Research in the department of Evolutionary and Population Biology (EPB), of which I am department head, focuses on understanding the ecological and evolutionary processes that drive community dynamics and speciation, and determine biodiversity patterns. These processes are studied in a variety of study systems, ranging from plants, mites, nematodes and insects to apes and humans.

Moth lab: The research focus of the moth lab revolve around evolutionary chemical ecology, focusing mostly on the evolution of mate choice through sex pheromones, but also on the chemical ecology and evolution of host – parasite interactions. We are especially interested in translating fundamental insights in these processes to sustainable pest management practices, including monitoring and mating disruption with sex pheromones, and biocontrol using microbial infections.

Evolution of chemical communication and speciation

Chemical communication is the oldest form of communication in nature. How individuals within and between species interact through chemical signals and responses determines to a large extent the network of life. To gain insight in the evolution of chemical communication, we study the evolution of moth sexual communication by identifying the genes underlying intraspecific variation in signals and responses in both sexes and understanding the causes and consequences of plasticity in mate choice. 

Effect of infections on moth life history

Parasites, pathogens and other stress factors early in life (i.e. in the larval stage) likely affect adult reproductie behaviors. We are exploring how different types of infections (virures, bacteria, apicomplexa) affect larval feeding behaviors and adult reproductive behaviors (mate choice and oviposition behaviors) in generalist and specialist moth species. Since microbial biocontrol methods are increasingly used against moth pests, the ecological and evolutionary responses of moths to these microbial infection agents are important to develop sustainable pest management practices.

FAW: invasive species ecology and evolution

Invasive species can profoundly affect species interactions and pose a serious threat when these species are agricultural pests. The fall army worm (FAW) Spodoptera frugiperda (Lepidoptera, Noctuidae) is a major pest in staple crops in North and South America and recently invaded Africa and Asia. Biological control methods that are currently used to control lepidopteran insect pests include pheromone trapping and spraying of baculoviruses (killing caterpillars). Together with WUR (dr. Vera Ros), icipe (dr. Fathiya Khamis), and IITA Benin (dr. Georg Goergen), we are investigating the long-term effects of virus-infections on the ecology and evolution of FAW.

In the EU Horizon-RIA Farm2Fork consortium “EUFAWREADY” that aims to enhance Europe's readiness for managing fall armyworm (FAW), we are investigating the effect of microbial biocontrol infections on FAW ecology and evolution, and whether there are region-specific sex pheromone compounds and ratios in FAW populations along the southern edges of Europe. This project is conducted with dr. Mobolade Akinbuluma.

In collaboration with the University of Ibadan, we are also investigating the effect of drought on the interaction between fall armyworm and its natural enemies in maize plants. This project is conducted by PhD student Oreoluwa Precious Ilobolutife, who is pursuing a Joint Doctorate degree at the University of Ibadan under the supervision of prof. Sherifat Aboaba, dr. Olajumoke Alabi and dr. Mobolade Akinbuluma.

Fab Forward

The Dutch NWO-KIC project “FabForward” aims to develop biodiverse agricultural landscapes for natural pest control. Measures for functional agrobiodiversity (FAB), such as flowery field margins and hedgerows, can stimulate natural enemies in agroecosystems. Despite the expected benefits for pest suppression, FAB measures are not yet often used. FABforward brings together (scientific) experts, the agrosector and public partners to develop the required specific ecological knowledge and practical tools, and to remove socioeconomic barriers. The expected impact of FABforward is the broad implementation of FAB measures in Dutch arable farming with minimal insecticide applications. Hence, we accelerate the urgently needed transition to sustainable farming in a biodiverse and attractive landscape.

Bioclock

Bioclock investigates the effects of light pollution on plants and animals, including humans. Within Bioclock, we focus on quantifying the temporal mismatching effects of light pollution in foodwebs, ranging from plants and herbivores to predators. The specific objectives are to a) identify how different forms of light pollution lead to temporal (circadian) mismatches between plants, and the activity patterns of herbivores (insects) and predators (bats and birds); b) quantify the role of light pollution on changes in pollination and pest development through temporal mismatches in foodweb interactions, and c) develop practical strategies to minimize the effect of light pollution on temporal mismatches in foodwebs, and to maximize provisioning of ecosystem services. PhD project of Hannah Broeckx

