January 19, 2021
Palaeoecology and past environmental research central to the work at the Institute for Biodiversity & Ecosystem Dynamics (University of Amsterdam); check out the new institute video, spot the palaeoecology researchers, and see what else is going on at IBED:
October 8, 2020
Prof. dr. Willem Renema Special Chair in Marine Palaeobiodiversity
Willem Renema, head of the Marine Biodiversity research group at Naturalis, has been appointed as a Special Chair in Marine Palaeobiodiversity within the Department of Ecosystem & Landscape Dynamics at the University of Amsterdam. I am delighted that Willem has joined the team coupling his expertise in marine tropical systems with our existing focus on terrestrial tropical settings will, I am sure, provide many new avenues of scientific endeavour. Catalysing collaboration between Naturalis and UvA will be five PhD researchers, employed on the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Innovative Training Network, who will be jointly supervised by Naturalis and UvA staff.
September 28, 2020
Do you have a PhD in Physical Geography, Environmental Sciences, Landscape Ecology or Soil Ecology? Have you got educational and research experience working with digital data to contribute to climate, geographic or biodiversity science? If so please consider applying for the 4-year post-doctoral position “Digital Environmental Sustainability” currently available within the Department of Ecosystem & Landscape Dynamics (Institute for Biodiversity & Ecosystem Dynamics, University of Amsterdam).
Closing data: 29 November 2020
For full information click here.
May 5, 2020
By Cas Verbeek (University of Amsterdam)
Luckily, in spite of these trying times, we are allowed to continue our research in Amsterdam and on the Veluwe to determine the effects of air pollution on airborne pollen grains. Unfortunately for us (but generally perhaps one of the few silver linings of this situation), the COVID-19 lockdown has largely eliminated our main variable of interest; air pollution.
With traffic in the city at a minimum, any chemical differences might not be as pronounced between the city and rural areas. However, this may actually provide us with a unique opportunity to get a baseline of the pollen chemistry in Amsterdam with relatively little pollution. This baseline may also be of interest to projects working on urban air quality and greenifying urban spaces, such as the projects in the Amsterdam Knowledge Mile Park, which is included amongst our sampling locations.
For more about our project on pollen and pollution in the Netherlands see other posts:
March 23, 2020
Kirschner, J.* & Hoorn, C. (2019) The onset of grasses in the Amazon drainage basin, evidence from the fossil record Frontiers of Biogeography DOI:10.21425/F5FBG44827
*Judith conducted this work as part of her MSc Earth Sciences: Geo-ecological Dynamics degree at the Institute for Biodiversity & Ecosystem Dynamics, University of Amsterdam.
February 26, 2020
Figure 1: (a) Illustrative images of sample locations in Amsterdam and the Hoge Veluwe. (b) The newly developed ‘pollen sniffer’ collects airborne pollen from the environment. (c) The FTIR can chemically characterise individual pollen grains.
Does environmental pollution enhance the allergenic nature of pollen? This is the question that drives my NWO Idea Generator grant that has just started. This project links up the pollen chemistry expertise in my group within the Department of Ecosystem & Landscape Dynamics (University of Amsterdam) and the work of Letty de Weger into human health and pollen (Leiden University Medical Centrum). Over the 2020 flowering season we will be monitoring pollen in Amsterdam (urban) and in the Hoge Veluwe (rural) in the space in which people have allergic reactions to see if there is any chemical difference between the pollen in urban and rural settings.
We are delighted that Cas Verbeek has joined the team as a Research Assistant; taking time out from his MSc Biological Sciences degree (University of Amsterdam). Cas is already busy in the field and lab fine tuning our collection and analysis protocols.
