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Climate change causing irreversible shifts in unique Asian ecosystem
9 Oct 2020
Thirty-four million years ago, sudden climate change caused ecological breakdown in Central Asia. Deserts spread across the lowlands, and biological diversity was permanently affected. These are the findings by an ...
Willem Renema appointed professor by special appointment of Marine Palaeobiodiversity
7 Oct 2020
Dr Willem Renema (1972) has been appointed professor by special appointment of Marine Palaeobiodiversity at the Faculty of Science of the University of Amsterdam (UvA). The chair was designated on behalf of the ...
Extinction of mammals affects the future of tropical palms
29 Sep 2020
The loss of large mammalian frugivores as seed dispersers in tropical ecosystems will have severe consequences for many rainforest plants. This is the conclusion from a study using empirical data and simulations of ...
Ocean's canaries have survived previous perturbations in the Earth's carbon cycle
25 Sep 2020
Pteropods, abundant aragonitic calcifying plankton, are the equivalent of "canaries in the coal mine" for our acidifying oceans. Their sensitivity to high CO2 levels and limited fossil record has led to the widely ...
Solution to water shortage
24 Sep 2020
Globally, there is an imbalance between water availability and water demand. The main cause of this mismatch is agricultural irrigation, which accounts for about 70% of freshwater withdrawal. At the same time, ...
Humans have eroded 2 million km2 of wilderness since 2000
22 Sep 2020
New research reveals that 2 million km2 of intact wildlife habitat has been lost since 2000. The international research team, including biologist James Allan from the University of Amsterdam, mapped areas across ...
What we can learn from bird behavior
17 Sep 2020
Why do some animals easily adapt to humans and why do other animals suffer when humans invade their habitat? IBED professor Judy Shamoun-Baranes is immensely fascinated by birds and their behavior, especially bird ...
Dams in the upper Mekong river transform nutrient release downstream
17 Sep 2020
Hydropower is the world’s largest source of energy generation. It is commonly assumed that hydropower reservoirs retain nutrients, and this nutrient reduction significantly reduces primary productivity, fishery ...
Only 10 percent of world’s protected nature areas are connected, threatening biodiversity
11 Sep 2020
Protected nature areas are essential for conserving the earth’s biodiversity. But having isolated protected areas isn’t enough; to really maintain biodiversity, it is essential that these areas are also connected. A ...
Mark Vermeij appointed professor of Tropical Marine Ecology
13 Aug 2020
Dr Mark Vermeij (1973) has been appointed professor of Tropical Marine Ecology at the Faculty of Science at the University of Amsterdam (UvA).
Unique species in island-like systems
5 Aug 2020
Mountains and islands both host a high number of unique species. When seen from above, mountains can look like archipelagos of islands in a low-elevation sea. This parallel has sparked the thought that the isolated ...
Judy Shamoun-Baranes appointed Professor of Animal Movement Ecology
24 Jul 2020
Dr Judy Shamoun-Baranes (1969) has been appointed Professor of Animal Movement Ecology at the University of Amsterdam’s Faculty of Science.
Why are offspring of older mothers less able to live long and prosper?
6 Jul 2020
The offspring of older mothers don’t fare as well as those of younger mothers, in humans and many other species. They aren’t as healthy, or they don’t live as long, or they have fewer offspring themselves. A ...
Eight UvA researchers test innovative ideas using Idea Generator funding
3 Jul 2020
Eight UvA researchers have had their proposals for out-of-the-box research ideas awarded funding from the Dutch Research Agenda’s Idea Generator programme. The researchers will each receive 50,000 euros to further ...
AI4Science Lab sets out to take scientific data analysis to the next level
29 Jun 2020
The organization has been set up, the research programme established and PhD students appointed: the new AI4Science Laboratory is ready for take-off. A virtual kick-off workshop on Wednesday 8 July celebrates the ...
Publication Jip de Vries in Ecological Indicators
22 Jun 2020
The latest article of Jip de Vries (co-authors Michiel Kraak and Piet Verdonschot), entitled: ‘A conceptual model for simulating responses of freshwater macroinvertebrate assemblages to multiple stressors’, appeared ...
Where have the swans gone?
15 Jun 2020
Nearly 13 kilometers per year: that is the rate at which the wintering area of Bewick's swans has shifted east over the past 50 years. It's a discovery with consequences for the conservation of this migratory ...
Bacteria fed by algae biochemicals can harm coral health
4 Jun 2020
Though corals worldwide are threatened due to climate change and local stressors, the front lines of the battle are microscopic in scale. Under stress, many reefs that were formerly dominated by coral are shifting to ...
Cultural override affects tool use in chimpanzees
25 May 2020
‘Cultural override’ is a phenomenon typical of humans in which we seek out resources based on cultural preference regardless of availability. Sometimes this can be a constraint on behavior, when readily-available ...
Island biodiversity best conserved in inaccessible landscapes
12 May 2020
Islands contribute enormously to global biodiversity, but are threatened by human activities. To understand why some islands have been more impacted since first human settlement than others, a new study compared ...
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