PhD Defence Sam Boerlijst

On Tuesday the 18th of March Sam Boerlijst, one of our 26 PhD’s will defend his PhD thesis titled: ‘An Egg is Always an Adventure: anthropogenic impacts on Culex pipiens population dynamics’ at the Center for Environmental Sciences (CML) of Leiden University.

Five key insights of the thesis of Sam:

1. Mosquitoes are important benefactors of anthropogenic change.
2. Interactive effects between stressors are prevalent, highlighting the need to include multiple and combined stressors in ecological research. 
3. Including ecological realism by adding temporal fluctuations in stressors increases the accuracy of measured traits.
4. The historical ecological context of tested populations informs us on when patterns may be extrapolated, or when additive research is required.
5. Facilitating natural processes like predation may prove to be valuable interventions, by both limiting mosquito survival, and deterring colonization altogether.

Practical details
Time: 16:00 – The defence will start at 16:00 sharp, so make sure to be there at least 10-15 minutes in advance.
Location: Van Steenisgebouw, Einsteinweg 2, 2333 CC Leiden, The Netherlands
Livestream: For those who wish to follow the defense but not able to attend, there will be a livestream available. Go to: https://www.universiteitleiden.nl/wetenschappers/livestream-promotie