Prof. R.P.B. Foppen (Ruud)

The topic of my assignment is ‘Integrated Conservation Biology’. It is a major challenge and urgency to answer questions concerning the impact of environmental and human-induced drivers on species survival. An important part asks for solid and relevant research work in the field of Conservation Biology. It is my strong believe that conservation biology will benefit from an integration of various fields of knowledge and data sources. Nijmegen offers a unique possibility for collaboration between the fields of citizens science, ecological research and biogeochemistry (condition of soil and water). Citizens science data are available through the efforts of NGO’s that collect biodiversity records like monitoring and distribution data by the involvement of thousands of volunteers. Five of these organisations are hosted at the Radboud University and collaborate under the name ‘Natuurplaza’(www.natuurplaza.org). Together they manage around 100 million biodiversity records. With their data and expertise and the skills of the research departments of the Institute of Water and Wetland Research ecological patterns and processes can be studied. I will focus on applied research questions that try to understand and quantify the impact of various pressure factors on the dynamics and sustainability of animal populations. My involvement will be to initiate, stimulate and encourage collaborations between the various fields of knowledge and data. I see a huge potential to perform relevant applied conservation research that also fulfills high scientific standards. Main tools to accomplish this are i.e. statistical analyses that compare the fate of various local population in relation to local conditions and the use of population models.