WEES

We are please to announce May’s Wageningen Evolution and Ecology Seminar (WEES) event! 

The Seminar will take place on Friday 24th of May, 13:00-14:00 in Orion, B4044 & B4045. This will be followed by a gathering at the Spot. 

The associated Workshop will take place from 10:00 -  11:30 in OrionB4042. The workshop gives attendees the opportunity to meet the seminar’s speaker and have a discussion about a hot topic in science. Furthermore, BSc and MSc students can get 1 ECTS for attending 2 workshops. Registration is required for this workshop and you can sign up by emailing Lydia Cornu (lydia.cornu@wur.nl).

You are also welcome to join the speaker for dinner in Wageningen on Thursday May 23rd, or lunch on campus on Friday May 24th (this will be at your own expense). If you are interested, please email Lydia Cornu (lydia.cornu@wur.nl). 

Please feel free to forward this information to anyone who could be interested!

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Seminar: Microclimate Change: The Hidden driver of species redistribution 

Friday, May 24th 2024, 13:00 - 14:00, Orion B4044 + B4045

Dr. Jonas Lembrechts

Assistant Professor in Ecological Scaling

Utrecht University, The Netherlands

Recent research has shown that the impacts of climate change on terrestrial species distributions are more complex than expected. Species distributions are showing significant delays in responses, or have shifted in unexpected directions. Scientists have identified several mechanisms that could explain these mismatches, including slow population dynamics, habitat fragmentation, and biotic interactions that limit the spread of species. Yet, one crucial aspect remains largely overlooked: we first need relevant high-resolution baseline climate change data to accurately answer this question.

Indeed, organisms respond to microclimate change, which can differ significantly from macroclimate change. We know that local temperatures near the ground or below vegetation can be several degrees different from weather station data. However, it remains a mystery how quickly these microclimates are changing, as this depends as much on climate change as on land use changes.

In this talk, we will explore how the SoilTemp-database, a global database of more than 100,000 in-situ measured microclimate time series, can be used to improve global microclimate products and ultimately provide better estimates of microclimate change. By applying these products to improve our ecological models, from species distributions over disease prediction to decomposition, we can better understand the impacts of climate change on biodiversity and ecosystem functioning, crucial for adjusting biodiversity management to a rapidly changing world.

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Workshop: Tips and tricks to optimize your own local microclimate or environmental monitoring

Friday, May 24th 2024, 10:00 - 11:30, Orion B4042

Effective microclimate monitoring requires putting microclimate on the forefront. Up till now, many on-the-ground observations are still an afterthought of more ‘important’ ecological questions, and such ad-hoc sensor deployments may fail to capture the environmental heterogeneity one is interested in. In this workshop, Dr. Lembrechts will summarize the recent (unpublished) efforts by the SoilTemp-network to create standardized - yet flexible - workflows to design microclimate networks, targeting academic and applied ecologists interested in biodiversity conservation, natural resource management, and climate adaptation.

 Drawing on years of experience with networks from across the globe (from a 5000-strong citizen science network in Flanders to a nation-wide network in Oman or local networks on a remote sub-Antarctic island), the workshop covers everything from location and sensor selection, over spatiotemporal resolution to the practicalities of sensor deployment in the field and in pots, and stakeholder engagement. By addressing these known and unknown challenges in sensor deployment, this workshop aims to enhance the utility and robustness of microclimate (and other environmental) monitoring efforts.

There will be plenty of room for discussing particular case studies, questions and issues as experienced by the participants, working towards practical solutions to optimize your own microclimate data collection.

Dear all,

We would like to invite you to attend March’s Wageningen Evolution & Ecology Seminar (WEES) and Workshop.

The seminar will take place on Thursday 21st March, 16.00-17.00 in C1005 in Orion. This will be followed by drinks at The Spot and the opportunity to have dinner (at your own expense) with the speaker. Sign up for dinner with Ruth Fawthrop (r.fawthrop@nioo.knaw.nl).

The associated workshop will be from 14.00-15.30 in B4014 in Orion. The workshop gives attendees the opportunity to meet the seminar’s speaker and have a discussion about a hot topic in science. Furthermore, BSc and MSc students can get 1 ECTS for attending 2 workshops. Registration is required for this workshop and you can sign up by emailing Ruth Fawthrop (r.fawthrop@nioo.knaw.nl).

This will be a great event so please forward this information to anyone who could be interested!

