Louise Vet is a biologist with a broad interest in ecology and evolution of multitrophic interactions. Her research involves chemical, behavioural and molecular ecology of plants and insects in a community context, delivering basic knowledge for the strategic development of sustainable agro-ecosystems that are primarily based on the prevention of pests and diseases (life-support function of biodiversity). She is an elected member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Vet was awarded several international prizes for her research (e.g. British Rank Prize for Nutrition) and serves on a diversity of national and international boards and committees. In addition to her professional interest in high quality ecological scientific research she has a special interest in communicating the importance of ecology to the general public (lectures, columns, media). Her outreach focuses on achieving a positive interaction between ecology and economy. Practice what you preach: she was the driving force behind the new NIOO building, the most sustainable laboratory/office complex in the Netherlands (www.nioo.knaw.nl/en/building), based on Cradle to cradle/Circle Economy principles, for which she received the 2012 Golden Pyramid state prize for excellence in commissioning work in architecture. Linked to these outreach activities Vet stimulates public-private partnerships to encourage new eco-technological developments.

Presently, she is chairing a broad societal coalition of scientisits, nature organisations, agro-food chain, farmers, retail, banks) that is working towards a large national plan to bend the curve of biodiversity decline (Deltaplan Biodiversiteitsherstel).

In December 2017 she was awarded the highest honour of the British Ecological Society. This Honorary Membership recognises exceptional contributions at international level to the generation, communication and promotion of ecological knowledge and solutions.

In 2018 she was elected the new number 1 in the Sustainable 100, the annual list of the Netherlands' "greenest thinkers and doers".

 

SOME HISTORY

I graduated in 1978 at Leiden University with majors in plant ecology, limnology/hydrobiology and animal ecology. A Fulbright-Hays competitive grant allowed me to conduct a year’s research at the Department of Entomology, University of California, Riverside, USA (1978-1979). From 1980 to 1984 I conducted my PhD at the Department of Animal Ecology of Leiden University. During the end of this period I was appointed at the Laboratory of Entomology, Wageningen University to work on information processing and behavioural plasticity in insects.

Important results were the recognition of the great importance of learning and memory in parasitoids and the major role of plants in guiding natural enemies to their insect victims. In 1996 I was awarded the Silverstein - Simeone Award of the International Society of Chemical Ecology (‘in recognition of outstanding research at the forefront of any field of chemical ecology’). In 1997 I became full professor at Wageningen University. In 1999 I conducted 6 months research at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver and in 2003 another 6 months at the University of Toronto. In 2004 I was elected Member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW). In 2006 I was awarded the British Rank Prize for Nutrition, together with Joop van Lenteren and Marcel Dicke (Lab. of Entomology, WUR).

My ‘life with NIOO-KNAW’ started at the end of 1997 when I became chair of the international Scientific Advisory Board of NIOO-KNAW. Since November 1, 1999 I am appointed as Director of NIOO-KNAW (until 2011 a three-centre institute) while remaining Professor in Evolutionary Ecology at Wageningen University. In 2011 I moved two of NIOO’s centres to a new building in Wageningen (see below). Throughout my career I have always combined active research (published > 200 papers in international journals) with management, boards, committees and outreach.

MY RESEARCH

My research deals with the ecology and evolution of multitrophic systems of plants, herbivore insects and their natural enemies. My present research is conducted in two places: at NIOO-Wageningen in the Department of Terrestrial Ecology and at Wageningen University in the Laboratory of Entomology. In both places I collaborate with several excellent and enthusiastic scientists and supervise PhD students. There is fruitful interaction between the groups and collaboration in several research projects. Ecology is an interdisciplinary science and this is nicely reflected by my own research. Using behavioural, chemical ecological, neurobiological and genomic approaches, I study the functioning of natural enemies in a multitrophic context. I closely collaborate with several international high quality research groups.

To investigate the evolution of foraging and life history traits of insects that function in a diverse multitrophic world I always favoured a species-comparative approach. With the behavioural approach I compare the foraging behaviour of parasitic insects. How do they deal with spatial variation of their hosts and host-food plants? The chemical ecological approach is used to study the infochemical use by the foraging insect parasitoids. How, when and why do parasitoids use plant odours to locate their hosts? The neurobiological research line is closely linked to this and investigates information processing (learning and memory) of these plant odours by the parasitoids. With the newest genomic tools we study the genes that are involved in this odour learning.

My research ranges from fundamental to strategic. The fundamental questions relate to understanding the evolution of species traits and species interactions within communities. Understanding the functioning of herbivores and their natural enemies in natural and agro-ecosystems is crucial for the strategic development of sustainable agro ecosystems that are primarily based on the prevention of pests and diseases (life-support function of biodiversity).

