Louise E.M. Vet is the former director of the Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO), one of the largest institutes of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW), and emeritus professor of Evolutionary Ecology at Wageningen University.
Louise Vet is former-director of NIOO-KNAW (1999-2019) and emeritus professor in Evolutionary Ecology at Wageningen University. She 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, in addition to the many other boards and committees that she serves on, she is chairing a broad societal coalition of scientists, 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.
Upon her step-down as director of NIOO on October 31, 2019 she received the distinction of Knight in the Order of the Lion of the Netherlands, one of the highest royal decorations.
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) and in 2017 the Honorary Membership of the British Ecological Society.
My ‘life with NIOO-KNAW’ started at the end of 1997 when I became chair of the international Scientific Advisory Board of NIOO-KNAW. At November 1, 1999 I was 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. On November 1, 2019 after 20 years of leading the institute, I stepped down as director of NIOO-KNAW. My research, boards and committees and outreach will continue...
(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. --
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.
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
Kruidhof, H. M., Kostenko, O., Smid, H. M., & Vet, L. E. M. (2019). Integrating Parasitoid Olfactory Conditioning in Augmentative Biological Control: Potential Impact, Possibilities, and Challenges. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, 7, [fevo.2019.00084]. https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2019.00084
Veen, G. F., Wubs, E. R. J., Bardgett, R. D., Barrios, E., Bradford, M. A., Carvalho, S.,... Vet, L. E. M. (2019). Applying the Aboveground-Belowground Interaction Concept in Agriculture: Spatio-Temporal Scales Matter. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, 7. https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2019.00300
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)
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TEDx 2009: the marriage between economy and ecology | TEDx 2011: more on the poop story |
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De wereld draait door | De wereld leert door |
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