO Animal Ecology: B Nolet; Alterra: B. Ebbinge

 

Van der Jeugd Group
Van der Jeugd Group Explaining variation in abundance and distribution of animals is a central theme in ecology. This group is entirely devoted to the study of...Read more

For a complete list of references please see my ResearcherID

Kampichler C, van Turnhout CAM, Devictor V & van der Jeugd HP (2012).  Large-scale changes in community composition: Disentangling land use and climate change impacts. PLoS ONE 7: e35272. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0035272

Both C, van der Jeugd HP & Robinson RA (2012). Long-distance dispersal in migratory pied flycatchers is relatively common between the UK and the Netherlands. Journal of Avian Biology 43: 1-5. doi: 10.1111/j.1600-048X.2012.05721.x

Le Gouar PJ, Schekkerman H, van der Jeugd HP, Boele A, van Harxen R, Fuchs P, Stroeken P & van Noordwijk AJ (2011). Long term trends in survival of a declining population: the case of the little owl (Athene noctua) in the Netherlands. Oecologia 166: 369-379. doi: 10.1007/s00442-010-1868-x.

Jiguet F, Devictor V, Ottvall R, van Turnhout C, van der Jeugd HP & Lindström Å (2010). Bird population trends are linearly affected by climate change along species thermal ranges. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London, B. published online, doi: 10.1098/rspb.2010.0796

van der Jeugd HP, Eichhorn G, Litvin KE, Stahl J, Larsson K, van der Graaf AJ & Drent RH (2009). Keeping up with early springs: Rapid range expansion in an avian herbivore incurs a mismatch between reproductive timing and food supply. Global Change Biology 15:1057-1071. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2486.2008.01804.x