Download Document

Curriculum Vitae Jelmer A. Elzinga
Personal information
Name:
Sex:
Birthdate/place
Nationalitity:
Status:
Children:
Address:
Telephone:
E-mail:
Diploma’s:
Driver’s licence:
Languages:
Elzinga, Jelmer Anne
male
17-06-1976, Leeuwarden
Dutch
Married to Dr. Joannneke Reudler Talsma
Teake (2010)
Kivirannantie 20 as 8
40270 Palokka, Finland
+358 (0) 44 5515311
[email protected]
Gymnasium (Leeuwarden, NL, 1994)
Msc Biology, specialisation Ecology (RUG Groningen, NL, 2000)
PhD (Utrecht University, NL, 24-1-2005)
B
Mother tongue: Dutch, Frisian
Excellent: English, German
Basic: Finnish, French
Previous positions
1. Post-doc University of Jyväskylä, Finland (April 2007 – June 2012)
“Ecology and evolution of Psychidae and their parasitoids”
Mentors: Prof. Alessandro Grapputo, Prof. Johanna Mappes
I have been studying the coexistence of parthenogenetic and sexual Psychidae (Lepidoptera), in order to
explain the common dominance of sex. With a large sampling I first studied the species composition of
the parasitoid community that attacks the Naryciinae (Psychidae) in Finland to see if parasitoids prevent
the parthenogens from taking over (as predicted by the Red queen hypothesis for sex). I used DNA–
sequencing to identify moth species from hosts eaten by the parasitoids, which indicated that the
parasitoids preferentially attack sexuals in contrast to the prediction. A phylogenetic analysis of the
parasitoids also did not reveal cryptic specialisation.
I performed a mating experiment to see if sexual females can become sperm limited and showed that
males can mate multiply without a strong decrease in female fitness. A second, inter-species, mating
experiment shows that some species can interbreed. However, sequencing a nuclear gene revealed that no
hybrids are found in natural circumstances, establishing the species status for five sexual species. I am
currently focusing on the phylogeny, using three mitochondrial and five nuclear markers, in the
Naryciinae and performing morphometric analyses.
I was the daily supervisor in a project of a PhD (defended in July 2012) that focused on DNA-techniques
to resolve taxonomy and phylogeny of the Bag worm moths and look at genetic variation within species.
Since 2012 I am also involved in plant ecological research on Geranium sylvaticum to explain
coexistence of females and hermaphrodites by insect seed predation.
Secondary position:
Coordinator of the Centre of Excellence in Evolutionary Research, University of Jyväskylä (Januari 2009December 2011).
Organising international meetings (Konnevesi Research Meeting 2009, Evaluation Meeting 2009, Coevolution Symposium October 2011)), symposia (Darwin's year seminar 2009), website, annual reports,
etc.
Career break: Parental leave (Oktober 2010-Januari 2011)
1
2. Post-doc, University of Lausanne, Switzerland (December 2004- March 2007)
“Evolution of herbivory reducing traits in Silene latifolia”
Mentor: Prof. Giorgina Bernasconi
First, I performed a large field experiment to test whether synchronous flowering could be a strategy for
the plant to reduce damage by the seed predator Hadena bicruris by satiating this herbivorous moth.
Furthermore, we tested whether patch size could influence the efficiency of this strategy. We found that
synchronous flowering actually increases relative predation rate, but only in small patches. We believe
that due to synchronous flowering, these patches are perceived larger than the asynchronous patches by
the moth and thus increase attraction.
Secondly I did a field experiment to compare S. latifolia from North America and Europe. Earlier (Wolfe
et al 2003) we had found that American plants experience more damage by the seed predator. We found
that this is due to increased oviposition by the moth on the American plants.
Furthermore, we have studied with microsatellites the within and between population structure of S.
latifolia in a meta-population with leave samples collected in 2005 in the Netherlands.
3. PhD, Netherlands Institute of Ecology, Heteren, the Netherlands (January 2000- November 2004)
“The impact of habitat fragmentation on dynamics and stability of a plant-pathogen-herbivore-parasitoid
system”
Promotor: Prof. Jos M.M. van Damme
Copromotores: Dr. Arjen Biere, Dr. Jeffrey A. Harvey
A large natural metapopulation of Silene latifolia was studied to test the hypothesis that the third trophic
level (parasitoids) is more vulnerable to habitat fragmentation than the second trophic level (herbivores).
By collecting herbivores in the natural plant populations we could establish the distribution pattern of
several parasitoids and the correlation with isolation and patch size. It appeared that not all parasitoids
were affected by fragmentation which was confirmed by the differences in colonisation rate of
experimental plots on different distances from source populations by these species. Although rates of
parasitism were not strongly affected by fragmentation, we observed an increased rate of herbivory in
smaller populations. A common garden experiment revealed that this was due to a relatively higher
number of eggs deposited by the herbivore on flowers and plants in small populations.