Evolution of chemical espionage

Chemical espionage, the exploitation of chemical signals by natural enemies, has been examined in a wide range of insect taxa. When a Trichogramma egg parasitoid wasp detects the anti-aphrodisiac (AA) pheromone of Pieris butterflies, it hitch-hikes with a mated female butterfly to a host plant and then parasitizes her freshly laid eggs. This chemical espionage-and-ride strategy seems more widespread in egg parasitoids than so far assumed (Fatouros et al., Huigens et al. 2009). This project investigates to what extent natural enemies such as Trichogramma egg parasitoids affect the evolution of AAs in Pieris butterflies in nature, and is a collaboration between Nina Fatouros (WUR), Bart Pannebakker (WUR), Eric Schranz (WUR) and Astrid Groot.

tRNA evolution

In the three domains of life (Archaea, Bacteria and Eukaryotes), different sets and copy numbers of tRNA are found. We are investigating patterns of tRNA combinations that are shared and unique in the different domains to gain a better understanding of the evolution of tRNA gene sets. This is a collaboration between Peter van der Gulik (CWI), Wouter Hoff (Oklahoma State), Ken Kraaijeveld (Leiden Hogeschool), Martijn Egas (UvA), Astrid Groot and Jenna Gallie (MPI Evolutionary Biology).

MSc course Current trends in ecology and evolution (course coordinator: Astrid Groot)

In this course we give an introduction to the recent research developments and current research questions in the field of ecology and evolution. In group literature discussions, we critically evaluate recent research papers published in high-impact journals and evaluate their strong and weak points. Students get assignments to identify historical roots of research questions, find out current and new research techniques, and visualise and present their findings to the group. In addition, guest lectures will be given by ‘hotshots’ in the field, with whom students will discuss. The final product of the course is a research proposal, to be defended at the end of the course. This is the introduction course of the Master track Ecology and Evolution at the UvA.

MSc course Science-based geo-ecological management (course coordinator: Astrid Groot)

Nature conservation, restoration and agricultural use often generate conflicting demands between biodiversity, recreation, and other use of ecosystems. Often, interventions start without asking why we want to intervene and what are the aims. In addition, contrasting interests in management intentions may exist between stakeholders, executive organisations and scientists. This course aims to give insights in the ecological processes that should be considered to come to science-based management of geo-ecosystems. Geo-ecological and socio-ecological processes from local to landscape scale will be considered, and  the spatiotemporal dynamics of ecosystems. This is an elective course in the Master track Future Planet Ecosystem Science at the UvA.

Postgraduate course Chemical Ecology (organizers: Astrid Groot, Alexander Haverkamp, Nina Fatouros)

In the postgraduate course 'Chemical Ecology throughout the tree of life', we will focus on how man-made changes to the environment can influence chemical communications within and between microorganisms, plants, herbivores and disease vectors. Since chemical signals and cues often consist of complex mixtures of multiple compounds, and responses to this information often depend on precise ratios of these compounds, chemical information is not only hard to measure but also particularly vulnerable to anthropocentric changes in the environment. We will not only focus on how chemical information can be collected and analyzed, but also on the environmental factors that can affect chemical communications and zoom in on the underlying mechanisms of producing and perceiving chemical information. There will also be two hands-on workshops on how to analyze large datasets in the field of chemical ecology. This is a course of the PE&RC graduate research school.

The research topics in the moth lab revolve around evolutionary chemical ecology, focusing mostly on the evolution of mate choice through sex pheromones, but also on the chemical ecology and evolution of host – parasite interactions. We are especially interested in translating fundamental insights in these processes to sustainable pest management practices, including monitoring and mating disruption with sex pheromones, and biocontrol using microbial infections. Our research includes behavioral analyses in lab and field experiments, chemical analyses to assess variation in female and male sex pheromones, genetic, transcriptomic and functional analyses (qPCR, CRISPR-cas9) to identify and characterize candidate genes involved in chemical and behavioral variation and immunological responses.

MSc and BSc students, as well as ERASMUS students and students from other (international) programs, can develop a research project in one of the different projects listed in the 'Research' tab, or in one of the collaborative projects listed in the 'Collaborative projects' tab. International research projects of less than 4 months are not accepted.

