Details

Categorie: 
Stages
Functie: 
Student (HBO)
Student (University)
Department: 
Aquatic Ecology
Contact: 
Casper van Leeuwen
Sluitingsdatum: 
woensdag 1 augustus 2018

Ever wondered how remote freshwater habitats such as oases in deserts can contain so many different species of freshwater plants and aquatic invertebrates? How can these species have travelled across kilometres of dry land to colonize these habitats? A potential answer to this intriguing question can be found in migratory waterbirds: every year large numbers of waterbirds migrate rapidly and directionally between freshwater habitats all over the world. These birds forage extensively on aquatic plant seeds and invertebrates along the way, and part of the seeds and invertebrates they ingest can survive passage of their digestive systems. If these are defecated in suitable habitat, this allows these species to colonize even the most remote wetlands. 

Although Darwin already realized this potentially huge impact of waterbirds on freshwater biodiversity, it is still difficult to estimate for which plant and invertebrate species this is an important dispersal mechanism.

At NIOO we developed a unique way to study waterbird-mediated dispersal in freshwater ecosystems: we are simulating the digestion by waterbirds in an artificial digestive system. This allows us to carry out various experiments on what happens to seeds and invertebrates that are ingested by waterbirds. Currently we are looking for 1 or 2 students (Master or HBO) that are willing to carry out experiments with this setup. Various long-standing questions can be answered using this unique method within the on-going work at NIOO.

If you are interested or want to hear more about the possibilities, please contact me by phone or email. Also other related projects are possible within the larger framework formed by my Marie Curie fellowship, which in general aims to generate a mechanistic understanding of dispersal by fish, birds and mammals in freshwater ecosystems.

  • Type: Experiments
  • Level: MSc or HBO
  • Duration: 3+ months (starting flexible, but minimum 3 months)
  • Supervisor: Casper van Leeuwen (c.vanleeuwen@nioo.knaw.nl)
  • Location: NIOO-KNAW, Wageningen