This project investigates spatial patterns of bird biodiversity across nearshore, beach and dune ecosystems along the Dutch coast using citizen science data, remote sensing and ecological modelling. It focuses on how habitat quality and coastal management shape bird diversity and distribution across a dynamic coastal landscape.
Backgroundand context
The Dutch coast is a highly dynamic system, where nearshore waters, beaches and dunes form an interconnected habitat that supports diverse bird communities. However, spatial patterns of bird biodiversity across the coastal zone remain insufficiently understood. Birds respond sensitively to changes in habitat structure, food availability, disturbance and environmental conditions, making them valuable indicators of ecological change across coastal landscapes.
Coastal management interventions, such as nearshore and beach nourishments, dune management and recreation pressure, can alter habitat quality, connectivity and disturbance regimes, affecting bird diversity and distribution across multiple spatial scales. In addition, coastal birds may be influenced by coastal squeeze, the process by which natural coastal habitats are compressed between sea-level rise on one side and fixed or intensively managed shorelines on the other. This can reduce the extent and quality of feeding, nesting and resting habitats, especially in dynamic transition zones.
By combining high-density citizen science bird data with remote sensing and spatial environmental information, this project will investigate how habitat quality and coastal management shape bird diversity patterns along the Dutch coast.
Objectivesand goals
The student will assess spatial patterns of bird diversity across the Dutch coastal gradient and analyse how habitat quality, environmental variation and coastal management influence bird communities across nearshore, beach and dune ecosystems.
A Kentish Plover (Charadrius alexandrinus) on a sandy beach. This species is one of many that rely on dynamic coastal transition zones for nesting and feeding, making it a key indicator of habitat quality and management impacts along the Dutch coast.
Materialsand methods
The project will combine citizen science bird data with remote sensing products and spatial environmental layers. Analyses will focus on biodiversity patterns across the coastal gradient using GIS, ecological statistics and spatial modelling approaches. Depending on the student’s background and interests, the project can focus more strongly on species distributions or community-level patterns.
Illustration of the project workflow and ecological concepts
Studentrequirements
Interest in ecology, biodiversity, ornithology and spatial ecology. Basic experience with statistics and data analysis is expected. Experience with R, GIS or handling ecological datasets is an advantage. The project is suitable for motivated BSc and MSc students who want to develop skills in biodiversity data science, spatial analysis and ecological modelling.