Werken bij het NIOO

This student project will consist of running chemostat experiments with toxic and non-toxic strains of Microcystis aeruginosa and Dolichospermum flos-aquae, two prominent bloom forming species in the Netherlands. The project will include monocultures to characterize the species, as well as competition experiments under different nutrient limitations.

We are offering an internship for a master's student to investigate the responses of marine microalgae exhibiting harmful traits to various global environmental change factors.

Are you curious about the power of metabolomics in sustainable agriculture? We are seeking a
motivated student to join a project exploring the chemistry behind fungal potential to combat
Striga, a parasitic plant devastating sorghum and rice crops.

In this project we will evaluate how rewilding impacts trophic interactions in riverine floodplain open-mosaic forests.

This project aims to understand the difference in competitiveness of multiple Microcystis genotypes (intraspecific variation) by studying their nutrient growth kinetics. For this, we will measure key traits, such as growth affinity (an indicator of competitiveness at low nutrient levels) and potential trade-offs. Besides classical culturing methods, there might be the opportunity to assess these traits in novel microfluidic platforms.

This research is part of the ClipsMicro (Climate proof soils by steering soil and residue microbiomes) project and aims to make Maize cultivation on sandy Dutch soils more sustainable and resilient by designing and testing a climate proof soils management strategy. We integrate cover crops with biological nitrification inhibition (WP 3) and clay-amended compost (WP 2). Here you can contribute to WP 2, focusing on the clay-amended compost research.

In this internship project, we will explore how newly developed software for image analysis based on state-of-the-art deeplearning methods may contribute to the analysis of zooplankton samples.

Toxic cyanobacterial blooms threaten freshwater quality, exacerbated by climate change and eutrophication. The toxicity of these blooms depends not only on cyanobacteria quantity but also on the presence of potentially toxin-producing species and genotypes, and the variation in their toxin production. While we understand the individual factors driving these changes, contrasting effects on different components of bloom toxicity make predicting toxicity levels challenging.

This internship is offered together with Rewilding Europe. The work entails close contact with supervisors from Rewilding Europe, searching for information on wild forests in Europe and contacting individuals who hold information about these forests.

Are you excited about sustainable agriculture and soil and plant microbes? We are offering an internship focused on how recycled organic residues shape microbiome functions that promote plant growth. This project investigates the impact of microbial communities in nutrient cycling and plant development, aiming to enhance resource efficiency and sustainability in agriculture.

We are excited to offer a Master’s internship in ecology, centered on the study of phytoplankton traits, with a special focus on the impacts of global environmental change on harmful cyanobacteria. This internship is a fantastic opportunity to apply trait-based ecological approaches, delve into the dynamic world of phytoplankton, and explore their functional responses to contrasting environments.

A wide range of organisms live in soils, where they support carbon and nutrient cycling. Although a higher diversity of soil organisms is generally associated with better soil functioning, the direct role of soil fauna in regulating soil carbon cycling is still unclear. This is especially important considering that global changes are disproportionately affecting larger fauna and predators, which could destabilize soil food webs.

We hypothesize that the difficulties of long-term culturing of B. calyciflorus populations stems from the fact that food sources typically consist of just one single algal food source and we suspect that the biochemical content (e.g. sterols, amino acids, fatty acids, vitamins) of such food is too incomplete to ensure robust rotifer population growth. For this reason, we have selected a number of promising algal species that, when combined with each other, may provide a better food source. The idea is to test which algal combination is best in sustaining rotifer growth.

Are you ready to dive into the world of microbial ecology applied to agricultural research? Join us in the "ClipsMicro" project at the Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO) and play a crucial role in developing nature-based agricultural management strategies.

In this project, our primary focus will be on delving into the physiology of these less-researched yeast strains residing in the phyllosphere using computational tools, reconstruct a genome-scale metabolic model and predict carbon utilization.

Als planten worden aangevallen door bovengrondse insecten, worden bij een aantal plantensoorten stoffen vrijgemaakt die de parasitoiden van de insecten aantrekken. Er is vrijwel niets bekend of eenzelfde soort fenomeen (aantrekking van antagonisten als reactie op wortelaantasting door nematoden, insecten, of schimmels) zich ook in de bodem voordoet. Het is ook niet bekend of de inductie van een reactie van een plant op een insect bovengronds een effect heeft op een wortelherbivoor (nematode, insect).

Light pollution is increasingly recognised as one of the strongest anthropogenic factors that can impact ecosystems. At the NIOO-KNAW, we investigate the impact of light on nocturnal species, such as bats, amphibians, mice and mustelids. We try to understand their response to the colour composition of light, and the ligth intensity

Om voedselwebben te onderzoeken, worden twee benaderingen naast elkaar toegepast: computermodellen en modelecosystemen (voedselwebjes). De belangrijkste experimentele ecosystemen die gebruikt worden zijn zogenaamde chemostaten: vaten van 1,6 liter waarin het plankton zich bevindt en die een continue aanvoer van verse voedingsstoffen hebben. Verder hebben we ook de beschikking over de Limnotrons (zie afbeelding), van zo'n 1000 liter, die meer worden gebruikt om grootschaliger processen te betuderen. Tijdens experimenten worden regelmatig monsters genomen uit beide typen modelecosytemen om veranderingen te volgen in de planktongemeenschap (bijv. aantallen, mate van verdediging) en abiotische variabelen (bijv. pH of nutriënten).

Een groot deel van de potentiële reproductie van planten in natuurlijke populaties gaat verloren door toedoen van pathogenen en herbivoren. Twee anjerachtigen, Silene alba en S. dioica worden in ons land bijvoorbeeld geïnfecteerd door de brandschimmel Ustilago violacea, die de vruchtbeginsels van geïnfecteerde bloemen aborteert, en de helmhokjes gebruikt om haar eigen sporen in te produceren.

Secundaire plantenstoffen kunnen een rol spelen bij afweer tegen zowel herbivoren als fytopathogene schimmels. In natuurlijke populaties wordt vaak een grote mate van genetische variatie in (constitutieve) gehaltes aan secundaire plantenstoffen gevonden. Een algemeen aanvaarde verklaring hiervoor is dat er kosten verbonden zijn aan deze vorm van afweer: waardgenotypen met hoge gehaltes hebben een selectief voordeel bij hoge selectiedruk door herbivoren, maar genotypen met lage gehaltes, d.w.z. lage kosten, bij een lage selectiedruk.