Irene Tieleman

Irene Tieleman works in the Animal Ecology group of the Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences. With her research group she investigates how birds deal with environmental variation. Environments differ and constantly change, due to natural processes and human impact. To live in different environments, birds have evolved different sets of physiological, behavioral and life history traits. To cope with changing demands birds need to adjust these traits. Tieleman’s longstanding work on larks includes study of the evolutionary adaptations of physiology and ecology in tropical, desert and temperate environments. Additional studies on various groups of birds in the wild and in captivity aim to develop new methods, unravel physiological mechanisms, and understand the roles of genetic and phenotypic components. Since 2011, she closely collaborates with microbial ecologists to investigate interactions between microbes, birds and environments (NWO-Vidi). In 2013 she became a member of The Young Academy (KNAW).