prof. dr. ir. T. (Tjisse) van der Heide

I’m researcher at the Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research (NIOZ), and a professor of Coastal Ecology at the University of Groningen. I study interactions between organisms and their environment in coastal ecosystems. My research primarily focuses on the ecosystem-level importance and functioning of “ecosystem engineers” – species that significantly modify habitat conditions. Ecosystem engineers are often the “foundation species” of a system, which basically means that many other species depend on them. Over the last decades, human impact has resulted in worldwide declines of foundation species-structured ecosystems such as bivalve reefs, seagrass meadows and salt marshes. In my research, I combine fieldwork, laboratory experiments, GIS and computer models to unravel how these systems function and how to preserve and restore them.

Research leader Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research (NIOZ)
Vice-chairman of the OBN-experteam Coastal landscapes