In Europe a number of production and communication strategies have long tried to establish local products as resources for local development. At the foot of the Alps, this scenario appears in all its contradictions, especially in relation to cheese production. The Heritage Arena focuses on the saga…

Nitrogen deposition does not only affect plant biodiversity, but also strongly affects the composition of the remainder of the food web, through the changes in plant composition. In an unprecedented analysis of population changes of butterfly and moth species, an international research team including…

National Meat Free Week (Nationale Week Zonder Vlees, 7–13 March) is an initiative to reduce meat consumption. Assistant professor Paul Behrens is studying what impact a change in our food consumption would have on the world. What, according to him, are the main reasons to switch to a (mainly) plant-based…

Anthropogenic noise negatively affects wildlife in a wide range of taxonomic groups.

How unique is the human capacity for learning and adapting to an environment? In field research – in the rainforest and Artis Zoo – primatologist Karline Janmaat is studying how humans and other primates adapt to their environment in their search for food. She will give her inaugural lecture as Professor…

Surveying Indigenous Peoples’ culinary practices prior to the advent of European invasions in the Greater Caribbean

On 3 March 2021 Zuzana Vikarská presented some of her work in progress research at the Europa Institute's

From treatment plants to hot showers, emissions from water use in the U.S. are equal to 50 million cars driving around for a year. In The Washington Post, staff writer Tik Root consults different experts to learn about ways to reduce our water consumption. He also speaks with Leiden environmental scientist…

Violent conflicts and civil wars in Chad impede most rural households' access to food security, agricultural activities and access to essential services such as health care. In her dissertation, Nakar Djindil Syntyche denounces this issue. She obtained her PhD on 24 November.

How do animals choose their partners? The answer is simple: it’s all about quality. While humans tend to wear clothes that happen to be in fashion, animals do nothing without a reason. Behind beautiful plumage or a deafening roar is only one message: I am in great shape. The evolutionary courtship displays…

Birds sing to be heard, but how do they cope with increasing noise levels? Which species persist in cities and why? And do they thrive or suffer in the urban soundscape?

This project investigates the effects of the Asia-Pacific War (1931-1945) and the Korean War (1950-1953) on the production, distribution, preparation and consumption of food in transwar Japan and Korea.

On the 8th of September Yun-An Olivia Dung successfully defended a doctoral thesis and graduated.

The key characteristic of active matter is the motion of an emergent collection (such as a flock of birds), which is driven by the consumption of energy by its active components (i.e. individual birds).

The Netherlands must decrease its food imports dependency on foreign countries to be able to reduce the consequences of the corona crisis on its food supply. Dr. Brandon Zicha and Joes de Natris conclude that the solution to this is two-fold: major interventions in agricultural practices and a trustworthy…

PhD candidate Ola Gracjasz writes about fermentation practices in Gdańsk, Poland.

In the theme Animal sciences and health research, we work with different species of animals to learn more about fundamental biological processes.

Animal Sciences’ contributions to the Evolution & Biodiversity research theme include evo-devo research, the evolution of cognitive and behavioural traits, and the evolutionary mechanisms of stress adaptation. This research involves both indoor and outdoor studies.

For some time blackbirds have been settling in towns as well as in woods. As a result, town blackbirds have now begun to develop differently from their counterparts in forests. These are the findings of the PhD research carried out by behavioural biologist Erwin Ripmeester who defends his dissertation…

Animal Sciences’ contributions to the Development & Disease research theme include the mechanisms and evolution of embryonic development, the development of cognitive mechanisms, and animal models for understanding mechanisms of human disease.

Can birds - like people- ‘see’ voices and learn how to sing by listening and watching?

Lecture

Promotor: Prof.dr. G.R. de Snoo, Prof.dr. G.A. Persoon

Lecture, Research Seminar

Debate, MENA Cultures and Global Aesthetics

What is the effect of light at night on plant phenology and physiology, and how does this affect plant interactions with other species?

Exhibition

Each year LUC The Hague has 200 places available for new students. On a yearly basis, there is only a September intake at LUC. The upcoming deadlines for the September 2023 intake are stated below.

Humans and songbirds learn their vocalizations early in life by exposure to the vocalizations of adult conspecifics. Often, better learning outcomes are achieved with live, social, tutors than with audio-only exposure to vocalizations.

Exhibition, Exhibition