Endangered mammals of Madagascar: over 20 million years of evolution under threat
A new study reveals that it would take 3 million years to recover the number of species that went extinct due to humans on Madagascar. However, if currently threatened species go extinct, recovering them would take more than 20 million years, much longer…
New species named after former Naturalis general director
Naturalis researcher Kees van Achterberg named a new species of parasitoid wasp after Ronald van Hengstum. He was the former general director of Naturalis, and died suddenly in 2007.
Scientists list extinct plants we may be able to "bring back to life"
If a dried specimen of an extinct plant species still has seeds in a herbarium, is the plant really extinct? A global team of scientists toyed with that question. To arrive at the answer, they made a survey of all extinct plants in herbariums that (may)…
Day of the PhD defense: Roderick Bouman
On Tuesday december 6th 2022 at 01.45 PM, Roderick Bouman will defend his thesis Systematics, biogeography and bioactivity of the genus Phyllanthus L. and related genera of tribe Phyllantheae (Phyllanthaceae) . With this, he finishes his PhD research at…
Tree frogs exposed
Biology students from Leiden University have discovered two tree frog species in the Dutch coastal dunes that do not occur there naturally. A special DNA technique revealed these potentially harmful tree frogs. Remarkable, but these are not the only exotic…
The yardstick for nature-inclusive building
Grass tiles, a nature dam and fauna sensors; on the basis of a number of guidelines, small structures can be transformed into a green oasis. But how? Knowledge Naturally! Has developed a table for nature-inclusive construction on behalf of telecom provider…
Hans ter Steege made professor at Utrecht University
Naturalis ecologist Prof. Dr. Hans ter Steege has been appointed professor (by special appointment) of community ecology of tropical trees at Utrecht University. He has been studying rainforest diversity for over 35 years.
Every European species a barcode Project Biodiversity Genomics Europe has started
Yesterday, the international project Biodiversity Genomics Europe started. This is an ambitious initiative to bring European DNA-research to new heights. The cutting-edge project is led by Naturalis Biodiversity Center and carried by partners from over 20…
Why plants worldwide became woody Unravelling the evolutionary puzzle
Why do some plants grow into large woody shrubs or colossal trees, while others remain small and never produce wood in their stems? It’s an evolutionary puzzle that already baffled Charles Darwin more than 160 year ago. Now, scientists from the Netherlands…