The annual PhD thesis prize from the Koninklijk Nederlandse Botanische Vereniging (Royal Dutch Botanical Association) is now open. The prize of EURO 5000 will be awarded to the best PhD thesis defended between January and December 2025 at a Dutch university. The subject matter of the thesis is broadly defined within the field of botany, and includs topics such as taxonomy, (palaeo- / macro-) ecology, and cell biology.
The call for sessions for the next edition of the Society for Tropical Ecology’s, European Conference of Tropical Ecology is open until 8 July 2025. The meeting will be held in Passau (Germany) and will cover all aspects of tropical ecological research. To make sure that your interests are well represented submit a session idea now by visiting the conference web site: https://gtoe2026-passau.de/
The next seminar series of the Palynologische Kring (Dutch palynological society) will take place on 24 January 2025, at the Auditorium of TNO Utrecht. If you would like to attend please register by emailing the society (link).
PROGRAMME
13.00-13.15 Arrival
13.15-13.45 Irene Waajen (TNO): Re-evaluation of Early Weichselian pollen zones with new insights from the North Sea.
A postdoctoral position in palynology and sedimentary DNA analysis, focused on understanding the environmental history of the Malagasy landscapes and populations over the last millennia, is now available working with Laurent Bremond (University of Montpellier, France). Funding is from the French National Research Agency (ANR) with support from CNRS.
The annual PhD thesis prize from the Koninklijk Nederlandse Botanische Vereniging (Royal Dutch Botanical Association) is now open. The prize of EURO 5000 will be awarded to the best PhD thesis defended between January and December 2024 at a Dutch university. The subject matter of the thesis is broadly defined within the field of botany, and includs topics such as taxonomy, (palaeo- / macro-) ecology, and cell biology.
COLLABORATION OPPORTUNITY: The TIP-TOP project, funded through the Dutch Research Council (NWO) and awarded to Rick Hennekam at the NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research (NIOZ), is running from 2024-2029 and aims to use sediments accumulated in front of North African rivers to study environmental tipping points in North Africa. Specifically, the project focuses on available sediments from the Nile River delta, a now-dormant river system in Libya, as well as material from in front of the Senegal and Gambia rivers that will be acquired during a cruise early 2025. A multidisciplinary group of scientists is collaborating within this project, including scientists from NIOZ, GFZ Potsdam, ETH Zürich, Wageningen University, and the Utrecht University, using especially (in)organic and palynological proxies. Yet, we are keen to start new collaborations, especially with scientists based in northwest Africa. Potentially we could aim for the INQUA Fellowship Program For International Mobility (deadline 15 of September, 2024) for someone to gain international experience at one of the involved institutes for the duration of 3–6 months. If you are interested to link up with Rick please join the seminar to speak with him, or contact him directly. Note that participation in the 2025 expedition to the coasts of Gambia, Senegal, and Mauritania can be discussed too, but available places are very limited.
This video was recorded after the 19th online Mapping Ancient Africa seminar given by Solène Boisard, to watch her seminar on the past climate of north-western Africa and others in the series click here. To find out more about the Mapping Ancient Africa project click here.
Title: Climate frameworks for the Middle Stone Age and Later Stone Age in Northwest Africa
Related publication: Boisard, S. & Arous, E.B. (2024) A critical inventory and associated chronology of the Middle Stone Age and Later Stone Age in Northwest Africa. Journal of Open Archaeology Data 12, 5. DOI: 10.5334/joad.121
The seminar will be delivered via Zoom. The link for the seminar can be obtained from the MAA Slack channel or by contacting the chair of this seminar (William Gosling). If you want to know more about the Mapping Ancient Africa project visit our web pages and please do not hesitate to get in contact if you want to get involved.
The “Fire in Human Evolution” international Symposium will take place at the University of Leiden (10-11 June 2024). The meeting is being organized by Femke Reidsma and Amanda Henry. The meeting will include talks and discussion on:
de Weger, L.A., Verbeek, C., Markey, E., O’Connor, D.J. & Gosling, W.D. (2024) Greater difference between airborne and flower pollen chemistry, than between pollen collected across a pollution gradient in the Netherlands. Science of The Total Environment 172963. DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.172963
Ecology of the past 