Student projects have led to the following publications (student names in italic):

Buddendorf SWJ, Broeckx HD, van Delft J, Groot AT, Visser ME, Burdfield-Steel E, Spoelstra K. 2026. Dimming streetlights in urban areas reduces insect attraction but pipistrelle bats forage more in darkness. Biological Conservation 314, 111638. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2025.111638

Fruitet, de Jong R, Blankers T, Groot AT, Burdfield-Steel E. 2026. Resource limitation reveals that high acetate levels in Heliothis subflexa sex pheromone blend are associated with reduced fitness. Journal of Evolutionary Biology 39 (1), 137-147. https://doi.org/10.1093/jeb/voaf126

Gao K, van der Heide W, Muijderman D, Nichols S, Karwal C, Kuperus P, Groot AT. 2025. Ecological immunology: do sexual attraction and immunity trade-off through a desaturase? Insect Science, 32(1), 290-300. https://doi.org/10.1111/1744-7917.13379

Zweerus NL, Caton LJ, de Jeu L, Groot AT. 2023. More to legs than meets the eye: Presence and function of pheromone compounds on heliothine moth legs. Journal of Evolutionary Biology 5: 780-794. https://doi.org/10.1111/jeb.14173

Zeeman AN, Smallegange IM, Burdfield-Steel E, Groot AT & Stewart. KA. 2022. Toward an understanding of the chemical ecology of alternative reproductive tactics in the bulb mite (Rhizoglyphus robini). BMC ecology and evolution, 22(1), [5]. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12862-021-01956-w

Blankers T, Lievers R, Plata C, van Wijk M, van Veldhuizen D, & Groot AT. 2021. Sex pheromone signal and stability covary with fitness. Royal Society Open Science, 8(6), 210180. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.210180

Gao K, Muijderman D, Nichols S, Heckel DG, Wang P, Zalucki MP & Groot AT. 2020. Parasite-host specificity: A cross-infection study of the parasite Ophryocystis elektroscirrha. Journal of Invertebrate Pathology, 170, [107328]. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jip.2020.107328  

Gao K, van Wijk M, Clement Z, Egas M & Groot AT. 2020. A life-history perspective on sexual selection in a polygamous species. BMC Evolutionary Biology, 20(1), [53]. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12862-020-01618-3

Kerkvliet J, de Fouchier A, van Wijk M, Groot AT. 2019. The Bellerophon pipeline, improving de novo transcriptomes and removing chimeras. Ecology and Evolution 9: 10513-10521, https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.5571

Groot AT, van Wijk M, Villacis-Perez E, Kuperus P, Schoefl G, van Veldhuizen D, Heckel DG. 2019. Within-population variability in a moth sex pheromone blend, part 2: selection towards fixation. Royal Society open science 6: 182050 https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.182050

Niepoth N, Gao K, De Roode JC, Groot AT. 2017.  Comparing behavior and clock gene expression between caterpillars, butterflies, and moths. Journal of Biological Rhythms 33: 54-64 https://doi.org/10.1177/0748730417746458

Nojima S, Claben A, Groot AT, Schal C. 2018. Qualitative and quantitative analysis of chemicals emitted from the pheromone gland of individual Heliothis subflexa females. PLoS ONE 13(8): e0202035. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0202035

Dumenil C, Judd G, Bosch D, Baldessari M, Gemeno C, Groot AT. 2014. Intraspecific variation in the female sex pheromone of the codling moth Cydia pomonella. Insects 5: 705-721. https://doi.org/10.3390/insects5040705

Groot AT, Schöfl G, Inglis O, Donnerhacke S, Classen A, Schmalz A, Santangelo RG, Emerson J, Gould F, Schal C, Heckel DG. 2014. Within-population variability in a moth sex pheromone blend: genetic basis and behavioural consequences. Proceedings of the Royal Society B 281: 20133054. https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2013.3054

Karpinski A, Haenniger S, Schoefl G, Heckel DG, Groot AT. 2014. Host plant specialization in the generalist moth Heliothis virescens. Evolutionary Ecology 28:1075–1093. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10682-014-9723-x

Podcasts & (radio) interviews

News in Science: "Sexy females help ‘Plain Jane’ moths snag their mates"

BMC series blog: "Too late to date: how differences in mating time may drive a species apart"

New Scientist: "Misschien kiest het vrouwtje wel het lekkerst ruikende mannetje"