Curriculum Vitae
2008 - 2012: PhD Student at NIOO-CEME, Yerseke
2006 - 2008: Master student Biology at Leiden University
2003 - 2006: Bachelor student Biology at Leiden University
Projects
Testing for spatial self-organization in mussel beds
During my PhD time here at NIOO, I will look at spatial self-organization in mussel beds. I'm particularly interested in how the behavior of individuals leads to pattern formation and how such behavior can be adaptive. Mussels in spatially patterned beds aggregate to protect themselves from wave stress and predation. However, by aggregating, competition for algae will increase. Because competition for resources is taking place at a larger spatial scale then local facilitation, regular patterns are formed. I would like to know what the most optimal position is in such a pattern (e.g. for resource aquisition and persistence) and if there are different strategies used by mussels living near the edge of a cluster compared to mussels living in the center of a cluster. Furthermore, I would like to investigate whether this pattern formation behavior is adaptive and if the types of movement used by the mussels (e.g. Brownian walk, Levy walk) are the most optimal way to create clusters.
Co-Operation
- Kevin Foster of the Department of Zoology, Oxford university, UK
- Guy Theraulaz of the Research Center of Animal Cognition (CNRS), University Paul Sabatier, France
- Franjo Weissing of the Theoretical Biology group, Center for Ecological and Evolutionary Studies, Groningen University, the Netherlands
- Max Rietkerk of the section of Environmental Sciences, Utrecht University, the Netherlands
- Wolf Mooij of the Aquatic Ecology group, Center for Limnology, NIOO, the Netherlands
Links
Johan van de Koppel
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