In the laboratory I focused on the more specific interaction between one of the parasitoids, M. tristis and
its host H. bicruris. It appeared that this gregarious parasitoid reaches the highest offspring fitness when
parasitising the large stages of the caterpillar. When parasitoid clutches are small, the level of herbivory is
decreased by this parasitoid. Furthermore, I tested predictions based on models about clutch size
adaptation to age and host availability. Contrary to expectations the parasitoid on average always
produced the optimum clutch size independent of age or host availability.
Undergraduate projects (1997-2000):
1“The effects of the microbial mat on vegetation succession.”
Experimental study on the effects of a microbial mat on the establishment and growth of early and late
successional plant species of a chalk rich dune slack a microbial mat was present.
Supervisors: Dr. A.P. Grootjans (Plant Ecology, University of Groningen)
Dr. H. van Gemerden (Microbial Ecology, University of groningen)
2“The effect of different mowing regimes on the speed of secondary succession in grasslands.”
A combination of field work and data analysis of 25 years of vegetation recordings in permanent plots in
abandoned grasslands with different management regimes
Supervisor: Prof. Dr. J.P. Bakker (Plant Ecology, University of Groningen)
2
3“Cache spacing by the Red acouchy”
An experimental study in the tropics of French Guyana (4 months) where the seed caching of the Red
Acouchy was studied.
Supervisors: Prof. Dr. F. Bongers (Forestry, Wageningen University)
Dr. A. Brunsting (Terrestrial ecology en Nature managment, Wageningen University)
Dr. P.A. Jansen (Forestry, Wageningen University)
Research funding
1. Ehrnrooth Foundation, 2009, €16.000. The distribution of alternative reproductive strategies in
fragmented habitat.
2. Ehrnrooth Foundation, 2010, €16.000. Genetic variation in sexual and asexual bag worm moths.
3. Ehrnrooth Foundation, 2012, €11.000. Environmental effects on the stability of the gynodioecy in
Geranium sylvaticum.
Teaching
1. Supervision
- Daily supervisor of PhD Veronica Chevasco (University of Jyväskylä, graduated July 2012) in the
project: ‘Evolution and maintenance of alternative reproductive strategies in bag worm moths’, 20072012, Jyväskylä, Finland.
- Main supervisor of the MSc-thesis of Dirk-Jan van Leeuwen ‘Insect dispersal and colonization in a
fragmented plant-herbivore-parasitoid system’ in 2003 at the Netherlands Institute of Ecology.
- Examinator for the MSc thesis of Anna Huovinen, ‘Cost of sex in female bagworm moths
(Lepidoptera: Psychidae)’ 2007, University of Jyväskylä.
- Examinator for the MSc-thesis Marina Mustonen 2011, University of Jyväskylä.
- Member of PhD Thesis Support Group of Irina Ovcarenko (University of Jyväskylä), 2011-current
2. Courses
- Philosophy & Ethics of Biology (PhD-course, University of Jyväskylä). November 2010.
- Plant Phenology (part of Evolutionary Ecology and Life History Evolution advanced course,
University of Jyväskylä). March 2012
Reviewing
1. International peer evaluation of funding applications:
NSF (USA).
2. Journals:
Annales Zoologici Fennici, Basic and Applied Ecology, Behavioral Ecology, Community Ecology,
Ecology, Ecological Entomology, Ecological Research, Journal of European Entomology, Oecologia,
Oikos, Tree Physiology.
Presentations at international meetings
- Second Entomophagous Insects Conference, Antibes, France, June 2011.
- Research Training Meeting, Konnevesi, Finland. March 2009
- BEPAR workshop, Genetic and Genomic approaches for Parasitoid Behavioural Ecology, Edinburgh,
UK. June 2008.
- Workshop ‘Silene: from populations to genes’, Ascona, Switzerland. May 2008.
- ESEB XI congress, Uppsala, Sweden. August, 2007.
- Biology07, Zuerich, Switzerland. Februari 2007.
- The 20th annual meeting for the Scandinavian Association for Pollination Ecology, Gålö, Sweden.
October 2006.
- 35th annual conference of the Ecological Society (GfÖ), Giessen, Germany. October 2005.
- 33rd annual conference of the Ecological Society (GfÖ), Halle, Germany. July 2004.
3
- Symposium ‘Habitat Fragmentation and Trophic Interactions’ Wageningen, the Netherlands. March
2003.
- 8th European Workshop on Insect Parasitoids, Tours, France. September 2002.
- 15th meeting of the Section of Plant Population Biology of the Society for Ecology, Prague, Chech Republic. May 2002.
Other activities
- Member of board of the Nederlandse Vereniging in Finland (Dutch Society in Finland) (2013-)
- Vice-president of the Employees Association of the Centre for Terrestrial Ecology (2001-2004).
- Member of the committee for the jubileum activities of the NIOO (2002).
4