Employee information:
Name:
Bom, Roeland
Department:
MEE
Email:
Roeland.Bom(at)nioz.nl
Telephone:
(0222 369) 382
About:
Expertise
Foraging Ecology, Spatial Ecology and Animal Tracking
CV
2011
MSc Biological Sciences, University of Amsterdam
2007
BSc Earth Sciences, University of Amsterdam
2003
VWO (pre-university education), Stichtse Vrije School, Zeist
Employed Record
2010present
PhD student at NIOZ
2012
Nature guide Staatsbosbeheer
2010
Student assistant in Quantitative Population Ecology and Spatial Ecology,
University of Amsterdam.
2008
2009
– WIWO expedition to Oman. Subject: abundance and ecology of Siberian
shorebirds wintering in the Middle-East.
2009
Nature guide at Svalbard.
2004-2006, Scientific expeditions to Taimyr, Northern Siberia (Russia) organized by Alterra,
2008
The Netherlands. Subject: breeding ecology of shorebirds and geese.
2005-2008 Project “Ganzen op de Klei” for Alterra, The Netherlands. Activity: responsible for
quantifying wintering goose presence in SE Netherlands by dropping distribution.
Research Interest
My PhD project focuses on the pristine intertidal mudflats of Barr al Hikman, Oman
where I study the foraging movements of crab plovers Dromas ardeola in relation to
the distribution and behaviour of their prey. I aim to answer simple, fundamental
questions as where do crab plovers forage, how much prey do they eat, how is the
spatial distribution of the prey and how does the prey respond to the presence of the
crab plover.
With regard to the predator, I will answer these questions by tracking crab plovers
with GPS loggers (the UvA bird tracking system). Besides location, these loggers
measure acceleration, which enables a prediction of behaviour, for instance attack
rates, handling times and resting rates. These loggers thus enables a study of the
behaviour of crab plovers in space and time in the finest possible scale.
The prey of the crab plovers contains of swimming crabs and burrowing sentinel
crabs. I measure the spatial distribution and the response to both crabs in relation to
the presence of a foraging crab plover; the latter ideally is done ideally using an
experimental approach.
Combining the studies of the predator and the prey should lead to a prediction how
Barr al Hikman would look without crab plovers, aiming to shed light on the
hypothesis that Barr al Hikman turns into a biodiverse poor ‘crab city’ when crab
plovers are absent. Finally, I hope that my work can contribute to a better
appreciation of the role of predators within ecosystems.
Internships and BSc/MSc projects
Are you an enthusiastic MSc. student in biology? There certainly are possibilities for
internships.
Publications
Downloads
Shamoun-Baranes J, Bom R, van Loon EE, Ens BJ, Oosterbeek K, et al.
(2012) From Sensor Data to Animal Behaviour: An Oystercatcher
Example. PLoS ONE 7(5)
PDF