 

PUBLIC OUTREACH: ECOLOGY MEETS ECONOMY

Apart from my professional interest in high quality ecological scientific research, I promote ecological awareness to achieve a good marriage between ecology and economy. I am an optimist and believe in the power of positive action and advocay. Pointing to positive achievements is crucial to get things done in the future. It will stimulate positive awareness, additional action, creative solutions and multiple approaches, e.g. partnerships as a tool to conserve and restore biodiversity. It will arouse political involvement and stimulate technical solutions where possible. It facilitates the achievement of consumer-driven demands that are very powerful to persuade or force industries to take their responsibilities.

I strongly advocate the transition towards a sustainble society. This involves the necessary move from a linear to a circular economy where the concept of waste is eliminated, where solar energy is used and local diversity in solutions, products and processes is respected and where biodiversity recovery is included. I have good connections to local governments, politicians and industry.

Practice what you preach: I initated the building of the highly sustainable NIOO laboratory/office complex and the eco-technological innovations like closing water- and nutrient cycles (see www.nioo.knaw.nl/en/building). Since 2017 I chair a large societal coalition on biodiversity recovery in the Netherlands (see samenvoorbiodiversiteit.nl)

 

LOUISE IN ACTION

TEDx Amsterdam, 2009, 2011

TEDx 2009: the marriage between economy and ecology TEDx 2011: more on the poop story

Universiteit van Nederland, May 2015

Hoe kan ons ecosysteem geld opleveren? Hoeveel is onze poep eigenlijk waard? Hoe kan het dat ons drinkwater opraakt? Hoe levert onderzoek naar modder nieuwe medicijnen op? Hoe zorgen zombie-rupsen voor een beter milieu?

De wereld draait door en de wereld leert door, December 2012 & February 2013

De wereld draait door De wereld leert door

    PHD-STUDENTS 

    (
SOURCE OF FUNDING, TITLE PROJECT, YEAR FINISHED)

    1. Noldus, Lucas P.J.J. Chemical espionage by parasitic wasps: how Trichogramma species exploit moth sex pheromone systems. 1989 (co-promotor).

    2. Waeckers, Felix L. Multisensory foraging by hymenopterous parasitoids 1994 (co-promotor).

    3. Potting, Roel P.J. WOTRO. Hunting for hiding hosts: the behavioral ecology of the stemborer parasitoid Cotesia flavipes. 1996 (co-promotor).

    4. Geervliet, Jacqueline B.F. WU BRAIO-grant: Infochemical use by insect parasitoids in a tritrophic context: comparison of a generalist and a specialist. 1997.

    5. Vos, Matthijs. WU. Adaptation of parasitoid foraging strategies to the spatial distribution of host species. 2001.

    6. Wertheim, Bregje. ALW-NWO. Why do drosophilid flies produce volatile aggregation pheromones when it guides parasitoids to their offspring? 2001.

    7. Burger, Joep. WU. To feed or to reproduce, that’s the question: an analysis of foraging decisions in the parasitoid Encarsia formosa. 2002.

    8. Gohole, Linnet S. NUFFIC. Effects of molasses grass (Melinus minutiflora) on the foraging behaviour and searching efficiency of cereal stemborer parasitoids in cereal based cropping systems (ICIPE, Kenya). 2003.

    9. Buitenhuis, Roos: Canadian funding. Université Laval. Comparative studies on life history and searching behaviour of aphid hyperparasites. 2003.

    10. Charleston, Deidre. IFS. Integration of biological control and enhanced host plant resistance: evaluation in a tritrophic context (Pretoria, South Africa). 2004.

    11. Bleeker, Maartje A.K. ALW-NWO. Learning-related differences in olfactory information processing in two closely related parasitic wasps: phenotypic plasticity analyzed from behavior to neuron. 2005.

    12. Bukovinszky, Tibor. ALW-NWO. Enhanced biodiversity of arthropod natural enemies for sustainable control of herbivores. 2004.

    13. Talsma, Joanneke. ALW-NWO.Direct and indirect defence: compatible or conflicting plant strategies? 2007.

    14. Leur, Hanneke van. ALW-NWO. From genetic code to ecological interactions: molecular, phytochemical, and ecological aspects of glucosinolate polymorphism in Barbarea vulgaris. 2007.

    15. Soler Gamborena, Roxina. ALW-NWO.Linking interactions between above- and below-ground herbivores and the performance of parasitoids and hyperparasitoids. 2007.

    16 Erik Poelman. EPS. Metabolomics of indirect defence in cultivated Brassica oleracea varieties and its effect on insect biodiversity. 2008.

