Octavio Cruces Guaderrama, currently a University of Amsterdam MSc Biological Sciences researcher, runs the “Decolonizing Biosciences” podcast. In his podcasts Octavio brings together colonialism and biology, and aims to understand how colonialism has shaped – and still shapes – biological sciences, by discussing issues such as the misuse of medicine in the colonies, parachute science, and the nature/culture dichotomy.
In his current mini-series he is covering the “History of Amazonia”, with support from the Volkert van der Willigen Fund of the University of Amsterdam. You can listen to the fist Amazonian episode by clicking the link below, and check out his podcast feed here for earlier, and future, episodes.
By Bouwe Groeneveld (MSc Biological Sciences, track Ecology & Evolution, University of Amsterdam)
From data to reality
Last year, between April and June, I worked on my bachelor project on the fire history of a site in South Africa called Giant’s Castle. From the Netherlands, I analysed sediment cores by counting charcoal fragments and looking at their shape to determine whether they likely came from grass or wood. The results were largely what you would expect in a mountain grassland. Most of the charcoal came from grasses. At the same time, there were clear changes in the composition of the fuel reflected in the charcoal record. I linked the increase in fire activity to the presence of people, and also observed shifts in the types of fuel being burned over time. It felt like slowly unravelling a story from the past. But it also remained abstract. I was working with numbers, figures, and photos of a place I had never actually been to. I had a sense of it, but it did not fully feel real. A year later, I was standing there myself.
From analysis to experience
For my MSc research, I returned to the same system, but this time physically. In the meantime, I had already expanded my earlier work by looking at dung fungal spores, as an indicator for grazing animals, and pollen to reconstruct vegetation dynamics. But to describe vegetation properly, you really have to see it. After a five-day workshop, which I described in a previous blogpost, I spent a weekend at the home of Prof. Trevor Hill and Prof. Jemma Finch. That weekend turned into something like a crash course in South African life. It even included watching their son play a cricket match. What stood out most to me was how much more outdoor-oriented life felt compared to what I am used to in the Netherlands. After that, I was introduced to the University of KwaZulu-Natal in Pietermaritzburg, where I spent three weeks working in the lab. Interesting work, but I had really come for something else. The field.
By Bouwe Groeneveld (MSc Biological Sciences, track Ecology & Evolution, University of Amsterdam)
From 2 to 6 March, I joined the Mapping Ancient Africa Research and Writing Workshop at Fountainhill Estate near Pietermaritzburg, South Africa. The week brought together focused writing, interdisciplinary exchange, and time in the landscape.
We began with a speed dating session that set an open and collaborative tone. Participants introduced their research backgrounds, ranging from botany and ecology to geography. The group was highly international, with participants from Ghana, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa, and the Netherlands. This diversity quickly proved valuable, as different perspectives naturally complemented one another throughout discussions.
The second day centred on the challenges of academic writing and publishing. Through group conversations and smaller sessions, we reflected on common difficulties such as structuring arguments and navigating the publication process. Later that afternoon, we walked across the estate to the Holley Shelter archaeological site. During the walk, I noticed how the surrounding landscape offered a sense of calm that contrasted with the intensity of writing. Along the way, we encountered a giraffe standing only a few metres from us, quietly feeding on acacia leaves.
The shelter itself was striking. A clear waterfall flowed down the rock face, catching the sunlight as it filtered into the green valley below. The interplay of water, rock, and light created a remarkably beautiful and tranquil setting, making the site feel both impressive and deeply serene.
Reyan Christ graduating with an MSc in Earth Sciences
On the 18 March 2026 I had the fun challenge of speaking at two MSc graduation ceremonies that were running at the same time. Two ‘long-term’ members of the palaeoecology team at the University of Amsterdam had reached the culmination of their degree program.
Reyan Christ graduating Cum laude in MSc Earth Sciences (track Earth System Science) and Jelle Kraak graduating in MSc Biological Sciences (track Ecology & Evolution).
Reyan was up 2nd in the Earth Sciences program, and Jelle was up 5th in Biological Sciences, giving me approximately 10 mins to get between rooms! Thankfully everything ran to time and I was able to deliver my speeches for them both. It was great to meet their friends and families and celebrate this important moment for their education.
