Over the years I have been particularly interested in the social organization of animal societies, specifically in animal movements (automatized radiotracking) in relation to long distance signalling and territorial behaviour. I have applied this previously to nightingales and great tits and currently to white-browed sparrow weavers (in South Africa with Andy Young, University Exeter) and plan to expand this on zebra finches in the wild (With Simon Griffith, Macquarie University Sydney) using novel solar-powered automatized tracking technologies.
Moreover we recently started a large interdisciplinary project (Eco2) on human-wildlife interactions and conservation behaviour in Egypt.
Students, feel free to contact me for thesis opportunities within the research lines (also see projects below) or if you have other ideas for a thesis project.
For specifics see links below.
Short CV
Since 2011 Chair of Behavioural Ecology Group. From 2008 to 2011 senior researcher at the Department of Animal Ecology at the Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW), head of Animal Personality Group. In 2010 and 2016 visiting professor at the Université Paris Ouest Nanterre, France. Previous positions: 2000-2008 Department of Animal Behaviour, University Bielefeld (Group Fritz Trillmich), Germany, promoted to the rank of professor in 2007. From 1995 to 1999 research associate in Animal Behaviour at the Freie Universität Berlin (Group Dietmar Todt). Studied biology at the Freie Universität Berlin in Germany (1984-1991 Diplom in Biology; group Dietmar Todt) and from 1992-1995 University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, USA (PhD in 1995, Group R. Haven Wiley).
President of the Netherlands Society for Behavioural Biology (NVG) and council member of the Lucie Burgers Foundation. Previously: Wageningen Academic Board member from 2019-2022 and WIAS (Wageningen Institute of Animal Sciences) graduate school board member from 2017-2020. Member of the KNAW-DEC (Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Science-Animal Experimentation Committee; 2016-2021).Council member (2004-2010) and grants secretary (2006-2010) of the Association of the Study of Animal Behaviour (ASAB) and Secretary of the Ethologische Gesellschaft (2007-2010). Editor of journals Animal Behaviour (2004-2006), Journal of Ornithology (2014-2017), Behavioral Ecology (2018-2021), and Editor (2003-2021) and Executive Editor (2013-2021) of Advances in Study of Behaviour.