Eindhoven, North Brabant, Netherlands
I am an ecologist in constant search of understanding interactions between organisms and their environment. I have a broad range of research interests including restoration ecology, landscape ecology, community and ecosystem ecology, but mostly bat ecology. My education has been all-round and I possess research and labour experience related to plant and animal ecology in temperate and tropical regions. Apart from participating or leading various scientific research projects, I have worked as a consultant for various agencies and coordinated a diploma course on agroforestry techniques for the restoration of degraded areas. During the last six years I have been working as an ecologist at Staro Natuur en Buitengebied mostly working with Housing Corporations with their transition to more sustainable buildings/houses with room for bats and birds.
Ecologist, researcher on bat activity in rain forest relics and adjacent secondary forest patches. Coordinator of a three module certified diploma course on agroforestry practices and techniques for the restoration of degraded lands
During the postdoctoral fellowship I worked on a project to study the two largest carnivorous bats of the Neotropics, Vampyrum spectrum and Chrotopterus auritus. Both species are rare and threatened in Mexico and other countries in Latin America. We know little about the ecology of these species, but what we do know is that both rely on rainforest and are important bioindicators of pristine forests. Mexico suffers a loss of approximately 155 thousand ha of vegetated areas every year and with the increasing deforestation of rainforest they become very susceptible to extinction. A positive outlook for achieving the conservation of these species will depend on information on the basic ecology and habitat associations to be able to support management actions and conservations strategies. When data on species ecology is available, it is possible to determine their sensitivity towards habitat loss and if necessary develop conservation strategies. However, when this data is lacking, as is the case with these enormous bat species, it becomes very difficult to predict the effect of deforestation on habitat loss and develop conservation strategies. We gathered information on the movement ecology, social behaviour, roost preference, diet and group composition. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/article/ancient-temple-reveals-secrets-of-mexicos-meat-eating-bats
Analyzing bat sounds for a PhD project on the effect of orchards on insectivorous bats in San Cristobal de las Casas, Mexico.