Expertise

Evolutionary biological and Molecular ecological research. Field ecotoxicological and behavioural research in birds.

Technique

- Description, analysis, and interpretation of behaviour - Bioacoustical analyses - Molecular-ecological analyses - Electrofishing techniques - Biomonitoring

Users

- Environmental and nature administration - Media

Keywords

Biomonitoring, Field ecotoxicology, Fish ecology, Bioacoustics, Evolutionary ecology

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.

Technique

Radio Telemetry, GPS tracking, Geolocation, DNA-metabarcoding

Users

Policy makers, conservationists

Keywords

Geolocation, Nightjar, Light pollution

I am an environmental scientist with background in biology and environmental toxicology. My research interests focus on biomonitoring of perfluoroalkyl acids (PFAS) in terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems and the environmental and human health risks they pose. Currently, I am investigating the distribution of PFAS in both terrestrial and aquatic environments, and the potential ecological and human health risks related to PFAS pollution. In the terrestrial environment, my main focus is on biomonitoring of PFAS in the terrestrial food chain (soil, invertebrates, plants and songbirds). I am studying factors that affect bioavailability from soil to biota and the potential toxicity related to PFAS accumulation in these organisms. Furthermore, I am developing or optimizing analytical methods to analyze PFAS in different environmental matrices. In the aquatic environment, the main focus of my research is also on biomonitoring PFAS in the food chain, the toxicity of PFAS to aquatic organisms and on factors that might affect PFAS bioavailability. In addition, I am examining different monitoring techniques (i.e. active and passive biomonitoring) in order to investigate their potential for usage in future PFAS research. In my previous research, I developed an analytical method for the analysis of PFAS from multiple abiotic and biotic samples, examined the distribution of PFAS in great tits and invertebrates along a distance gradient from a fluorochemical hotspot, and studied the potential effects of very high PFAS concentrations on reproduction and oxidative status of great tits. My previous studies on the aquatic environment were primarily investigating the PFAS concentrations in aquatic ecosystems in Africa.

Technique

- Development and application of analytical methods for the analysis of PFAS from biotic and abiotic matrices. - Examining bioavailability, -accumulation, and toxicity of PFAS in aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems.

Users

Everyone (government, universities, industries, etc.) with an interest in bioavailability, bioaccumulation and toxicity of PFAS in the environment.

Keywords

Terrestrial ecosystem, Aquatic ecosystems, Perfluoroalkyl acids, Environmental toxicology, Environmental pollution

My research is centered on avian behavioral ecology, conservation ecology and urban ecology. I particularly focus on how exposure to anthropogenic disturbance factors, including chemical pollution and direct human disturbance, affect the behavioral traits, life histories and fitness of birds. I am especially interested in how anthropogenic disturbance affects rates of senescence and the expression of sexual signals. Moreover, I am also interested in how urban environments affect avian personalities, as defined by consistent among individual differences in behavior.

Technique

I have technical expertise in avian field research methods, including banding, mist netting and collecting behavioral observation on birds. Moreover, I also have extensive experience with laboratory methods used in ecophysiological studies, especially including performing qPCR to measure telomere length and using spectrophotometry to measure plumage coloration. I also have experience measuring chemical contaminants and conducting complex statistical analyses in R.

Users

My research is of interest to behavioral ecologists interested in basic evolutionary and behavioral processes, and to conservation ecologists and urban planners.

Keywords

Sexual signaling, Ecotoxicology, Avian personalities, Urban ecology, Behavioural ecology

My research involves the affect of natural and anthropogenic disturbance factors on physiology, behavior, and processes of aging. Current projects focus on the effect of anthropogenic light and noise pollution on telomere dynamics, parental behavior and survival. In addition, I am investigating the effects of noise pollution on sleep behavior.

Technique

I have expertise with measuring stress hormones via radioimmunoassay, qPCR to measure telomere length, oxidative stress assays, measuring sexual coloration via spectrophotometry, and recording and analyzing avian vocalizations. I am also adept at field techniques in avian ecology including mist netting, nest searching, and obtaining blood samples.

Users

Avian Ecologists, Students, Conservation Planners

Keywords

Stress physiology, Urban disturbance, Senescence

Multi-componential approaches to study great ape emotions using cognitive (e.g. Stroop effect, response slowing effect, explicit attention biases), behavioural (e.g. abnormal behaviours, self-directed behaviours) and qualitative (e.g. qualitative behavioural assessment) methods.

Technique

Cognitive testing using touchscreen and eye-tracking technology, behavioural observations

Users

Animal welfare practitioners

Keywords

Animal ethology, Animal welfare, Emotions, Animal behaviour

I am a postdoc working in the field of behavioural ecology, which means that I study animal behaviour, how it is affected by the environment and how it influences animals ability to survive and thrive in their habitat. I am currently working on food stealing in Herring gulls in touristic coastal cities. Using GPS trackers and behavioural observation, my aim is to understand how gulls use the urban environment to find food, and which traits allow them to steal (including personality and human tolerance). In previous project, I also worked on song learning in zebra finches in relation to ambient temperature, as well as on the use of the trunk by elephants.

