VUB Department of Biology

In a new paper published in journal Biological Reviews, Prof. Bram Vanschoenwinkel, together with a team of Belgian, Brazilian and German scientists, explain how isolated mountains known as inselbergs can play an important role in global landscapes as ecological and evolutionary reservoirs. The paper is a culmination of 15 years of research on this topic both at VUB and elsewhere.
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/brv.13150?fbclid=IwY2xjawFwn6dleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHWUovnHKk7eCWFI3kmuh-nNw00lVYNQ_9X0s2OT6e9_PCZ2WIAGamxFbkg_aem_7LAwp7LDT34mBBsYLWqAHQ

Global warming is expanding the poleward reach of mangroves. But why not on the west coast of North America?

A group of researchers including VUB professor Tom Van der Stocken found that ocean dispersal is currently limiting poleward expansion of mangroves along this coastline. To do so, they combined species distribution modelling with an oceanographic transport model and high-resolution output from the Estimating the Circulation and Climate of the Ocean (ECCO).

Check out their ArcGIS storymap that is now live on the NASA ECCO website:
https://ecco-group.org/storymaps.htm?id=98

The study can be found here:
https://nsojournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/ecog.07288

Dispersal limits poleward expansion of mangroves on the west coast of North America While much attention has been paid to the climatic controls of species' range limits, other factors such as dispersal limitation are also important. Temperature is an important control of the distrib...

Did you know that a small number of frogs use skin-secreted glue as an antipredator defence mechanism? And, perhaps even more intriguingly: do you know why only certain frogs are sticky, and what exactly makes them stick?

Using technologies ranging from Lego® bricks to high-powered microscopes, Zaman et al. show how changes in the structure and expression of two proteins underpin the parallel evolution of these glues in different frog lineages.

Find out more about sticky frogs here:

Recurrent evolution of adhesive defence systems in amphibians by parallel shifts in gene expression - Nature Communications Some amphibians defend themselves against predators by producing a highly adhesive skin secretion, effectively preventing their ingestion. This study shows how changes in the structure and expression of two proteins underlay the parallel evolution of these defence glues in different frog lineages.

The VUB department of Biology is recruiting!

We are hiring 3 teaching assistants who combine teaching and PhD research, with topics ranging from 🐸 amphibian toxin and s*x evolution to 🌳 agro-ecology, and 1 management assistant who will support the department adminstratively.

Applying for the management assistant position will be possible until the 25th of July, for the other 3 positions until the 31st of July.

Want to know more about these vacancies? You can check them out below 👇

Teaching assistant / PhD researcher:
(a) https://jobs.vub.be/job/Elsene-Mandaatassistent-Biologie/1084549901/
(b) https://jobs.vub.be/job/Elsene-Doctoraatsbeurs-Biologie/1085234101/
(c) https://jobs.vub.be/job/Elsene-Doctoraatsbeurs-Biologie/1085245901/

Management assistant:
https://jobs.vub.be/job/Elsene-Management-Assistant-Vakgroep-Biologie/1088154301/

Mandaatassistent Biologie Mandaatassistent Biologie

“Bellwethers of change”

A new study, which features VUB researchers, tracked humpback whale populations in the North Pacific Ocean for the past 20 years with the largest individual identification dataset ever compiled for a whale species. After a period of recovery following the end of commercial whaling in 1976, numbers peaked in 2012 then declined by 20% by 2021, likely due to the impact of a severe marine heatwave from 2014 to 2016, which reduced food availability for humpback whales. This study highlights the humpback whale as an indicator species for the health of the North Pacific ecosystem in a changing climate.

NPR: https://www.npr.org/2024/02/28/1234633319/climate-change-is-hindering-humpback-whales-return-from-the-brink-of-extinction
The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/feb/28/did-a-marine-heatwave-cause-7000-humpback-whales-to-starve-to-death-aoe
Original study: https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsos.231462

Did a marine heatwave cause 7,000 humpback whales to starve to death? Populations were recovering, but a new study reveals that numbers dropped by 20% coinciding with a period of record temperatures in the North Pacific

In a new online video for the "Universiteit van Vlaanderen", Prof. Harry olde Venterink explains why many plant species face extinction. (Dutch language);

Hoe komt het dat de helft van de plantensoorten hier met uitsterven bedreigd is? :: Universiteit van Vlaanderen Hebben planten mest nodig? En bestaat er zoiets als te veel mest? Is de overvloed aan stikstof bij ons eigenlijk geen voordeel voor planten?

