Research team
Expertise
Starting my own research trajectory in 2009, I have shown independence and urge to reach professional maturity. What started as a conservation-based research trajectory, now evolved into a profound commitment to understand animal behaviour. I have designed and led research on different species in Belgium, Switzerland Afrika and Asia and collaborated with (international) scientists from other fields (biostatistics, population genetics, immunology). To support my research ideas, I have collected over 250.000 EURO of project and personal funding. The initial pioneering, labour-intensive field work to establish Nightjars as a model organism for the study of timing of animal behaviour, and recent invitations to work at prestigious research institutes are an example of my high sense of duty and my acquired scientific independence. It also shows that I possess the mental, organizational, and technical skills to successfully carry out all the objectives of the proposal. I am aware that this pioneering may have resulted in a reduction in the number of publications in recent years, although that will be largely compensated in upcoming years, hopefully in light of this FWO-fellowship. The application of state-of-the-art tracking technologies, which are highly innovative for this type of model organism, has led to the compilation of large and relatively complex datasets that require advanced statistical analysis. I have developed several methods by myself to optimize data collection and investigate new, challenging questions regarding animal behaviour. I have optimized the data-analysis protocols under the supervision of Dr. Bart Kempenaers at the Max Planck Institute for Ornithology. In the past years, I was supported and trained by a team of world-renowned scientists at prestigious institutes in order to expand my expertise in movement ecology and activity patterns by undertaking innovative and fundamental research (using cutting-edge technology). Building further on this, I will collaborate within a world-class research environment (sensory pollution, animal behaviour, physics) where I will get the freedom to undertake innovative research using nightjars as a model organism. I will become an expert on the impact of astronomical light pollution on animal behaviour, an impactful research frontier in behavioural ecology and global change.
Investigating the role of astronomical light pollution on acoustic and visual communication in nocturnal birds.
Abstract
Astronomical light pollution (skyglow) is a pervasive, broad-scale sensory pollutant which extends far into natural areas. It artificially increases the nocturnal sky brightness and alters natural light cycles which have been relatively constant through evolutionary history. To date, most studies focused on direct light sources affecting nocturnal habitats, while the biological consequences of skyglow on nocturnal communities remain unknown. My project is the first to investigate the impact of skyglow on acoustic and visual communication in free-living birds. I will investigate individual-level communication in response to daily variation in natural and artificial light across a population-level gradient of skyglow pollution (ranging from near-pristine to heavily polluted skies). I will achieve this by using novel, animal-borne tracking technologies combined with highly-detailed measurements and simulations of nocturnal sky brightness. Experimental approaches will also be used. Using the European Nightjar, a nocturnal bird sensitive to subtle changes in ambient light, my project is a unique opportunity to unravel the role of nocturnal light on animal communication while playing a pivotal role in a largely unexplored research frontier.Researcher(s)
- Promoter: Eens Marcel
- Co-promoter: Evens Ruben
- Fellow: Schnürmacher Richard
Research team(s)
Project type(s)
- Research Project
Unravelling the impact of astronomical light pollution on individual behaviour in a nocturnal bird.
Abstract
Astronomical light pollution (ALP) is one of the most pervasive, rapidly-expanding pollutants causing a broad-scale illumination of the nocturnal sky. It infiltrates far into natural areas and fundamentally changes the natural night-time environment (e.g. lunar cycle) which has been consistent in evolutionary history and tightly controls animals' circadian rhythms. With a near-exclusive focus of research on light pollution caused by direct point sources, we urgently need to understand impact of ALP on nocturnal wildlife. This project is among the first to examine the impact of ALP on the behaviour of free-living nocturnal animals. I aim to investigate i) behavioural differences between natural sites and sites subjected to ALP, ii) behavioural responses across a gradient of ALP, iii) individual responses to daily fluctuations in ALP and iv) individual responses to experimentally-induced ALP. I will achieve this by using state-of-the-art tracking technologies, combined with site-specific light measurements, simulations and manipulations. This allows me to relate variation in daily behaviour (rest, sing, fly, forage) of a nocturnal insectivore, the European Nightjar, to fluctuations in ALP and natural light. Given the sensitivity of the nightjars to subtle changes in ambient light and ten years of experience with the model species in Europe, Africa and Asia, this is an unprecedented opportunity to investigate a research frontier that remains largely unexplored.Researcher(s)
- Promoter: Eens Marcel
- Fellow: Evens Ruben
Research team(s)
Project type(s)
- Research Project