S01E01 | Caribbean Connection

For this episode, we go about 8.000 kilometers west of the Netherlands to the Dutch Caribbean. The biodiversity on and around the islands is extraordinary. In this episode, we take a look at current and previous research with Andi Haas and Werner de Gier. We’re going to see an overview of their research in the Caribbean and we’re going to talk about opportunities and challenges in biodiversity research. Host is the quartermaster of BiodiversityXL: Maaike van de Kamp-Romijn.

Andi Haas is a biogeochemist and he works at NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research. He studies the changes in coral reef ecosystems as a consequence of human influence.

‘We need to understand the biogeochemical mechanisms of coral reefs in detail to save the immense biodiversity and ecosystem services that coral reefs provide', according to Andi.

Werner de Gier of Naturalis Biodiversity Center is a PhD-candidate studying the evolution and ecomorphology of symbiotic crustaceans, living in and on tropical coral reef organisms, using CT-scanning and other figuration methods. 

Pro tip from Werner: "When studying cryptic fauna, like most crabs, it's good to collaborate with the local divers!"

BiodiversityXL Center of Excellence

BiodiversityXL is the name of the Centre of Excellence for Netherlands Biodiversity Research. The goal of the centre is to significantly increase the integrated knowledge of Dutch biodiversity in all environments: on land, in fresh and salt water, and from genes to ecosystems. BiodiversityXL is an initiative of Naturalis Biodiversity Center, the Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW), the Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research (NIOZ-NWO) and Westerdijk Fungal Biodiversity Institute-KNAW. The center is the hub for close collaboration with the universities and knowledge institutions of the Netherlands.

In the center, research is collaborative and important facilities are shared to further science and society. The Netherlands is an international leader in many of the biological disciplines in the field of biodiversity. Yet linking knowledge is still often lacking, for example on macro- and microbiological diversity. Moreover, it is important to better understand how species react to each other in the face of changes in diversity.