📅Save the date and join us!

Our VUB Department of Biology upcoming with Prof. Dr. Steven Van Belleghem from KU Leuven, offers a unique opportunity to gain insights into the genetic mechanisms behind environmental adaptation 👉👉👉

-'Pangenomes, Adaptations, Gene Regulation & Plasticity'

-16:00-17:00, 28 Nov, F5.66

Dr. Van Belleghem won the prestigious FWO Odysseus Grant early this year. His lab 'Eco-Evolutionary Genomics' (https://bio.kuleuven.be/eeb/sv/) is aiming to understand the molecular and genetic mechanisms behind examples of ‘high evolvability’ and to what extent they are present in other species will help us better forecast the effects of environmental change.

https://kvab.be/nl/nieuws/citizen-science-de-klas-heeft-veel-voordelen-iris-stiers-wecomprijzen2023

Prof Iris Stiers received an award for her work as science communicator!

"Citizen science in de klas heeft veel voordelen" Iris Stiers #wecomprijzen2023 | Koninklijke Vlaamse Academie van België voor Wetenschappen en Kunsten Iris Stiers (VUB, ULB) doet onderzoek naar duurzaam beheer van invasieve soorten. Ze wordt bekroond met een Jaarprijs Wetenschapscommunicatie 2023.

Our next DBIO seminar will take place at 16:00-17:00 on Tuesday this week in our seminar room F5.66. Prof. Bram Vanschoenwinkel will discuss the work of his team on the impact of climate change on freshwater pond communities. Here is a Teams link for those who wish to join virtually:

https://teams.microsoft.com/l/meetup-join/19%3ameeting_MWNkNzllOTAtYzMyYi00MmU5LWIxZWUtYjU0MGJkMDMxOWY0%40thread.v2/0?context=%7b%22Tid%22%3a%22695b7ca8-2da8-4545-a2da-42d03784e585%22%2c%22Oid%22%3a%225f4fa2ac-b18f-4497-8a8e-e31dbbec8507%22%7d

VUB alumnus Alvise Dabala's thesis research has been published in Nature Communications. Alvise was a Tropimundo student who worked with Farid Dahdouh-Guebas and Anthony Richardson. Congratulations!

Priority areas to protect mangroves and maximise ecosystem services - Nature Communications Mangroves provide ecosystem services but are threatened by anthropogenic activities. This study identifies priority areas that maximise the protection of mangrove biodiversity and ecosystem services. The authors show that biodiversity can be protected whilst maximising ecosystem benefits, with littl...

Our next DBIO seminar will take place at 16:00-17:00 on Tuesday this week in our seminar room F5.66.
Postdoc Dr. Sagar Shinde, recently joined the Ma lab and will present his work entitled:
Evolution at different timescales: Gene, Genome, and Pan-genome

Here is a Teams link for those who wish to join virtually:
https://teams.microsoft.com/l/meetup-join/19%3ameeting_YjVjMWM5M2YtOTI2Yy00ZWNiLWFlNGQtZWNkZmE1OWRhZWFk%40thread.v2/0?context=%7b%22Tid%22%3a%22695b7ca8-2da8-4545-a2da-42d03784e585%22%2c%22Oid%22%3a%225f4fa2ac-b18f-4497-8a8e-e31dbbec8507%22%7d

Seminar can be attended online:
https://teams.microsoft.com/l/meetup-join/19%3ameeting_MzA0NzdkNGItMWY1Yi00MzRjLWFhOTItYTdmNTVmMDVhMDMz%40thread.v2/0?context=%7b%22Tid%22%3a%22695b7ca8-2da8-4545-a2da-42d03784e585%22%2c%22Oid%22%3a%225f4fa2ac-b18f-4497-8a8e-e31dbbec8507%22%7d