Graduated as a biologist and passionate about all of nature, I must admit that I do have a predilection for one specific class of vertebrates: birds. For years now, I have been (more than) an enthusiast about those with feathers. Following from this interest, I have been involved in projects that studied birds’ flight initiation distances, migratory pathways and stopover behavior, and the effects of pesticide use on different aspects of bird ecology.
Although inspired by birds in particular, I am especially fascinated by different (spatial) analytical methods and models to study animal behavior in general. From using GPS-equipment to track animals and identify behaviors and interactions, to meta-analytical techniques to quantify effects found throughout a number of studies: working with large amounts of data can be challenging (and seem daunting at first), but there is much that can be discovered from it, and I absolutely love the process.
I am currently working as a lecturer at the Behavioural Ecology Group at Wageningen University, where I am involved in both educational courses and scientific projects. With a diverse team working on various facets of animal behaviour and ecology, one learns new facts and skills every day.