Why do some groups of organisms evolve into many species, while evolution is much slower in other groups, places, or time periods? Why do some species go extinct, and why are some more resilient to major impacts or ecosystem changes? I study the ecology and evolution of flowering plants to answer these questions.

More information about Renske Onstein

Research

My research focuses on the interchange between ecology and evolution from micro to macro levels, to understand the global distribution of taxonomic, genetic, functional and phylogenetic diversity. Understanding these patterns and the processes causing them is important for conservation and predicting what may happen to ecosystems in the future. I test the (historical) influence of functional (ecological) traits, climate, vegetation types and biotic interactions – especially seed dispersal mutualisms – on population dynamics and diversification rates, and how this varies among regions and biomes. To do so, I integrate phylogenetic, population genomic, environmental, and fossil data, and use a range of phylogenetic comparative methods, linear statistics, and historical demographic models to test specific predictions and hypotheses. Most of my work focuses on rainforests (e.g., in Madagascar) or Mediterranean-type ecosystems – most of these systems are based in biodiversity hotspots.

Brief biography

2025 – : Associate Professor Institute of Biology Leiden (IBL), Leiden University, The Netherlands

2022 – : Group Leader “Biodiversity Hotspots” at Naturalis Biodiversity Center, The Netherlands.

2018 –2024: Head of research group “Evolution and Adaptation”, German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Germany

2016 – 2018: Postdoc at the Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics (IBED) at the University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

Aug 2015 – May 2016: Postdoc at Université Paris-Sud, Lab. Écologie, Systématique, Évolution (ESE), France.

2011 –2015: PhD (with distinction) in Evolutionary Biology at the Institute of Systematic Botany, University of Zurich, Switzerland, supervised by Prof. H. Peter Linder. Thesis on the role of plant functional traits in Cenozoic angiosperm radiations.

2008 –2011: MSc Biology (with distinction), specialization Ecology, Wageningen University, the Netherlands.

2004 – 2008: BSc Biology, specialization Ecology, Wageningen University, Wageningen, the Netherlands.

Grants and prizes

I obtained a NWO-VIDI grant (2025 – 2030) to study the botanical consequences of megafauna extinctions: what happens when your core seed disperser disappears?

Key publications

• Guerra, D., A. Cabral, M. Paetzolt, ... Onstein, RE (2025). Human-Induced Downsizing of Animal Communities Weakens Trait Matching Between Tropical Plants and Frugivores. Ecology Letters 28, no. 12: e70274. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.70274.
• Alzate, A., Rozzi, R., Velasco, J.A. ... Onstein, RE (2025). Evolutionary age correlates with range size across plants and animals. Nat Commun 16, 7894 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-62124-y
• Onstein RE, Baker WJ, Couvreur TLP, Faurby S, Svenning JC, Kissling WD. (2017) Frugivory-related traits promote speciation of tropical palms. Nature Ecology & Evolution 1:1903–1911. doi: 10.1038/s41559-017-0348-7

Publications