Jelle Kraak graduating with an MSc in Biological Sciences
It was also great to celebrate the submission of a manuscript (the day before) on which they are first and second author. This manuscript is based on a combination of their, and other students, theses work on past environmental change in the Drakensberg Mountains (South Africa), and conducted in collaboration with Jemma Finch and Trevor Hill at the University of KwaZulu-Natal. We now cross our fingers that the journal editors and reviewers are as excited as we are about their findings. Fingers crossed we can be announcing the published version on here later in the year…
36th Annual Meeting of the Society for Tropical Ecology
24-28 February 2025, Amsterdam
The 8th European Conference of Tropical Ecology took place in Amsterdam (The Netherlands) from 24 to 28 February 2025. This meeting was organized for the Society for Tropical Ecology. The event was hosted by the Institute for Biodiversity & Ecosystem Dynamics (University of Amsterdam), held at Hotel Casa, and the main sponsor was the NWO (Dutch Science Foundation).
During the conference around 250 scientists delivered 150 oral and 69 poster presentations. The science spanned the full breadth of tropical ecology, ranging from interactions of coral dwelling crabs, through carbon cycling dynamics in forests, to the governance of hunting activity. The six keynote speakers were paired under three topics “Human legacies in the tropics”, “Tropical ecosystem dynamics”, and “Protecting tropical ecosystems”. Within each topic we invited a senior scientist and a ‘rising star’ to provide their perspective on a particularly hot-button issue. If you want to find out more about what was presented all the abstracts are now published, open access, in the Society for Tropical Ecology’s journal Ecotropica.
Open access: Gosling, W.D. & McMichael, C.N.H., eds. (2025) Time for tropical ecology: Abstracts of the 8th European Conference of Tropical Ecology, Amsterdam, The Netherlands; 24.-28.2.2025. The Society for Tropical Ecology, Ecotropica, 26 (1-2): 1-222. https://doi.org/10.30427/ECOTROP202501
This week I will give a lecture on the University of Amsterdam, Institute for Interdisciplinary Studies, BSc Big History course. This course sets out with the large ambition of covering “How the histories of the cosmos, life, Earth and human societies influence each other and shape important aspects of the world together?” The small component of this that I am involved in relates to the understanding of past environmental change and how humans have shaped the landscapes we see around us today.
Related to the topic of past environmental change Prof. Henry Hooghiemstra (University of Amsterdam), and the Big History team, have produced a short video “How are civilizations influenced by climate change?”. In this video a introduction to how we can obtain information on past environmental change from the sedimentary record is given, and examples of changing landscapes and cultures in the Netherlands and Mexico are discussed.
You can find more Big History content in the University of Amsterdam Big History MOOC (Massive Online Open Content) by clicking here.
During the seminar afternoon (17 October) we heard four talks. The first from Harm Smeenge and Ariët Kieskamp (both Bosgroep) introduced the sites we were to visit on the excursion the next day. This focused on the landscape ecology and ecological history of the bogs on the eastern slopes of the Veluwe. The second talk, by Roy van Beek (Wageningen University & Research), focused on the Celtic field systems around the Veluwe. He explained the latest archaeological and archaeobotaincal work investigating the age and origins of these field systems. The third presentation was by Jasper Candel (Wageningen University & Research) and focused on the geomorphological features from glacial activity in the Veluwe region and how this has effected the development of mire ecosystems. I (William Gosling) gave the final talk, presenting the outputs of the research theses of Sanna Wessel, Chiara Raino and Roos Dik who all completed projects at the University of Amsterdam and worked together to investigate how different mega-herbivore populations in the Dutch landscape were represented by the dung fungal spores preserved in the soil.
INQUA fellow Alfred Hougnon continues his research into past environmental change in the Dahomey Gap (Benin). In the fourth video documenting his progress a short background to the project, and insights into field work, are given. Field work took place near the Ewe-Adakplame forest in the south east of Benin and involved the recovery of sediments using a Russian corer. The video also shows how interactions and engagement with the local community was developed during the research expedition.
To find out more above Alfreds project read posts on:
Ecology of the past 