Seminar: Mate choice, extra-pair paternity and social networks (16.00h in C1005, Orion)

Dr. Julia Schroeder

Senior Lecturer

Imperial College London, UK

Female mate choice is one of the hallmarks of sexual selection. Driven by anisogamy, females are predicted to be the choosier sex, selecting her mates by aiming to maximise the quality of her offspring, while males are predicted to favour quantity over quality. Extra-pair paternity in socially monogamous song birds is a model system where this female choice is put under magnification: females exchange the genetic contribution of the father, but the rest stays the same. This system allows us to test several predictions from sexual selection and beyond. Here I will explore the classical sexual selection hypotheses (good genes, sexy sons), more recent suggestions (pleiotropy hypotheses) and the roles of ageing, opportunity and connectedness in mate choice. I will present data from 25 years of research in our island system of house sparrows.

Workshop: Time management and life-work balance in academia (14.00h in B4014, Orion)

In this workshop we will explore the ongoing issues academics face surrounding time management and life-work balance. We will consider how we define personal productivity and how ecologists and evolutionary biologists can consider their own time management practices.

As an introduction to the workshop, attendees are encouraged to read the following article: https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-024-00648-x

About WEES

WEES is an initiative of PhD students and postdocs at Wageningen University to organize a continuing series of stimulating seminars on contemporary topics in evolution and ecology. For this series we invite researchers from all over the world who have leading roles in their field. We aim to bring together different groups at Wageningen University using a variety of systems, but with a common interest in evolutionary and ecological questions. WEES is funded by graduate schools PE&RC, WIMEK, EPS, VLAG, and WIAS. 

Want to organize seminars yourself? Join WEES!

WEES is looking for new members! We aim for a broad and diverse range in topics and would like to welcome new members to help and include topics not represented yet. If you are curious, send an email to weeswageningen@gmail.com and join one of our meetings. 

For more information please visit www.weeswageningen.nl and follow us on twitter @weeswageningen

Dear all,

We would like to invite you to attend December’s Wageningen Evolution & Ecology Seminar (WEES) and afternoon workshop. The seminar will take place on Tuesday 12th December, 16:00-17:00h in Orion C2035, where Dr. Djordje Bajić from TU Delft Section of Industrial Microbiology will present his work on “Using fitness landscapes to engineer microbial communities”.

There will also be a workshop with Dr. Bajić on “An introduction to fitness landscapes” at 14:00 in Orion B3042. In the workshop, Dr. Bajić will discuss the concept of fitness landscapes. We will start by reviewing the history of fitness landscapes and its uses. He will then deepen a bit more into the concept of global epistasis. The workshop is aimed for HBO, MSc, PhD students, and postdocs. Registration is required, so please email Alanna Leale (alanna.leale@wur.nl) to register. See below for more information.

Please forward this information to anyone who could be interested. Thank you!

Using fitness landscapes to engineer microbial communities

(16:00 - Orion C2035)

Dr. Djordje Bajić

Assistant Professor, Industrial Microbiology

Department of Biotechnology

TU Delft

Microbial communities hold great promise as sustainable alternative in many biotechnological, agricultural and environmental applications. However, the functions and services that microbial communities provide depend on an intricate network of interactions between species and their environment. This makes engineering microbial communities a remarkably challenging task. One of the main interests of my group is to address this challenge by developing predictive models that link the composition of a community to its function. In this seminar, I will start by extending the concept of fitness landscapes to explore maps between microbial community composition and function. Then, I will discuss some exciting recent developments in which we leveraged this approach for engineering microbial communities.

Workshop (14:00 Orion B3042)

Using fitness landscapes to engineer microbial communities

In the workshop, I will discuss the concept of fitness landscapes. We will start by reviewing the history of fitness landscapes and its uses. I will then deepen a bit more into the concept of global epistasis. A suggested (but not mandatory) reading is our recent review on the topic, which is freely available here https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/full/10.1098/rstb.2022.0053.

The workshop will take place 14:00 to 15:30 in Orion B3042. Registration is required, so please email Alanna Leale (alanna.leale@wur.nl) to register. The workshop gives attendees the opportunity to meet the speaker of the seminar and have a discussion based on recent publications. The workshops are a good possibility to become acquainted with hot topics in science and to gain experience in discussing these topics with leading scientists in the field. Furthermore, BSc and MSc students can get 1 ECTS for attending 2 workshops.

Lunch & dinner with Dr. Bajić:

A small group will have lunch and dinner with our invited speaker. If you are interested in joining for lunch and/or dinner with Dr. Bajić, please contact Alanna Leale (alanna.leale@wur.nl). You may of course also simply decide to join on the day of the seminar.

