Ellen van Donk PhD

Curriculum Vitae

Ellen van Donk

Professional Preparation 

Undergraduate – 1974. B.S., Medicine, University of Amsterdam. 
Undergraduate honors: Cum Laude.

Undergraduate – 1976. B.S., Biology, University of Amsterdam, Field of concentration: Ecology

Graduate – 1979. M.S. Aquatic Ecology. University of Amsterdam. 

Ph.D. in Limnology, Nov. 1983. , University of Amsterdam.
Graduate honors: Dutch Science Foundation (supervisor Prof.dr. J.Ringelberg). Graduate fellowship to work for 5 month (1981) at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor (supervisor Prof. dr. S.S. Kilham). Ph.D. honors: Cum Laude.

Appointments
 

1983 - 1990.  Waterboard of the Province of Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands.  Head of the Department of Water Research.

1990 - 1997.  University of Wageningen, The Netherlands. Associate Professor in Aquatic Ecology

1997 - present.  Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO) of the Royal Academy of Science (KNAW), Nieuwersluis, The Netherlands. Head of Department of Aquatic Ecology.

2000 - 2009.  University of Nijmegen, The Netherlands. Professorship in Limnology; http://www.eco.science.ru.nl/mibiol/mibio.htm  

2001 - present.  University of Oslo, Norway. Visiting Professorship in Aquatic Ecology. http://biologi.uio.no/akv/ansatte/biografi/vanDonk_Ellen.html

2009 (Nov.) - present. University of Utrecht. Professorship in Aquatic Ecology
 
 

Selection of additional professional activities

• Chairman of  the Dutch Society for Aquatic Ecology (1985 – 1992)
• In the board of the Biological Council of the Dutch Royal Academy of Scien­ce (1992-1995)
• Editor of the Nether­lands Journal of Aquatic Ecology  (1990-1994)
• President of the PEG (Plankton Ecology Group) of SIL (1998 - 2004)
• Member of the Governmental Advice Committee Deep Underground and Ground Protection, Technische Commissie Bodembescherming, Den Haag, Netherlands (1997–1999)
• Member of Lindeman Award Committee (ASLO) (1996-1999)
• In the board of the Dutch Nature Conservation Society “Natuurmonumenten” (1994-1998)
• Member of Program Committee “Water” of NWO (2003)
• Member of the Board of ASLO (American Society of Limnology and Oceanography) (June 2004-June 2007)
• Associate Editor of international journals: Limnology and Oceanography (1994-1997), Ecosystems (1997-2000), Freshwater domain of “ The Scientific World” (internet journal) (2001-present), Freshwater Biology (2004-present); Ecological Informatics (2005-present); Research Letters in Ecology (2007- present); International Journal of Ecology (since 2008); Ecology (since 2011)
• Elected National Representative of Society Internationalis Limnologiae (SIL) (1992 – present)
• Member of the Health Council of the Netherlands (1996-present)
• Elected member of Steering Committee Diversitas STAR-Element 9” Inland Water Biodiversity (UNESCO) (1999-present)
• Advisor and peer-reviewer for the South Florida Water Research District (1993-present)
• Member of the Naumann-Thieneman Committee (SIL) (until 2007) Member of the Nomination committee (SIL) (2007-present)
• Reviewer for research proposals: Dutch Science Foundation (ALW), Belgium Science Foundation (VLINA), Norwegian Science Foundation (NSF) and German Science Foundation (DFG) and reviewer for many international journals
• Executive Vice President of the SIL (Societas Internationalis Limnologiae Theoreticae and Applicatae). Since June 2007
• Member of the Expert Committee on the restoration of peat-lakes (OBN/LNV) since 2000
• Member of the NWO-VICI committee 2008 and 2009
• Member of the Scientific Advisory Board of the Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries (IGB) at Berlin. (since 2005); http://www.igb-berlin.de/institut/deutsch/wiss_beir_d.html
• Member of the Scientific Avisory Board of the Balaton Limnological research Institute, Hungarian Academy of Sciences (since June 2007)
• Member of the Scientific Advisory Board of the Mondsee Limnological Institute, Austrian Academy of Sciences (since 2008)  http://www.oeaw.ac.at/limno/research.htm
• Member of the Darwin Center for Biogeosciences (since June 2008)
• Member of the Board of the Centre for Wetland Ecology (CWE)(2009-present)(http://www.wetland-ecology.nl/)
• Member of the jury of the Premi Ramon Margalef, a prestigious prize in Ecology (yearly): (2010-2014)(http://www.gencat/premiramonmargalef/eng/index.htm)
• Member of the advisory group for COGEM (Algae and Genetic Modification) (since 2011)
• Member of the program committee " Biodiversity it works" of NWO (since 2011)

