PhD student and Teacher at the University of Utrecht, working at the Ecology & Biodiversity group.

(Co-)Promotors: Dr. Hans ter Steege, Prof. Dr. Bill Laurance

My research is about understanding the world's most diverse forest: The Amazon. How can we get a better understanding of the processes and patterns we can observe on community level. Using the single largest database of one-hectare tree plots in the Amazonian Rain Forest we will be able to shed some light into this dense canopy.

My teaching is about evolutionary biology, where do the species come from we see today? What processes are responsible for the large and small scale patterns of evolution? How can we explain the phylogenetic relationships between organisms? In short: diversity is all around us today, with evolutionary biology we try to explain the processes that cause and maintain this diversity.

Interests:

• Biodiversity
• Plant diversity
• Floristics (plant identification)
• Fieldwork
  
• Evolutionary biology
  
• The Amazon
• Linking Patterns to Processes
  
• Data analysis in R
  

The question of which factors determine species diversity is still among the most important in science. Using the largest database of one-hectare tree-plots in the Amazonian rain forest, the richest terrestrial ecosystem on earth, we will identify the contributions of ecological processes and neutral mechanisms to beta-diversity of rainforest trees. 

Ecology got its first formal definition from Ernst Haeckel in 1869, which could be read as ‘the study of interactions between organisms and their environment’. Ecology is indeed founded in the idea that the environment shapes the distribution of species and communities. No small wonder that the Neutral Theory of Hubbell (2001) landed on the desk of many ecologists with a loud clunk. With remarkably few assumptions (including ecological equivalence for all individuals), neutral theory is apparently able to explain many patterns in community ecology. However,it has already been shown numerous times that neutral theory does not function for all species groups, the world is not neutral. On the other hand, neutral theory can be used as a good null hypothesis from which new ideas can grow.

In this project we will use the single largest available data base of tree diversity in the world: The Amazonian Tree Diversity Network, already comprising over 1100 one hectare plots distributed over the entire Amazon basin. We will use neutral theory as a starting point from which we aim to unify niche and neutrality and to test it with large scale empirical data. Questions that we aim to answer are:

1. What is the contribution of regional and local processes to species abundances across the Amazon?
2. How can we develop a near neutral model in which we unify niche and neutralism?
   
3. How can new insights in beta diversity be used for conservation of the Amazon?
4. How can we integrate ecology and evolution on large time scales?
5. What differences are there across the Amazon in terms of species groups and forest types?
6. How strong is the role of dispersal in maintaining diversity in local communities?

                        View of Caxiuãna, Brazil                                            Forest canopy in Brazil

• Pos & Sleegers 2010. Vertical Distribution and Ecology of Vascular Epiphytes in a Lowland Tropical Rain Forest of Brazil. Boletim do Museu Paraense Emílio Goeldi: Ciências Naturais

Courses that I teach and / or coordinate:

Level 1 Course Evolutionary Biology and Biodiversity

Level 2 Course Evolutionary Biology

Level 2 Course Natuurbehoud, Duurzaamheid en Plantendiversiteit (plantdiversity and conservation)

Level 3 Course Biodiversiteit en Landschap (fieldwork course)

I also teach a voluntary course on botany (plant identification), ecology and general plant biology organized by a number of volunteers for the interested biology students of Utrecht University in which we try to teach students some of the "classic" biologist skills.

• ATDN (Amazon Tree Diversity Network)
  
• Linkedin

2012 – present	PhD at Utrecht University & NCB Naturalis (Leiden): Unravelling processes and mechanisms behind the beta diversity of Tropical Trees in the Amazon
2012 – present	Coordinator and teacher at Utrecht University of level 1 and level 2 courses on Evolutionary Biology, also lecturing in several other courses on general ecology, tropical ecology and botany
2011 – 2012	Position at the University of Utrecht as Research and Educational staff. Involved in fieldwork on riverine restoration areas, analyzing fieldwork material and supporting workgroup both on research and educational level.
2011 – 2012	Teacher for the course Biodiversity and Landscape for 3rd year students of Biology of the University of Utrecht.
2010 – 2012	Assistant coordinator and teacher of the course Evolutionary Biology for 2nd year students of Biology of the University of Utrecht.
2010 – 2012	Assistant coordinator and teacher of the course Evolution Biology for 1st year students of Medical Biology of the University of Utrecht.
2010 – 2011	Collaboration in creating an Amazonian Tree Diversity Network (ATDN) database. Concerns entering data from plots across the Amazon on tree species composition.
2010 – 2011	Creating a manual for supervisors of (first year) students, concerns the professionalization of the supervising process. entering and the checking of ecological species composition data on over 900 plots distributed over the Amazonian Rain Forest.
2008 – Present	Involved in Evolutionary courses for 1st year Bachelor of Science students.
2008 – Present	Involved in Biodiversity and Evolutionary courses for 2nd and 3rd year Bachelor of Science students; including Fieldwork, checking reports etcetera.
2008	Research associate for the Royal Dutch Academy for Science, workgroup of Plant-Animal interactions, Breukelen.