WEES background & call for new members:

WEES is an initiative of PhD students and postdocs at Wageningen University to organize a continuing series of stimulating seminars on contemporary topics in evolution and ecology. For this series we invite researchers from all over the world who have leading roles in their field. We aim to bring together different groups at Wageningen University using a variety of systems, but with a common interest in evolutionary and ecological questions. WEES is funded by graduate schools PE&RC, WIMEK, EPS, VLAG, and WIAS.

Interested in joining the WEES committee and organizing seminars yourself? WEES is looking for new members! We aim for a broad and diverse range in topics and would like to welcome new members to help and include topics not represented yet. If you are curious, send an email to weeswageningen@gmail.com and join one of our meetings. For more information please visit: www.weeswageningen.nl or follow us on Twitter @weeswageningen

We would like to invite everyone to attend February’s Wageningen Evolution & Ecology Seminar (WEES). The seminar will take place on Thursday 15th February, 16:00-17:00 in Orion C1005, where Prof. Martin Reichard from the Czech Academy of Sciences will present his work on the ‘Evolution of brood parasitism in the cuckoo catfish’. There will also be a workshop with Prof. Martin Reichard on ‘Interspecific reproductive parasitism in fishes‘ at 14:00 in Orion B3034. The workshop is aimed for HBO, PhD, MSc, BSc students, and postdocs. Registration is required, so please email Davide Bottacini (davide.bottacini@wur.nl) to register. See below for more information on the seminar and workshop.
After the seminar, WEES invites the participants to join the speaker for free drinks at the Spot.
On the day of the event, Prof. Reichard is also available for lunch and dinner with anyone who wants to join.

 
Please forward this information to anyone who could be interested.

Seminar (16:00-17:00 - Orion C1005)

Evolution of brood parasitism in the cuckoo catfish
Prof. Martin Reichard
Professor at the Czech Academy of Sciences, Institute of Vertebrate Biology
  

Interspecific brood parasitism is a reproductive strategy whereby biological parents allocate their parental duties to a different species. I will address various aspects of ecology and evolution of brood parasitism in fishes, with special focus on the cuckoo catfish (Synodontis multipunctatus), a brood parasite of mouth-brooding cichlids in the African Lake Tanganyika. I will use a comparative approach to demonstrate how (dis)similar the cuckoo catfish is compared to other Synodontis catfishes in Lake Tanganyika and what this means for the origin of brood parasitism. I will then compare the role of coevolution and learning on the success of cichlid hosts to avoid parasitism by cuckoo catfish and also explain how cuckoo catfish learn to parasitize more effectively as they gain experience. I also address the potential for and constraints on host specialization and research into the origins of this reproductive strategy, using a combination of data collected in the field and laboratory experiments. 

Workshop (14:00-15:30 - Orion B3034)

Interspecific reproductive parasitism in fishes

The workshop gives attendees the opportunity to meet the speaker and have a discussion based on recent publications. The workshops are a good opportunity to become acquainted with hot topics in science and to gain experience in discussing these topics with leading scientists in the field. Furthermore, BSc and MSc students can get 1 ECTS for attending 2 workshops. Registration is required to participate in the workshop, so please email Davide Bottacini (davide.bottacini@wur.nl) to register. 

Lunch and dinner with Prof. Martin Reichard
A small group will have lunch and dinner with our invited speaker. If you are interested in joining for lunch and/or dinner with Prof. Martin Reichard, please contact Davide Bottacini (davide.bottacini@wur.nl). You may of course also simply decide to join on the day of the seminar. Please, note that participants are expected to cover the costs of lunch and dinner themselves.

WEES background & call for new membersWEES is an initiative of PhD students and postdocs at Wageningen University to organize a continuing series of stimulating seminars on contemporary topics in evolution and ecology. For this series we invite researchers from all over the world who have leading roles in their field. We aim to bring together different groups at Wageningen University using a variety of systems, but with a common interest in evolutionary and ecological questions. WEES is funded by graduate schools PE&RC, WIMEK, EPS, VLAG, and WIAS.

Interested in joining the WEES committee and organizing seminars yourself? WEES is looking for new members! We aim for a broad and diverse range in topics and would like to welcome new members to help and include topics not represented yet. If you are curious, send an email to weeswageningen@gmail.com and join one of our meetings.

Dear all,

We would like to invite you to attend January’s Wageningen Evolution & Ecology Seminar (WEES) and related workshop. The seminar will take place on Thursday 18th January, 16:00-17:00 in Orion C1005. Dr. Theresa Rueger from Newcastle University will present her work on ‘Coral reef fishes as a model to understand animal societies’. 

