My main research interest is in plant-herbivore interactions, macroecology and biocomplexity, including herbivore effect on vegetation diversity and plant competition, feed-backs of vegetation characteristics on herbivore population and community processes and biodiversity theory. Currently, most of my field work is done in savanna ecosystems in South Africa, specifically in the Hluhluwe-Umfolozi park. This work is relevant for the conservation of diverse savanna ecosystems.
I am currently running a large PIONIER project funded by the Netherlands Organisation for Scientic research on the dynamic interplay of biodiversity and spatial heterogeneity in savanna ecosystems.
Current students & postdocs:
| Rampal Etienne |
postdoc |
The importance of scale considerations for tropical biodiversity conservation
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| Emiel Apol |
postdoc |
A thermodynamic approach to spatial pattern formation in ecosystems |
| Mariska te Beest |
PhD project |
Mechanisms of threats to biodiversity imposed by invasive plants: the case of Chromolaena odorata in a South African savanna
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| Verinne Fuld |
PhD project |
Biotic modification of spatial heterogeneity in a tropical savanna |
| Joris Cromsigt |
PhD project |
Resource partitioning among grazers of different actual and functional body weight in spatially structured savannas of South Africa
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| Nicole Hagenah |
PhD project |
The interplay of small mammals with large herbivores in southern African savannas: aspects of functional diversity in a natural production and conservation system
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| Liesbeth Bakker |
PhD project |
The role of different-sized herbivores in maintaining the diversity of a grassland ecosystem |
| Barend van Gemerden |
PhD project |
Determinants of biodiversity in a tropical rainforest in Cameroon |
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