    17. Michael van den Berg. WU. Genes involved in learning and memory in insect parasitoids. 2009.

    18. Farenhorst, Marit. Integrating fungal entomopathogens in malaria vector control. 2010.

    19. Kos, Martine. ALW-NWO. Ecological effects of plant resistance traits on above-ground non-target organisms in different genotypes of Brassica and Arabidopsis. 2011.

    20. Fortuna, Taiadjana. Portugese scholarship. The effects of native and invasive plants on above- and belowground multitrophic interactions involving insect herbivores and their endoparasitoids. 2012.

    21. Mathur, Vartika. NUFFIC. Molecular, chemical and morphological induced responses of Indian mustard (Brassica juncea) and heir effect on Tobacco cutworm (Spodoptera litura). 2012.

    22. Hoedjes, Katja. ALW-NWO. Taylor-made memory: fitness consequences of learning and memory traits, investigated by artificial selection on learning rate. 2014.

    23. Grobbe, Michel. ALW-NWO. Aport!: Sluipwespen in gebruik als speurneus. 2016.

    24. Fei, Minghui. ALW-NWO. Phenological differences in the seasonal growth on brassicaceous plants and effects on indirect plant resistance. 2016.

    25. Jessica de Bruijn. ALW-NWO. Cognitive consequences of natural variation in learning in parasitic wasps. 2019.

    26. Lukas Trebuch. DBT-STW Water for Health. Posttreatment and nutrient recovery by Micro- algae technology for waste water treatment. 2021.

     

    PRESENT BOARDS-COMMITTEES

    •   Chair Board Urgenda
    •   Chair Kwartiermakers Deltaplan Biodiversiteitsherstel
    •   Member Advisory Council Rijkswaterstaat (RWS)
    •   Chair Netherlands Ecological Research Network (NERN) 
    •   Chair Advisory Council DOB-Ecology
    •   Vice-Chair Commonland Foundation
    •   Member Supervisory board WWF-NL
    •   Chair Scientific Programme Indonesia-Netherlands (SPIN)
    •   Chair jury Dr A.H. Heineken Prize for Environmental Sciences
    •   Board of Directors Cooperation Circle Economy
    •   Member Roundtable Worldconnectors
    •   Member Advisory Board Centre for Agriculture and Environment Foudation (CLM Foundation)
    •   Member Board of Recommendation Netherlands/Holland Circular Hotspot
    •   Member Advisory Board BINGO (Breeding Invertebrates for Next Generation BioControl) - ITN (Marie Curie Initial Training Network
    •   Environment Steering Panel, European Academies Science Advisory Council (EASAC)
    •   Advisory Board KeyGene B.V. 
    •   Chair Science Advisory Council Institute of Biology Leiden University
    •   Elected Member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences
    •   Elected Member Royal Holland Society of Sciences and Humanities (Koninklijke Hollandsche Maatschappij der Wetenschappen) 
    •   Elected Member Teylers Tweede Genootschap, Teylers Museum, Haarlem
    •   Chair Supervisory Board, Wageningen Werkt Duurzaam

    Vet, L.E.M. and Dicke, M. 1992
    Ecology of infochemical use by natural enemies in a tritrophic context
    Annu. Rev. Entomol 37: 141-172.

    Tumlinson, J.H., Lewis W.J., and Vet, L.E.M. 1993
    Parasitic wasps, chemically guided intelligent foragers.
    Scientific American 268:100-106

    Vet, L.E.M., Lewis, W.J. and Cardé, R.T. 1995
    Parasitoid foraging and learning
    In: Chemical Ecology of Insects, 2nd edition. (eds. Bell W. and Cardé, R.T). pp.65-101.
    Publisher: Chapman and Hall.

    Vet, L.E.M. de Jong, A.G., Franchi, E. and Papaj, D.R. 1998
    The effect of complete versus incomplete information on odour discrimination in a parasitic wasp
    Anim. Behav. 55:1271-1279.

    Vet, L.E.M. 1999
    From chemical to population ecology: infochemical use in an evolutionary context.
    J. Chem. Ecol. 25: 31-49.

    Vos, M., Moreno Berrocal, S., Karamaouna, F., Hemerik, L. & Vet, L.E.M. 2001
    Plant-mediated indirect effects and the persistence of parasitoid-herbivore communities
    Ecology Letters 4: 38-45.

    Putten, W.H. van der, Vet, L.E.M., Harvey, J.A. and Waeckers, F.L. 2001
    Linking above- and belowground multitrophic interactions
    Trends Ecol. Evol. (TREE) 16:547-554.

