Curriculum Vitae
I am an evolutionary ecologist with a strong interest in the ecology and evolution of plant-pathogen and plant-herbivore interactions. I graduated at the University of Groningen in 1991 on an ecological-genetic analysis of phenotypic variation in life-history traits in Lychnis flos-cuculi. During a one-year post-doc period in the lab of Prof. J. Antonovics (USA) I studied aspects of the maintenance of disease-resistance polymorphisms using both theoretical models and field experiments. From 1991 to 2005 I worked at the Department of Plant Population Biology, the last three years as Head of Department. In 2005 I moved to the Department of Multitrophic interactions, now renamed to Terrestrial Ecology. My research interests include the evolution of plant defenses in a multitrophic context, effects of plant chemical defense on natural enemies of herbivores, induced cross-resistance between plant pathogens and mutualists (mycorrhizae) to insect herbivores and vice versa, evolutionary ecology of nursery pollination systems, and ecological and evolutionary consequences of altered biotic interactions during plant invasions.
Selected Publications
Reudler JH, Biere A, Harvey JA, van Nouhuys S 2011
Differential performance of a specialist and two generalist herbivores and their parasitoids on Plantago lanceolata.
J. Chem. Ecol. DOI 10.1007/s10886-011-9983-7
Kabouw P, Kos M, Kleine S, Vockenhuber EA, van Loon JJA, van der Putten WH, van Dam NM, Biere A 2011
Effects of soil organisms on aboveground multitrophic interactions are consistent between plant genotypes mediating the interaction.
Entomol. Exper. Appl. 139: 197-206
Verhoeven KJF, Macel M, Wolfe LM, Biere A 2011
Population admixture, biological invasions and the balance between local adaptation and inbreeding depression.
Proc. Royal Soc. B Biol. Sci. 278: 2-8
Kabouw P, Van der Putten WH, Van Dam NM, Biere A 2010
Effects of intraspecific variation in white cabbage (Brassica oleracea var. capitata) on soil organisms.
Plant and Soil 336: 509-518
Kabouw P, Van der Putten WH, Biere A 2010
Effekten van koolvarieteiten met verschillende glucosinolaatgehaltes op planten-parasitaire nematoden en ondergrondse niet-doelorganismen.
Gewasbescherming 41: 191
Harvey JA, Biere A, Fortuna T, Vet LEM, Engelkes T, Morrien E, Gols R, Verhoeven K, Vogel H, Macel M, Heidel-Fischer HM, Schramm K, Van der Putten WH 2010
Ecological fits, mis-fits and lotteries involving insect herbivores on the invasive plant, Bunias orientalis.
Biol. Invas. 12: 3045-3059
Kabouw P, Biere A, Van der Putten WH, Van Dam NM 2010
Intra-specific differences in root and shoot glucosinolate profiles among white cabbage (Brassica oleracea var. capitata) cultivars.
J. Agric. Food Chem. 58: 411-417
Verhoeven KJF, Van Dijk PJ, Biere A 2010
Changes in genomic methylation patterns during the formation of triploid asexual dandelion lineages.
Mol. Ecol. 19: 315-324
Verhoeven KJF, Jansen JJ, Van Dijk PJ, Biere A 2010
Stress-induced DNA methylation changes and their heritability in asexual dandelions.
New Phytol. 185: 1108-1118
Wurst S, Wagenaar R, Biere A, Van der Putten WH 2010
Microorganisms and nematodes increase levels of secondary metabolites in roots and root exudates of Plantago lanceolata.
Plant and Soil 329: 117-126
Van Dijk PJ, De Jong H, Vijverberg K, Biere A 2009
An Apomixis-Gene's View on Dandelions. pp. 475-494 In: Schoen I, Martens K, Van Dijk P (eds)
Lost Sex. The Evolutionary Biology of Parthenogenesis.
Springer, Dordrecht NL
De Deyn GB, Biere A, van der Putten WH, Wagenaar R, Klironomos JN 2009
Chemical defense, mycorrhizal colonization and growth responses in Plantago lanceolata L.