 
There will also be a workshop with Dr. Theresa Rueger on ‘Marine fishes as models in behavioural ecology‘ at 14:00 in Orion B4015. In the workshop, Dr. Rueger will discuss the role of coral reef fishes as models in behavioural ecology. The workshop is aimed for HBO, MSc, PhD students, and postdocs. Registration is required, so please email Davide Bottacini (davide.bottacini@wur.nl) to register. See below for more information on the seminar and workshop. 

In preparation to the seminar and workshop, the speaker recommends the papers in attachment, which offer a background on the topics discussed.
 
Please forward this information to anyone who could be interested. Thank you!
 

Seminar (16:00-17:00 - Orion C1005)

Coral reef fishes as a model to understand animal societies

 
Dr. Theresa Rueger
Lecturer, Tropical Marine Biology
Newcastle University, UK
 
The evolution of complex groups, where some individuals reproduce and others do not, remains an evolutionary mystery for many animal species, including marine fishes. Anemonefishes and gobies, model organisms for the ecology and evolution of marine organisms, live in complex groups with two dominant breeders and several non-breeding subordinates. We know why subordinates accept their situation: limited habitat availability and high predation rate associated with movement between groups create harsh ecological constraints; and strict size hierarchies and the threat of eviction create harsh social constraints. However, we do not know why dominant breeders accept subordinates to share their resources. We tested several classic hypotheses to explain social evolution in coral reef fishes: 1) The kin selection hypothesis; 2) the mate-replacement hypothesis and 3) the pay-to-stay hypothesis. We used genetics, experiments and behavioural observations on anemonefish and goby populations in Papua New Guinea. We found that 1) surprisingly, despite a larval dispersal phase, relatedness in groups of coral reef fishes can be significantly higher than the population mean; 2) the variance, but not the mean, of time to replace a mate is reduced when subordinates are present; and 3) subordinates perform helping behaviours beneficial to the dominants, often mediated by their anemone or coral mutualistic hosts. None of these factors alone can explain the formation and maintenance of groups in coral reef fishes, but added together a clear picture emerges of why dominant breeders accept subordinates to form complex societies. 

Workshop (14:00-15:30 - Orion B4015)

Marine fishes as models in behavioural ecology
 

The workshop gives attendees the opportunity to meet the speaker and have a discussion based on recent publications. The workshops are a good possibility to become acquainted with hot topics in science and to gain experience in discussing these topics with leading scientists in the field. Furthermore, BSc and MSc students can get 1 ECTS for attending 2 workshops. Registration is required to participate in the workshop, so please email Davide Bottacini (davide.bottacini@wur.nl) to register. 
 

Lunch and dinner with Dr. Rueger

A small group will have lunch and dinner with our invited speaker. If you are interested in joining for lunch and/or dinner with Dr. Rueger, please contact Davide Bottacini (davide.bottacini@wur.nl). You may of course also simply decide to join for dinner on the day of the seminar.
 

WEES background & call for new members
WEES is an initiative of PhD students and postdocs at Wageningen University to organize a continuing series of stimulating seminars on contemporary topics in evolution and ecology. For this series we invite researchers from all over the world who have leading roles in their field. We aim to bring together different groups at Wageningen University using a variety of systems, but with a common interest in evolutionary and ecological questions. WEES is funded by graduate schools PE&RC, WIMEK, EPS, VLAG, and WIAS.
 

Interested in joining the WEES committee and organizing seminars yourself? WEES is looking for new members! We aim for a broad and diverse range in topics and would like to welcome new members to help and include topics not represented yet. If you are curious, send an email to weeswageningen@gmail.com and join one of our meetings.

 
For more information please visit: www.weeswageningen.nl or follow us on Twitter @weeswageningen

Dear All,

We would like to invite you to attend October’s Wageningen Evolution and Ecology Seminar (WEES) and Workshop in-person!

The Seminar will take place on Tuesday 17th October, from 16:00 to 17:00 in Orion, C3033. This will be followed by drinks at The Spot and an opportunity to meet and have dinner with the Speaker (sign up for diner with Maxence – maxence.longuemare@wur.nl).

The associated Workshop will take place in Orion B4015 from 14:00 to 15:30. The workshop gives attendees the opportunity to meet the seminar’s speaker and discuss about a hot topic both in science and for society. Registration is required for the Workshop, and you can sign up by emailing Maxence – maxence.longuemare@wur.nl

This will be a great event so please forward this information to anyone who could be interested!

