From 2008-2013 I studied Biology at Utrecht University, specializing in ecology and conservation. During a first internship I studied the phenology of Bewick’s swan (Cygnus columbianus bewickii) migration in relation to ice-break-up date. In a second internship I explored the genetics of an endangered pig species (Sus cebifrons) with the aim to use genetic tools for conservation management in captive populations. During both projects I gained experience in analyzing large datasets with programs like arcGIS, Linux and R.
Currently I am a PhD candidate at the Animal Ecology department of the NIOO, supervised by Bart Nolet. I work on a project called ‘Unravelling the annual cycle of an Arctic migrant [Bewick’s swans] in search of the cause of its decline’. The population of Bewick’s swans wintering in the Netherlands has been decreasing since 1995, and although there are several hypotheses about what causes this decline, none of them has been tested. This study focuses on these potential causes in different stages of the annual cycle (breeding, migration and wintering), with the aim to explain the negative population trend and offer clues for policy-makers to reverse this trend.
This project is executed as part of the centre for avian population studies (CAPS; www.avianpopulationstudies.org).