Find out more from:
January 24, 2020
APD “Awesome” in Paris October 2019 – Vincent Montade, William Gosling, Chris Kiathipes, and Manu Chevalier (l-r)
The African Pollen Database (APD; Vincens et al., 2007) has recently received a new life thanks to the work of Anne-Marie Lezine, Eric Grimm, Sarah Ivory and Jack Williams who have obtained funding to develop the digital infrastructure and link to the Neotoma Palaeoecology Database (Williams et al., 2018) and the Institut Pierre-Simon Laplace (IPSL) Paleoclimate database. The kick off meeting was held at the IRD centre in Bondy (October 2019), and the next step (training the data stewards) will be held in my department within the Institute for Biodiversity & Ecosystems Dynamics (University of Amsterdam) next week (January 2020).
Pollen data recorded in Neotoma for Africa on 24 January 2020. Hopefully after the data steward training event we will have a few more dots on the map, and the potential for many more.
We are delighted to be able to host sixteen researchers of many nationalities conducting research in many different countries. The aim of the training event is to provide researchers with the skills to manage Neotoma and strengthen the African pollen research community. I am excited to be involved, I am confidence that much new research will be brought together, and I hope that we can get good plans in place for further steps and growth of this network.
REFERENCES
Vincens, A., Lézine, A.-., Buchet, G., Lewden, D. & Le Thomas, A. (2007) African pollen database inventory of tree and shrub pollen types. Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology 145, 135-141. DOI: 10.1016/j.revpalbo.2006.09.004
Williams, J.W., Grimm, E.C., Blois, J.L., Charles, D.F., Davis, E.B., Goring, S.J., Graham, R.W., Smith, A.J., Anderson, M., Arroyo-Cabrales, J., Ashworth, A.C., Betancourt, J.L., Bills, B.W., Booth, R.K., Buckland, P.I., Curry, B.B., Giesecke, T., Jackson, S.T., Latorre, C., Nichols, J., Purdum, T., Roth, R.E., Stryker, M. & Takahara, H. (2018) The Neotoma Paleoecology Database, a multiproxy, international, community-curated data resource. Quaternary Research 89, 156-177. DOI: 10.1017/qua.2017.105
October 18, 2019
Date: 18th of October 2019
Location: Institute for Biodiversity & Ecosystem Dynamics, Science Park Amsterdam
Organisers: Dr. Carina Hoorn and Dr. Crystal McMichael (University of Amsterdam)
Programme
14:00-14:10 WELCOME & OPENING
15:30-16:00: TEA
17:00: DRINKS
For full details visit the Treub web site here.
June 21, 2019
Assistant Professor (tenure track) in Soil Carbon Cycling
Institute for Biodiversity & Ecosystem Dynamics (IBED)
University of Amsterdam
Deadline: 3 july 2019
IBED is looking for an Earth scientist/ecologist with expertise and interest in soil carbon cycling, in relation to the role of soil microbial communities therein to support ongoing work within the Department of Ecosystem & Landscape Dynamics (ELD). We are particularly looking for a researcher with an international track record with expertise in one, or more, of the following areas:
This is one of two positions currently open in Earth Systems Science within ELD. The other position is related to Environmental Chemistry and we will be looking at complimentary between the two appointments.
For further details and information on how to apply click here.
Contact: Franciska de Vries (Prof. Earth Surface Science) or William D. Gosling (Head of ELD)
June 21, 2019
Assistant Professor (tenure track) in Environmental Chemistry
Institute for Biodiversity & Ecosystem Dynamics (IBED)
University of Amsterdam
Deadline: 3 july 2019
IBED is looking for an environmental chemist/environmental scientist experienced in studying sources, transport, transformation and degradation and fate of chemicals in ecosystems to support ongoing work within the Department of Ecosystem & Landscape Dynamics (ELD), and create links with the Department of Freshwater & Marine Ecology. We are particularly looking for a researcher with an international track record with expertise in one, or more, of the following areas:
This is one of two positions currently open in Earth Systems Science within ELD. The other position is related to Soil Carbon Cycling and we will be looking at complimentary between the two appointments.
For further details and information on how to apply click here.
Contact: Annemarie van Wezel (IBED Director) or William D. Gosling (Head of ELD)