Technique

I use GPS trackers to follow gulls position in the city. These trackers use Bluetooth devices to send locations and thus work very well in big cities. I also use ethograms to describe the behaviour of gulls and their foraging strategies, and I run learning experiments recorded on camera to analyze social behaviour, aggression, distances and latencies.

Users

My data can be used by other researchers working on gulls and seabirds in general. It can also be used by environmental agencies to follow gulls populations and movement. Policy makers may also be interested by my study, especially considering the social and economical impact of food stealing by gulls.

Keywords

Bird ecology, Gps tracking, Behaviour, Human-wildlife interaction

Movement Ecology: studying foraging behaviour, migration and parental care. Behavioural Ecology: using natural populations and field-based research to investigate the effects of natural selection acting on experimentally manipulated traits. Evolutionary Ecology to study intra-family conflict resolution, phenotypic plasticity and co-adaptation among other via artificial selection experiments.

Technique

GPS tracking, Behavioural observations, Immunological analyses, Hormone analyses (from blood or other tissues), Field-based research, Molecular genetic analyses

Users

Nature conservation agencies, Media, Public authorities, Agriculture

Keywords

Family matters, Natural selection, Habitat management

Didactics of Biology, Physics, Chemistry and the Natural Sciences - (i)STEM education - Scientific literacy (in evolution) - Inquiry-based education - Teacher education Behavioural ecological and Eco-physiological research in songbirds

Technique

questionnaires

Users

biology teachers

Keywords

Natural selection, School survey, School functioning

My research expertise lies at the interface of ecophysiology, ecotoxicology, and conservation biology, using wild bird populations as sentinel organisms for environmental change. I study how anthropogenic stressors—particularly persistent organic pollutants such as PFAS and heavy metals—affect physiological function, oxidative stress balance, cellular ageing (telomere dynamics), and endocrine regulation in free-living animals. A central strand of my work integrates molecular-level data (transcriptomics, hormone profiles, biomarkers of oxidative damage) with individual movement data (GPS tracking) and long-term demographic data (capture-mark-recapture), allowing mechanistic physiological responses to be linked to population-level consequences. I also work on host-pathogen interactions and immune function, including transcriptomic studies of how dietary and nutritional factors modulate antiviral immune responses. Beyond original research, I contribute to the wider scientific community as a peer reviewer for international environmental and ecology journals and as an editorial board member for an ecology and evolution journal, and I have supervised doctoral-level research within this integrative framework. My work has been supported by competitive postdoctoral fellowships (Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions, FWO), reflecting an established track record in translating environmental pollution and stress exposure into measurable physiological and population-level outcomes.

Technique

My methodological toolkit spans molecular, physiological, and ecological approaches. In the laboratory, I quantify persistent organic pollutants and heavy metal contaminants using LC-MS/MS, assess oxidative stress and endocrine status via RIA and ELISA-based hormone assays, and measure telomere length as a biomarker of cellular ageing and cumulative stress exposure. I conduct RNA-seq transcriptomic analyses to characterize gene expression responses to environmental and dietary factors, including differential expression and pathway-level analyses relevant to immune function. In the field, I have experience with wildlife capture, handling, and biological sampling (blood, tissue), as well as deployment and analysis of GPS tracking devices for movement ecology. I combine these datasets with capture-mark-recapture (CMR) demographic modelling to connect individual physiological and molecular measurements to population-level vital rates. This integrative approach—linking biomarker data, transcriptomics, movement data, and demographic modelling—allows a shift from mechanistic, individual-level physiological responses to broader questions of population dynamics, environmental risk assessment, and conservation relevance.

Users

This expertise is relevant to environmental agencies and regulatory bodies responsible for monitoring chemical pollutants in wildlife and ecosystems, who can benefit from validated biomarker-based monitoring approaches. Conservation organisations and NGOs working on wildlife health and biodiversity can use this work to assess pollution-related threats to species of conservation concern. Academic researchers and institutions in ecotoxicology, ecophysiology, molecular ecology, and animal biology represent natural collaborators for integrative studies combining transcriptomics, endocrinology, and population demography. Policy makers and industry stakeholders involved in chemical risk assessment and regulation can draw on this research as scientific evidence of physiological and population-level impacts of environmental contaminants. Scientific journals, funding bodies, and research institutions can also benefit from peer-review, editorial, and project-evaluation expertise in ecotoxicology and ecophysiology.

Keywords

Animal physiology, Animal ecology, Host-parasite ecology, Contaminants, Immune response, Conservation biology, Ecotoxicology

I apply behavioral neurogenetics techniques to investigate the evolution of the primate social brain. My research focuses mainly on great apes, with a special focus on bonobos and chimpanzees. I investigate how genetic and epigenetic variation in genes coding for neurotransmitter and neuropeptide systems like dopamine, serotonin, oxytocin and vasopressin impact social behavior and personality. In addition, I now also focus on the role of the gut microbiome in neurotransmitter regulation through interaction with the gut-brain axis.

Technique

Behavioral observations Personality Genetic analyses Genome analysis Behavioral genetics Neurogenetics Epigenetics Microbiome analysis

Users

Fundamental research for application in (student) research projects Expertise available to behavioral biologists, anthropologists, geneticists, biomedical researchers. Open to contributing to public outreach

Keywords

Behavioral genetics, Primatology, Social brain