Expertise

Predator-Prey Interactions, Foraging Ecology, Experimental Ecology, Optimal Foraging Theory, Population Biology

CV         

2010-present

PhD student at NIOZ

2010

MSc Ecology & Evolution, University of Amsterdam [cum laude]

Specialization Ecological and Evolutionary dynamics

2008-2010    

Teaching assistant in Theoretical Ecology courses at University of Amsterdam

2007

BSc Biology, University of Amsterdam

2004

Propadeutics Mathematics, University of Groningen

Research Interest

I am interested how behaviour of an animal influences the population dynamics of other species and in return its own. In my PhD project I focus on foraging behaviour of red knots (Calidris canutus canutus) in their wintering area, Banc d'Arguin in Mauritania. There, red knots feed on molluscs that are buried in the sediment on tidal mudflats. However, not all molluscs are the same and red knots are very picky, resulting in a diverse diet that changes with the bird's condition and availability of prey. Combining an experimental approach with a modelling and field observation approach, we try to find out which factors influence diet choice.

Finally, we hope to determine how subtle foraging behaviours might influence the dynamics of population sizes of red knots and their prey, making use of the existing knowledge on dynamics of red knots and bivalve populations in Banc d'Arguin.

Internships and BSc/MSc projects

In November/December 2013 we are planning an expedition to Banc d'Arguin in Mauritania. Enthousiastic students are a necessity for its success, so if you are one, please e-mail me! We will partly focus on obeservations in the field, and partly on a small experiment, measuring energy intake of red knots feeding on seagrass

Publications       

Onrust, J., J. de Fouw,T. Oudman, M. van der Geest, T. Piersma & J.A. van Gils 2013. Red knot diet reconstruction revisited: context dependence revealed by experiments at Banc d'Arguin, Mauritania, Bird Study 1-10

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van Gils, J. A., M. van der Geest, J. Leyrer, T. Oudman, T. Lok, J. Onrust, J. de Fouw & T. Piersma. 2013. Toxin constraint explains diet choice, survival and population dynamics in a molluscivore shorebird. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 280:20130861.

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Gilg, O., B. Moe, S. A. Hanssen, N. M. Schmidt, B. Sittler, J. Hansen, J. Reneerkens, B. Sabard, O. Chastel, J. Moreau, R. Phillips, T. Oudman, E.M. Biersma, A.A. Fenstad, J. Lang & L. Bollache. 2013. Trans-equatorial migration routes, staging sites and wintering areas of a high-arctic avian predator: the long-tailed skua (Stercorarius longicaudus). Plos One 8:e64614

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Boerlijst, M. C., T. Oudman & A.M. de Roos, 2013. Catastrophic collapse can occur without early warning: examples of silent catastrophes in structured ecological models. Plos One 8:e62033.

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