Personal notes

Professional History. I graduated from the University of Amsterdam in 1983 (Ph.D in Aquatic Ecology) and visited the University of Michigan ( Ann Arbor, USA) for several months in 1981 when I was a Ph.D. candidate. In Ann Arbor I studied competition between phytoplankton species working together with Susan and Peter Kilham. From 1983 until 1990, I worked as the Head of the Research Department at the Water Board in the State of Utrecht, examining lakes and rivers and applying restoration measures to these waters. Thereafter, I was appointed as an Associate Professor at the Department of Aquatic Ecology and Water Quality Management of the University of Wageningen (1990 -1998). Here I continued my research, along with teaching and supervising the research of numerous graduate and undergraduate students. During these years I spent research periods at the Norwegian Institute for Water Research (NIVA) and University of Oslo. I joined the NIOO-KNAW-CL (Netherlands Institute for Ecology - Centre for Limnology, situated in Nieuwersluis) in 1998 as Head of the Department of Aquatic Ecology where I continue to examine my main research interests in plankton dynamics and ecology, phytoplankton succession, lake eutrophication and ecosystem stress, and food web studies. In 2000 I received a professorship in Limnology at the University of Nijmegen (The Netherlands) on a one-day-a-week basis and in 2001 a visiting professorship in Aquatic Ecology at the University of Oslo (Norway).

Research Interest. My research aims to elucidate how ecological mechanisms, evolutionary principles and abiotic factors govern the dynamics and structure of food webs in aquatic ecosystems. I am most interested to study more complex ecological mechanisms that shape food web structure and dynamics. Examples of such mechanisms that are studied by me and my department include inducible defences, adaptive sweeps within evolving phytoplankton populations, fungal parasitism of phytoplankton and keystone predation by fish and birds.

Research in the AqE department is based on two research themes. The projects within Theme 1:Trophic interactions: indirect effects and feedback mechanisms are of a more fundamental nature. We examine how indirect effects, feedback mechanisms and adaptive evolution affect the dynamics and structure of food webs. We focus our research within this theme on two subjects: a) Food web interactions in lakes: what is the impact of stoichiometry and chemical information transfer? b) Studying the evolutionary basis of species interactions: do we see coevolution in action? In Theme 2: Behaviour of communities in relation to stress factors, the goal of the projects is to analyze how food web relations in lakes are affected by environmental changes and stress factors (e.g. eutrophication, global change) and how we can use the knowledge gained to restore lakes and wetlands. We distinguish within this theme two subjects of investigation: a) How does global change affects food web interactions in lakes? b) Restoration of lakes and wetlands: what can food web manipulation contribute?

Where possible we strive to have a strong cooperation with the other departments within the NIOO and to integrate Themes 1 and 2. In both themes we focus on interactions between species and small (experimental) communities, rather than on the study of interactions between single species and their environment.

PhD students (title project, source of funding, year finished)

1.   Miquel Lürling, Grazer-induced colony formation in Scenedesmus. NW0.1999. (copromotor)

2.   Marieke de Lange: Effects of UV-B radiation on phytoplankton-zooplankton Interactions.WUR.1999. (copromotor)

3.   Frederique van Holthoon, Analysis of Kairomone(s) in the Scenedesmus– Daphnia, NW0.co-promotor. 2004. (copromotor)

4.   Arnout de Bruin, The role of fungal parasites in phytoplankton growth and succession of phytoplankton, KNAW. 2006

5.   Miguel Dionisio Pires, Food quality of algae on life history traits and population growth of zooplankton/Dreissena, RIZA/KNAW. 2005.

