406 search results for “ecosystem” in the Public website
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How nature boosts the health of city residents
Your local city park may be improving your health, according to a new paper led by Leiden environmental scientist Roy Remme. In Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Remme and his colleagues describe how access to nature increases people’s physical activity—and therefore overall health—in…
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Vocational education and university join forces for quantum technology
Opening van het Quantum Delta NL (QDNL) Talent & Learning Centre (TLC) Leiden-Delft.
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Should we build a European mega-dam?
A mega-dam around Europe is a possible solution as protection against rising sea levels. Whether that is really a good idea, was debated on by young professionals during the debate on the future of European coastal protection. 'A big dam may seem safe, but actually isn't,' argued debate winner Haye…
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ERC Starting Grants for five young Leiden researchers
Five researchers from Leiden University have been awarded a Starting Grant by the European Research Council (ERC). This grant of on average 1.5m euros enables researchers who show potential to start their own project, lead a research team and implement their best ideas.
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Hortus Leiden helps to protect plant diversity around the world
The Global Strategy for Plant Conservation, a world-wide effort by the botanist and plant protection community, is making considerable progress in protecting plant diversity around the world, a new report says. The Hortus botanicus Leiden is one of the partners of the project.
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News but nothing new: many pesticides in Dutch swimming and natural waters
There has been a lot of media attention for the report recently completed by the Institute of Environmental Sciences (CML) from Leiden University. However, it has long been known that Dutch surface water contains too many toxic pesticides. ‘We will have to improve our ways of life together with many…
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CRITTERS Exhibition
The CRITTERS exhibition in Naturalis Biodiversity Center lets artists and researchers look for a connection between technology and natural organisms.
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How to set ambitious goals for sustainable agriculture
Food production in the Netherlands is an economic success but has led to many environmental issues, including nitrogen pollution. Recently, the policy to allow economic growth while reducing nitrogen losses was disapproved by the highest court in the Netherlands, casting the country into a nitrogen…
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Artificial intelligence project to accelerate MRI scans receives 2 million euros
Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC), Leiden University and Philips are jointly receiving over 2 million euros from NWO to set up an artificial intelligence (AI) lab. The aim of this lab is to accelerate and improve MRI scans with AI. This is great for patients, and it helps make MRI more accessi…
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If we do nothing, more plants will go extinct
A wide range of plant species is essential to our earth because of the different materials and foods these plants provide. But plant diversity has decreased drastically in recent decades. PhD candidate Kaixuan Pan explains what we can do to increase it once again.
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LUMC to build largest stem cell facility in the Netherlands
The Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC) will start construction this year of the largest non-profit stem cell and gene therapy facility in the Netherlands, and one of the largest facilities in Europe. NECSTGEN – the Netherlands Center for the Clinical Advancement of Stem Cell and Gene Therapies…
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Research Associate Fleur Visser received PhD-degree in Amsterdam
On Thursday 24th of April, Fleur Visser successfully defended her PhD-thesis on social and migratory behaviour of dolphins and whales in the Agnietenkapel at the University of Amsterdam (UVA).
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Nanoparticles: a wonder material with a downside?
Minute nanoparticles are bringing about a completely new industrial revolution. But little is known about the possible dangers to the food chain. An international group will be examining this issue, and Leiden researchers will be playing a key role.
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Here is how we can increase the effectiveness of global environment protection
Researchers from the Institute of Environmental Sciences (CML) identified six top priorities where environmental interventions can make the most difference. By doing so, they hope to help researchers and policymakers make the most out of the limited, available resources to protect people and the pla…
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Dies lecture: ‘Connect agriculture with nature’
‘Make more room for nature on farmland and you'll be surprised at the result.' This was the advice from Geert de Snoo in his Dies lecture.
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How to involve citizens in your scientific research
Inviting members of the public to help monitor wildlife, photograph plants or conduct samplings. These are some of the many examples of Citizen Science. It is increasingly recognized as effective and impactful for collecting data, but also for engaging the public in scientific research. In Nature reviews…
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The biologist who wants to sound a different note in his field
Hans Slabbekoorn researches animal sounds and the effect of the noise we humans make on these animals. He is also committed to making his discipline more diverse.