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Seminar: The reshaping of ecological communities globally under land-use change and climate change (October 17th 2023, 16h-17h in Orion, C3033)

Dr. Tim Newbold

Principal Research Fellow

Genetics, Evolution & Environment

University College London, United Kingdom

Biodiversity is changing rapidly under the influence of human actions. Until now, land-use change has been the predominant driver of biodiversity change, but the impact of climate change is now clear and accelerating. Using global biodiversity data and models, my research seeks to understand how land-use change, climate change and their interactions are restructuring ecological communities worldwide. I also explore which types of species are benefiting and losing from land-use and climate changes, and what this means for human societies because of changes in pollinator biodiversity.

Workshop: The role of biodiversity scientists in tackling biodiversity changes (October 17th 2023, 14h-15h30 in Orion, B4015)

In this workshop, Dr. Tim Newbold will lead an engaging and dynamic discussion about the integral roles that biodiversity scientists play in tackling biodiversity changes. This can cover a wide range of topics, including strategies for enhancing the quality of evidence regarding biodiversity decline and its underlying factors, solutions to tackle biodiversity loss, methods for effectively communicating with government policymakers, businesses, as well as approaches to actively engage with civil society, including through activism.

In preparation, attendees are asked to read the following two articles that will be discussed during the workshop:

• Pervasive human-driven decline of life on Earth points to the need for transformative change | Science 
• Scientists must act on our own warnings to humanity | Nature Ecology & Evolution

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About WEES

WEES is an initiative of PhD students and postdocs at Wageningen University to organize a continuing series of stimulating seminars on contemporary topics in evolution and ecology. For this series we invite researchers from all over the world who have leading roles in their field. We aim to bring together different groups at Wageningen University using a variety of systems, but with a common interest in evolutionary and ecological questions. WEES is funded by graduate schools PE&RC, WIMEK, EPS, VLAG, and WIAS.

Want to organise seminars yourself? Join WEES!

WEES is looking for new members! We aim for a broad and diverse range in topics and would like to welcome new members to help and include topics not represented yet. If you are curious, send an email to weeswageningen@gmail.com and join one of our meetings.

For more information, please visit www.weeswageningen.nl and follow us on twitter @weeswageningen

Dear All,

We would like to invite you to attend September’s Wageningen Evolution and Ecology Seminar (WEES) and Masterclass in-person!

The Seminar will take place on Thursday 28th September, 16:00-17:00 in Orion, B4044. This will be followed by drinks at The Spot and an opportunity to meet and have dinner with the Speaker (sign up for dinner with Suraj – suraj.hm@wur.nl).

The associated Masterclass will be from 13:00-15:15 in the Room Decision, Impulse. The masterclass provides a platform for insightful discussions and knowledge sharing. Dr. Aaron Vogan will have an engaging presentation, about his personal journey from PhD to team leadership and his experience coordinating multifaceted projects. Followed by a dynamic session where 6-7 PhD’s/Post-doc’s will have an opportunity to present their work, (mainly relating to genomics) for 4 minutes each, followed by a 10-minute interactive discussion involving the presenting students, and the audience, which will also include PI’s who are interested to be part of the discussion. Registration is required for the Masterclass and you can sign up by emailing Suraj – suraj.hm@wur.nl

This will be a great event so please forward this information to anyone who could be interested!

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Seminar: Voyage of the Starships: Horizontal gene transfer of giant transposons drives adaptation across fungi (September 28th 2023, 16.00h in Orion, B4044)

Dr. Aaron Vogan

Independent Researcher,

Institute of Organismal Biology,

Uppsala University, Sweden

Transposable elements in eukaryotic organisms are often regarded as “selfish,” typically providing only indirect benefits to their host organisms. A novel discovery in fungal genomes is the presence of Starships, which display characteristics of transposable elements and are believed to confer advantageous traits to their hosts at certain instances. During the seminar, Dr. Aaron will delve into the subject of Starships exploring their involvement in mobilizing into specific genomic sites and their role in multiple recent instances of horizontal gene transfers.

About WEES

WEES is an initiative of PhD students and postdocs at Wageningen University to organize a continuing series of stimulating seminars on contemporary topics in evolution and ecology. For this series we invite researchers from all over the world who have leading roles in their field. We aim to bring together different groups at Wageningen University using a variety of systems, but with a common interest in evolutionary and ecological questions. WEES is funded by graduate schools PE&RC, WIMEK, EPS, VLAG, and WIAS. 

Want to organise seminars yourself? Join WEES!

WEES is looking for new members! We aim for a broad and diverse range in topics and would like to welcome new members to help and include topics not represented yet. If you are curious, send an email to weeswageningen@gmail.com and join one of our meetings. 

For more information please visit www.weeswageningen.n and follow us on twitter @weeswageningen