Oecologia 160: 433-442
Bernasconi G, Antonovics J, Biere A, Charlesworth D, Delph LF, Filatov D, Giraud T, Hood ME, Marais GAB, McCauley D, Pannell JR, Shykoff JA, Vyskot B, Wolfe LM, Widmer A 2009
Silene as a model system in ecology and evolution.
Heredity 103: 5-14
Dötterl S, Jürgens A, Wolfe L, Biere A 2009
Disease status and population origin effects on floral scent: potential consequences for oviposition and fruit predation in a complex interaction between a plant, fungus, and noctuid moth.
J. Chem. Ecol. 35: 307-319
Verhoeven KJF, Biere A, Harvey JA, van der Putten WH 2009
Plant invaders and their novel enemies: who is naive ?
Ecol. Lett. 12: 107-117
Engelkes T, Morriën E, Verhoeven KJF, Bezemer TM, Biere A, Harvey JA, McIntyre LM, Tamis WLM, van der Putten WH 2008
Successful range-expanding plants experience less above-ground and below-ground enemy impact.
Nature 456: 946-948
Biere A, Verhoeven KJF 2008
Local adaptation and the consequences of being dislocated from coevolved enemies.
New Phytol. 180: 265-268
Wurst S, van Dam NM, Monroy F, Biere A, van der Putten WH 2008
Intraspecific variation in plant defense alters effects of root herbivores on leaf chemistry and aboveground damage.
J. Chem. Ecol. 34: 1360-1367
Reudler Talsma JH, Biere A, Harvey JA, van Nouhuys S 2008
Oviposition cues for a specialist butterfly - plant chemistry and size.
J. Chem. Ecol. 34: 1202-1212
Verhoeven KJF, Poorter H, Nevo E, Biere A 2008
Habitat-specific natural selection at a flowering-time QTL is a main driver of local adaptation in two wild barley populations.
Mol. Ecol. 17: 3416-3424
Reudler Talsma JH, Elzinga JA, Harvey JA, Biere A 2007
Optimum and maximum host sizes at parasitism for the endoparasitoid Hyposoter didymator (Hymenoptera : Ichneumonidae) differ greatly between two host species.
Environm. Entomol. 36: 1048-1053
Elzinga JA, Atlan A, Biere A, Gigord L, Weis AE, Bernasconi G 2007
Time after time: flowering phenology and biotic interactions.
Trends Ecol. Evol. 22: 432-439
Van Putten WF, Elzinga JA, Biere A 2007
Host fidelity of the pollinator guilds of Silene dioica and S. latifolia: possible consequences for sympatric host race differentiation of a vectored plant disease.
Int. J. Plant Sci. 168: 421-434
Elzinga JA, Zwakhals K, Harvey JA, Biere A 2007
The parasitoid complex associated with the specialist herbivore Hadena bicruris (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) on Silene latifolia (Caryophyllaceae) in the Netherlands.
J. Nat. Hist. 41: 101-123
Elzinga JA, van Nouhuys S, van Leeuwen D, Biere A 2007
Distribution and colonisation ability of three parasitoids and their herbivorous host in a fragmented landscape.
Basic Appl. Ecol. 8: 75-88
Biere A, Honders SC 2006
Coping with third parties in a nursery pollination mutualism: Hadena bicruris avoids oviposition on pathogen-infected, less rewarding Silene latifolia.
New Phytol. 169: 719-727
Elzinga JA, Turin H, Van Damme JMM, Biere A 2005
Plant population size and isolation affect herbivory of Silene latifolia by the specialist herbivore Hadena bicruris and parasitism of the herbivore by parasitoids.
Oecologia 144: 416-426
Hoffmeister TS, Vet LEM, Biere A, Holsinger K, Filser J 2005
Ecological and evolutionary consequences of biological invasions and habitat fragmentation.