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Province, universities and businesses to collaborate on circular South Holland
The province of South Holland is to collaborate with industry, the three LDE universities Leiden Delft and Erasmus, and the University of Wageningen in a knowledge and innovation programme to speed up the transition to a circular economy. The programme, ACCEZ, is expected to generate new knowledge.
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The hunt for an earth-like exoplanet
Astronomer Frans Snik searches for extraterrestrial life. He doesn’t so much look at stars as at the ‘exoplanets’ alongside them.
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Research in conflict zones requires courage and caution
The life of a researcher is not easy, as many a scientist will confirm; but doing fieldwork in an environment of conflict and violence is extremely compex, attests the account of Dr Roland Ziébé, veterinarian in Cameroon and researcher at both the Leiden Institute of Environmental Sciences (CML) and…
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Economic expansion and land use cause bird extinction
Population growth, economic expansion and the associated land use caused an increase in the number of bird species facing extinction and a reduction in carbon storage worldwide. These are the findings of an international team of scientists, also from the Leiden University Institute of Environmental…
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Faculty of Science opens academic year with responsibility call and nanoparticles
On Tuesday 4 September, in a full lecture hall C1, Dean Geert de Snoo opened the Academic Year for the Faculty of Science. A year in which the ethics and responsibility of scientists will be invoked.
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Chasing nanoplastics
How dangerous are micro- and nanoplastics? Do they affect the environment? What harm can they do to our bodies? Questions that we can now finally answer because of Fazel Abdolahpur Monikh. Together with his colleagues, he developed a method to detect and quantify nano-sized plastics. Their paper has…
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LERU universities generated 100 billion euros for the European economy
In 2016, the 23 members of the League of European Research Universities (LERU) generated a collective economic value of €99.8 billion in Gross Value Added and 1.3 million jobs. These and other figures, which appear in a just published report by LERU, demonstrate the impressive contribution that LERU…
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CRITTERS Exposition: a photo impression
From November 4 to 10, the exposition CRITTERS will be exhibited in Naturalis Biodiversity Center during Beyond Human Festival. In CRITTERS artists and researchers are looking for a connection between technology and natural organisms. When does technology become a natural being? And when we examine…
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What we can learn from hi-tech nature
Biodiversity in the Netherlands is having a tough time. Professor of Natural Capital Koos Biesmeijer combines research with practical advice: from the greening of industrial parks to solutions inspired by hi-tech nature. Inaugural lecture 9 March.
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Hans Slabbekoorn appointed professor: 'There are still gaps in our knowledge'.
Hans Slabbekoorn is specialised in animal sounds. On 1 July, he was appointed professor of Acoustic ecology and behaviour. A great honour, according to the new professor. ‘This job never gets boring, whether I am investigating the urban jungle or marine noise.’
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Cod behave differently in noisy environment
Underwater noise from seismic surveys affects the behaviour of Atlantic cod. These are the results of research by Leiden biologists in collaboration with colleagues from Belgium. During such surveys the fish are less active than usual and their circadian rhythm is disrupted; soon after exposure they…
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A sustainable approach for the world's fish supply
China’s booming aquaculture industry is increasingly dependent on fishmeal made from wild-caught fish, a practice that depletes wild fish stocks. A new study conducted by institutions including Leiden University and Stanford offers a more sustainable path. The study appeared in the journal Science on…
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Towards a liveable future
Humans have influenced nature since as early as the Ice Age, and over the past century man’s impact has become even greater with our many new technologies and a growing world population. Leiden researchers study this impact and how we can keep it within reasonable limits so that nature can be preserved.…
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Working towards a better world together
Global problems such as diseases of affluence or microplastics in the sea are too complex to be dealt with from a single scientific discipline or by just one country. Leiden University has the expertise to bring solutions to these enormous problems a step closer. Read more in the research dossier on…
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Ester van der Voet appointed professor of Sustainable Resource Use
The energy transition is already a huge challenge for society, but sustainable use of resources is even more complicated. Yet it is at least as urgent. Ester van der Voet has been working on it for decades, for example within the United Nations. Since February, she is a professor at the Centre for Environmental…
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Saving for discounts by living healthily
A new health programme will reward patients with - or at risk of developing - cardio-vascular diseases for keeping to a healthy lifestyle. A research group including psychologist Andrea Evers has been awarded 2.5 million euros by the Dutch Heart Foundation and the Ministry of Public Health, Welfare…
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Sea sponges may seem like simple creatures, but…
One of them turned out to be two thousand years old. And older giant barrel sponges appear to have a faster rate of cell division, unlike us. They produce antibiotics and much, much more. Lina Bayona Maldonado studied how the differences in such factors as age or oceanic depth affect the production…
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Hopeful insights on climate and biodiversity in LDE white paper
A banker who puts making money second and makes a profit nonetheless. A farmer who stops ploughing and using insecticides but still has a good harvest. A new white paper by Leiden-Delft-Erasmus and Naturalis Biodiversity Center shows how the meeting of disciplines provides solutions to climate change…
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The recent IPCC report: some reactions from our Liveable planet community
The publication of the recent IPCC report on climate change has not gone unnoticed, to put it mildly, certainly not within the Liveable Planet community.