6.   Gabi Mulderij, The impact of exudates from macrophytes (allelopathic substances) on phytoplankton and zooplankton communities. CWE. 2006

7.   Anthony Verschoor, Effects of zooplanktivory on the structure and functioning of a tritrophic pelagic food web - a cosm approach. KNAW. 2005.

8.   Thomas Jensen, Food webs, stoichiometry and carbon sequestration in aquatic ecosystems, Norwegian Science Foundation. 2006.

9.   Irene van de Stap, Inducible defences: from individual plasticity to food web dynamics and persistence. NW0. 2007.

10. Camilla Blikstad, The role of toxic cyanobacteria in Norwegian ecosystems, Norwegian Science Foundation. 2008.

11.  Dedmer de Waal, The impact of rising pCO2 on harmful cyanobacteria, CWE. 2010

12.  Iris Charalambidou, Long-distance dispersal of aquatic organisms by migrating waterfowl, EU. 2012

13.  Ellis Penning, Ecomorphology of shallow lakes, TU Delft-IHE Unesco. 2012

14.  Susanne Wilken, Impact of mixotrophy on surface blooms of harmful cyanobacteria, NWO/KNAW.

15.  Daan Gerla, Connectivity, dispersal and priority effects as drivers of biodiversity and ecosystem function in pond and pool communities. ESF (European Union).

16.  Alena Gsell, Demonstrating parasite driven microevolution in natural diatom host populations, NWO.

17.  Ilse Cornelissen. Exploitation or eutrophication as threats for fisheries? Disentangling social and ecological drivers of ecosystem changes in Lake Victoria, Tanzania, WOTRO.

18.  Dirk Sharpe,  Autonimous Negative Trends in Lakes IJsselmeer and Markermeer, Deltares.

19.  Anne Immers, Cyanobacterial blooms and iron addition, Agentschap NL/STOWA.

20.  Bart Grutters, Ecosystem functions of invasive aquatic plants, NWO

21. Sven Teurlincx, Development of effective strategies for the conservation and development of landscape wide aquatic biodiversity in agricultural areas, NWO

Projects

Project: 01.FS.07 The role of fungal parasites in phytoplankton growth and succession (PARASITE)

Project: 02.FS.10 Inducible defences: from individual plasticity to food web dynamics and persistence (DEFENCE2)

Project: 02.FS. 11 Chasing the Red Queen (QUEEN)

Project: 03.FS.17 Climate induced biodiversity shifts in freshwater ecosystems (CLIMATE)

Project: 03.FS.18 Restoration of Dutch peat lakes (PEAT)

Project: 05.FS.19 Effects of increased pCO2 on freshwater food webs through physical-chemical coupling: a stoichiometric perspective (STOICHWEB). 

Project: 05.FS.20 The impact of rising pCO2 on harmful cyanobacteria. (CWECYANO)

Project: 05.FS.21 Impact of climate change on the vulnerability of lakes for surface blooms of harmful cyanobacteria (CLIMCYANO)

Project: 07.AqE.23 Demonstrating parasite driven microevolution in natural diatom host populations (DIATOM).

Project: 08. AqE.24 Impact of mixotrophy on surface blooms of harmful cyanobacteria (MIX)

Project 08. AqE.26 Impact of eutrophication status and fisheries on major pathways in Lake Victoria food webs: a combined experimental and field study approach (SEDEC-1)

Project 09.AqE.27 Autonomous Negative Trends. (ANT)

Project 09.AqE.28 Cyanobacterial blooms and iron addition. (CyFe)
 

Selected Publications

A list of publications archived by ISI WoS can be found via my personal researcher ID:

http://www.researcherid.com/rid/B-7272-2008

Full publication list: see Downloads section above

For (downloading) pdf's of my publications:

 http://tinyurl.com/knaw-evdonk

Downloads

 Full publication list: see Downloads section

 
DOWNLOADS:
> publicatielistEvDmaart.2011.doc