Ecosystems 8: 657-667
Zavodna M, Compton SG, Biere A, Gilmartin PM, Van Damme JMM 2005
Putting your sons in the right place: the spatial distribution of fig wasp offspring inside figs.
Ecol. Entomol. 30: 210-219
Harvey JA, Van Nouhuys S, Biere A 2005
Effects of quantitative variation in allelochemicals in Plantago lanceolata on development of a generalist and a specialist herbivore and their endoparasitoids.
J. Chem. Ecol. 31: 287-302
Elzinga JA, Harvey JA, Biere A 2005
Age-dependent clutch size in a gregarious koinobiont parasitoid.
Ecol. Entomol. 30: 17-27
Van Putten WF, Biere A, Van Damme JMM 2005
Host-related genetic differentiation in the anther smut fungus Microbotryum violaceum in sympatric, parapatric and allopatric populations of two host species, Silene latifolia and S. dioica.
J. Evol. Biol. 18: 203-212
Wolfe LM, Elzinga JA, Biere A 2004
Increased susceptibility to enemies following introduction in the invasive plant Silene latifolia.
Ecol. Lett. 7: 813-820
Biere A, Marak HB, Van Damme JMM 2004
Plant chemical defense against herbivores and pathogens: generalized defense or trade-offs ?
Oecologia 140: 430-441
Verhoeven KJF, Biere A, Nevo E, Van Damme JMM 2004
Can a genetic correlation with seed weight constrain adaptive evolution of seedling desiccation tolerance in wild barley ?
Int. J. Plant Sci. 165: 281-288
Verhoeven KJF, Vanhala T, Biere A, Nevo E, Van Damme JMM 2004
The genetic basis of adaptive population differentiation: a QTL analysis of fitness traits in two wild barley populations from contrasting habitats.
Evolution 57: 766-776
Verhoeven KJF, Biere A, Nevo E, Van Damme JMM 2004
Differential selection of growth rate-related traits in wild barley, Hordeum spontaneum, in contrasting greenhouse nutrient environments.
J. Evol. Biol. 17: 184-196
Marak HB, Biere A, Van Damme JMM 2003
Fitness costs of chemical defense in Plantago lanceolata L.: Effects of nutrient and competition stress.
Evolution 57: 2519-2530
Van Putten WF, Biere A, Van Damme JMM 2003
Intraspecific competition and mating between fungal isolates of the anther smut Microbotryum violaceum from the host plants Silene latifolia and S. dioica.
Evolution 57: 766-776.
Elzinga JA, Harvey JA, Biere A 2003
The effects of host weight at parasitation on fitness correlates of the gregarious koinobiont parasitoid Microplitis tristis and consequences for food consumption by its host, Hadena bicruris
Entomol. Exper. Appl. 108: 95-106
Ouborg NJ, Biere A 2003
The relationship between plant-pathogen and plant-herbivore interactions and plant population persistence in a fragmented landscape.
In: Brigham CA, Schwartz MW (eds.) Population viability analysis in plants. Springer Verlag, Berlin, pp. 99-116.
Biere A, Elzinga JA, Honders SC, Harvey JA 2002
A plant pathogen reduces the enemy-free space of an insect herbivore on a shared host plant.
Proc. Royal Soc. B. (London) 269: 2197-2204.
Elzinga JA, Harvey JA, Biere A 2002
The effects of host weight at parasitatism on fitness correlates of the gregarious koinobiont parasitoid Microplitis tristis and consequences for food consumption by its host, Hadena bicruris.
Entomol. Exper. Appl. 108: 95-106.
Marak HB, Biere A, Van Damme JMM 2002
Two herbivore-deterrent iridoid glycosides reduce the in-vitro growth of a specialist but not of a generalist pathogenic fungus of Plantago lanceolata.
Chemoecology 12: 185-192.
Marak HB, Biere A, Van Damme JMM 2002
Systemic, genotype-specific induction of two herbivore-deterrent iridoid glycosides in Plantago lanceolata L. in response to fungal infection by Diaporthe adunca (Rob) Niessel.