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Neanderthals hunted straight-tusked elephants, 125,000 years ago
A Leiden and Mainz (Germany) based team studies the activities of early humans in a 125,000 years old Last Interglacial ecosystem, formerly exposed in a large open cast brown coal pit near Halle (Germany). The Last Interglacial is an important warm-temperate period, showing the full flora and fauna…
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Blog Post | From ‘Disinformation’ to ‘Information Disorder’: Changing the Narrative about Unwanted Communication
Disinformation has become a popular subject of study and debate. A plethora of publications and policies have emerged, aiming to analyse and curb the negative consequences of unwanted communication.
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Deep sea research with microphone
‘Even at the deepest point in the ocean you can still hear the noise from boats,' says biologist Hans Slabbekoorn. ‘And that's while sound is the most important means of communication for underwater life.' What is the effect of all that underwater noise on fish and other animals? Slabbekoorn is on board…
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Older publications
Overview of the publications of the department of Environmental Biology (1972-2015)
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YAL members
Read all about YAL membership and the members of the Young Academy Leiden.
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Awards and Grants 2020
An overview of awards and prizes granted to our staff and students in 2020, as well as special appointments at Leiden University and other institutions.
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New Medical Delta professors mean boost for health and technology research
Five of the new Medical Delta professors who now hold an appointment at multiple institutions are affiliated with Leiden University/LUMC. They are psychologist Andrea Evers and four LUMC professors.
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Sustainability firms on partnership LLP: ‘An opportunity for reflection’
A partnership with the Leiden Leadership Programme: what does it bring you? Two partner organisations in the field of sustainability, Arcadis and Bioto, share their experiences: “It's great to be surprised by new insights.”
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Robbin Bastiaansen on thesis award: ‘This proves you should never give up’
Using mathematics as a weapon against desertification. With this subject, Robbin Bastiaansen managed to win the C.J. Kok Jury Prize 2019, the prize for the best dissertation of the Faculty of Science that year. Nine months later, we speak to him about this prize. How does he look back on it?
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Saving threatened orang-utans with climate change-resilient trees
A study of the International Union for Conservation of Nature has identified tree species native to Indonesia’s Kutai National Park that are resilient to climate change. The species support threatened East Bornean orang-utan populations; therefore, the study recommends their use in reforestation efforts.…
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‘We have world-class expertise on the circular economy’
The province of Zuid-Holland faces a wide range of global sustainability issues caused by urbanisation, intensive horticulture and industry. The universities of Leiden, Delft and Rotterdam have the in-house expertise to define knowledge questions, set up research programmes and test results, says Prof.…
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Calling on universities and funders: make research information open
Crucial information about research, funding or how university rankings are created is often not freely accessible. The Barcelona Declaration on Open Research Information calls for such information to be made open. Professor Ludo Waltman is one of its initiators. What needs to change?
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European City of Science: 'major showcase' for the city of Leiden
Leiden has been designated European City of Science 2022. The city's achievements as a city of science and innovation will be celebrated throughout the year, with as a highlight the international EuroScience Open Forum conference. The members of the core team that will organise this mega-event introduced…
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‘Scientists should be careful when interpreting results of AI models’
Anthropologist Rodrigo Ochigame studies how AI is changing the practice of scientific research. From astrophysics to mathematics to climate science, they find that the adoption of new AI models is raising questions about what counts as reliable scientific evidence.