My mission is to develop a conceptual description of the evolutionary dynamics that govern the variation in biological diversity through time and space. I am particularly interested in the predictability of evolutionary change, both on the short term, which has important applications in managing agricultural and natural systems, and on the long term, which is relevant for our understanding on the origin of life on Earth. As assistant professor of Evolutionary Ecology in the Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics at the University of Amsterdam I teach and investigate the evolutionary consequeces of biotic interactions, ranging from sexual communication to animal-microbe co-evolution. I aim to lead a team that studies speciation and short-term adaptive and non-adaptive evolutionary change by integrating insights at the level of genes, organisms, populations and communities. My research combines population genetics, experimental evolution, and behavioral experiments to identify the emergent properties of biological interactions. Read more about my current and past research on the nematodes, moths, crickets, and herpetofauna here.
Contact information
University of Amsterdam
Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics
Science Park 904
1098 XH Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Thomas Blankers
Assistant professor at the University of Amsterdam