dr. Laura Govers
Assistantprofessor, University of Groningen & Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research (NIOZ)
I am broadly interested in marine ecosystem functioning, marine conservation ecology, community ecology, seagrass biology, biogeochemistry, food web ecology, cross-habitat interactions, host-pathogen dynamics and ecological restoration.
Contact: l.l.govers@rug.nl
prof. dr. Han Olff
Professor, University of Groningen
I am interested in the structure and functioning of diverse communities and ecosystems, with special attention on how plants, herbivores, detritivores and predators interact in ecosystems. Working in a range of temperate to tropical ecosystems, I combine experimental work with the advancement of a various types new ecological theory.
Contact: h.olff@rug.nl
prof. dr. Theunis Piersma
Professor, University of Groningen & Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research (NIOZ)
As a professor of Animal Ecology, together with an international research team, I study how the distribution and numbers of waders correlate to climate, food, predators, pathogens and their historical-genetic background. Research is being conducted within the Netherlands as well as in comparable ecosystems in Africa, Australia, North and South America and Asia.
Contact: t.piersma@rug.nl
dr. Hacen el-Hacen
PostDoc, University of Groningen
My fields of interest are intertidal ecology, trophic interactions, spatial patterns, ecosystem engineers, and ecosystem resilience. In my PhD, unravelled the importance of the biota in the functioning of Banc d’Arguin intertidal flats and the effects of the environmental settings on the stability and resilience of the seagrass beds.
Contact: e.h.m.el.hacen@rug.nl
Guido Leurs, MSc.
PhD. Candidate, University of Groningen
With my research I focus on elucidating the functional roles of marine predators, specializing on elasmobranch fishes (e.g. sharks and rays). My study areas include the Bijagos Archipelago and the waters of the Caribbean.
Contact: g.h.l.leurs@rug.nl
Winter 2019 Expedition Team
The team members mentioned above were joined by a research technician, a local MSc. student and four MSc. students of the University of Groningen:
- Jannes Heusinkveld (The Netherlands): aerial photography and mapping of intertidal mudflats for a variety of projects.
- Diosnes Manuel Nonque (Guinea Bissau): support the expedition on behalf of IBAP with local knowledge and to work with local fishermen.
- Bríd O’Connor (Ireland): stable isotope and food web structure of the elasmobranch community within the Bijagos.
- Franzi Saalmann (Germany): environmental DNA to study the diversity and relative abundance of elasmobranchs within the Bijagos.
- Mariana Parente (Portugal): Focus on primary production within the Bijagos, with a focus on mangrove productivity.
- Kasper Meijer (The Netherlands): study the diversity and production of benthic epifauna.
Bijagos Ecological Research 