J. Chem. Ecol. 28: 2429-2448.
Elzinga JA, Biere A, Harvey JA 2002
The rearing of the gregarious koinobiont endoparasitoid Microplitis tristis (Hymenoptera, Braconidae) on its natural host Hadena bicruris (Lepidoptera, Noctuidae).
Proc. Exper. Appl. Entomol. 13: 109-115.
Marak HB, Biere A, Van Damme JMM 2000
Direct and correlated responses to selection on iridoid glycosides in Plantago lanceolata L.
J. Evol. Biol. 13: 985-996.
Ouborg NJ, Biere A, Mudde CL 2000
Inbreeding effects on resistance and transmission-related traits in the Silene – Microbotryum pathosystem.
Ecology 81: 520-531.
Biere A, Honders SC 1998
Anther smut transmission in Silene latifolia and Silene dioica: impact of host traits, disease frequency, and host density.
Int. J. Plant Sci. 159: 228-235.
Biere A, Honders SC 1996
Impact of flowering phenology of Silene alba and S. dioica on susceptibility to fungal infection and seed predation.
Oikos 77: 467-480.
Biere A, Honders SC 1996
Host adaptation in the anther smut fungus Ustilago violacea (Microbotryum violaceum): infection success, spore production and alteration of floral traits on two host species and their F1-hybrid.
Oecologia 107: 307-320.
Biere A, Antonovics J 1996
Sex-specific costs of resistance to the fungal pathogen Ustilago violacea (Microbotryum violaceum) in Silene alba.
Evolution 50: 1098-1110.
Biere A 1996
Ecological significance of within-population variation in relative growth rate in Lychnis flos-cuculi.
Plant and Soil 182: 313-327.
Biere A 1995
Genotypic and plastic variation in plant size: effects on fecundity and allocation patterns in Lychnis flos-cuculi along a gradient of natural soil fertility.
J. Ecol. 83: 629-642.
Thrall PH, Biere A, Uyenoyama MK 1995
Frequency-dependent disease transmission and the dynamics of the Silene-Ustilago host-pathogen system.
Am. Nat. 145: 43-62.
Thrall PH, Biere A , Antonovics J 1993
Plant life-history and disease susceptibility: the occurrence of Ustilago violacea on different species within the Caryophyllaceae.
J. Ecol. 81: 489-498.
De Nooij MP, Biere A, Linders EGA 1992
Interaction of pests and pathogens through host predisposition.
In: PG Ayres (ed.) Pests and Pathogens. Plant responses to foliar attack. Bios Sci. Publ. Oxford, pp. 143-160.
Biere A 1991
Parental effects in Lychnis flos-cuculi L. II. Selection on time of emergence and seedling performance in the field.
J. evol. Biol. 3: 467-486.
Biere A 1991
Parental effects in Lychnis flos-cuculi L. I. Seed size, germination and seedling performance in the field.
J. evol. Biol. 3: 447-465.
Biere A 1991
Phenotypic variation in Lychnis flos-cuculi: an ecological genetic analysis.
Thesis Univ. of Groningen, The Netherlands.
Van Andel J, Biere A 1989
Ecological significance of variability in growth rate and plant productivity.
In: Lambers H, Cambridge ML, Konings H & Pons TL (eds.) Causes and Consequences of Variation in Growth Rate and Productivity of Higher Plants. SPB Academic Publ. Comp. Amsterdam, pp. 257-268.
Biere A, Cappers R, Van Andel J 1989
Quantitative and qualitative aspects of fecundity in Lychnis flos-cuculi L.
Acta Bot. Neerl. 38: 203-218.
Biere A 1987
Ecological significance of size variation within populations.
In: Van Andel J, Bakker JP & Snaydon RW (eds.) Disturbance in Grasslands. Causes, Effects and Processes. Junk, Dordrecht, NL, pp. 253-263.
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