    Smid, HM, Bleeker, MAK, van Loon, JJA and Vet, LEM (2003)
    Three-dimensional organization of the glomeruli in the antennal lobe of the parasitoid wasps Cotesia glomerata and C. rubecula.
    Cell Tissue Res. 312:237-248

    Mark J. Fitzpatrick, Yehuda Ben-Shahar, Hans M. Smid, Louise E.M. Vet, Gene E. Robinson and Marla B. Sokolowski 2005
    Candidate genes for behavioural ecology
    Trends in Ecology and Evolution (TREE) 20(2): 96-104

    Hoffmeister, T.S., Roitberg, B.D., and Vet L.E.M. 2005
    Linking Spatial Processes to Life-History Evolution of Insect Parasitoids
    American Naturalist 166(3): E-article E62-E74

    Vet, L.E.M. & Smid, H.M. (eds.) ) 2006
    Learning in insects: From behaviour to brain.
    Animal Biology (Special Issue) vol. 56, (no. 2). Koninklijke Brill, Leiden.

    Smid, Hans M. Guohong Wang, Tibor Bukovinszky, Johannes L.M. Steidle, Maartje A.K. Bleeker, Joop J.A. van Loon & Louise E.M. Vet. 2007
    Species-specific acquisition and consolidation of long-term memory in parasitic wasps.
    Proceedings of the Royal Society Biological Sciences Series B. 274: 1539-1546

    Vet, L.E.M. and H.C.J. Godfray 2007 Multitrophic Interactions and Parasitoid Behavioural Ecology
    in: E. Wajnberg, C. Bernstein, J. van Alphen, editors. Behavioral Ecology of Insect Parasitoids from Theoretical Approaches to Field Applications Pages 231-252 Publisher: Blackwell

    Van den Berg, M., P. Verbaarschot, et al. (2010). "CREB expression in the brains of two closely related parasitic wasp species that differ in long-term memory formation." Insect Molecular Biology 19(3): 367-379.

    Hoedjes, K.M., Kruidhof, H.M., Huigens, M.E., Dicke, M., Vet, L.E.M. & Smid, H.M. (2011). Natural variation in learning rate and memory dynamics in parasitoid wasps: opportunities for converging ecology and neuroscience. Proceedings of the Royal Society Biological Sciences Series B. 278: 889-898

    Hoedjes, K.M., Steidle, J.L.M., Werren, J.H., Vet, L.E.M. & Smid, H.M. (2012). High throughput olfactory conditioning and memory retention test reveal variation in Nasonia parasitic wasps. Genes Brain and Behavior, 11(7), 879-887.

    Poelman, E.H., Bruinsma, M., Zhu, F., Weldegergis, B.T., Jongema, Y., van Loon, J.J.A., Vet, L.E.M., Harvey, J.A. & Dicke, M. (2012). Hyperparasitoids Use Herbivore-Induced Plant Volatiles to Locate Their Parasitoid Host. PLoS Biology, 10(11), e1001435.

    Kos, M., Houshyani, B., Overeem, A. J., Bouwmeester, H. J., Weldegergis, B. T., van Loon, J. J. A., . . . Vet, L. E. M. (2013). Genetic engineering of plant volatile terpenoids: effects on a herbivore, a predator and a parasitoid. Pest Management Science, 69(2), 302-311. doi: 10.1002/ps.3391

    Hoedjes, K. M., Smid, H. M., Vet, L. E. M., Werren, J. H., Hoedjes, K. M., Smid, H. M., . . . Werren, J. H. (2014). Introgression study reveals two quantitative trait loci involved in interspecific variation in memory retention among Nasonia wasp species. Heredity, 113, 542-550. doi: 10.1038/hdy.2014.66

    Smid, H. M., & Vet, L. E. M. (2016). The complexity of learning, memory and neural processes in an evolutionary ecological context. Current Opinion in Insect Science, 15(June), 61-69. doi:10.1016/j.cois.2016.03.008

    a non-issue to most

    or a mild concern

    to us the mere facts - a foot that prints

    a climate that returns our indifferent interference

    with sturdy storms and warmer tears

     

    a mission felt so strong and strange

    to dim the lightness of our existence

    urging the crowd to lessen and listen to mother earth

    no longer crying wolf

    but crying for help

    and with her the forests and the emptying seas

     

    is it a dream

    sustainable growth and living from the sun

    and not the fossil earth

    economy embracing ecology

    that all creatures small and beautiful will rejoice

     

    where climate changes at rates of thousands

    not generations

    one planet for all - to stay

    to share and perpetuate life

    as it should be

     

    let there be light soon

    the right light

    at the end of the tunnel

                                    louise vet