@IslandEvolution profile picture
Alexandra van der Geer @IslandEvolution

island mammals | trait evolution | biodiversity dynamics | human impact | ethnozoology | researcher at @Naturalis_Sci, NWO Veni laureate #2017, PhD 2014 & 1998

Joined September 2013
  • Tweets 853
  • Following 143
  • Followers 597
92 Photos and videos
A fossil-calibrated divergence times and historical biogeography of the rare Zoraptera #tropical_insects #Pangea #ContributionsToZoology #OpenAccess here: doi.org/10.1163/18759866-bja…
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The Rapa Nui diving beetle has been rediscovered after almost 100 years – and it is rewriting its own evolutionary story. #remote_ecosystems #islandbiodiversity #Dytiscidae #EasterIsland Full story in Contributions to Zoology #OpenAccess here: lnkd.in/eBnBQsi7
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Larvae of two closely related butterflies can coexist on the same plant by using it in different ways. #nichepartitioning #Papilio #Dictamnus Full story in Contributions to Zoology #OpenAccess here: lnkd.in/eRBY7t7P
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The ISPH is back in Europe! The 8th International Symposium on Palaeohistology will take place at the Naturalis Biodiversity Center, in the quiet and charming city of Leiden (the Netherlands) from 6 to 8 July 2027. isph2027.wordpress.com/ and @isph2027.bsky.social
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Alexandra van der Geer retweeted
IslandBiologyJAPAN@IslandBiologyJ
Apr 5
🏝️ Island Biology 2026 🏝️ Early-bird registration for Island Biology 2026 is open until April 9. Photos from Island Biology 2019 in Réunion and 2023 in Lipari📸 sites.google.com/view/island…

Island Biology 2026 - Registration & Key Information

Registration & Key Information

sites.google.com
IslandBiologyJAPAN@IslandBiologyJ
Apr 5
🏝️Island Biology 2026🏝️ 島嶼生物学の国際学会、11月2-6日、熱海にて開催✨ 写真は2019年のレユニオン島大会と2023年のリーパリ島大会の様子です。 早期登録割引は4月9日までとなっております。 参加を予定している方はお早目の登録がお得です。 sites.google.com/view/island…
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Vijf voor twaalf voor baobabs op Madagaskar naturetoday.com/intl/nl/natu…

Vijf voor twaalf voor baobabs op Madagaskar

Baobabs zijn langlevende bomen. Tijdens het regenseizoen slaan ze water op in hun verdikte stam en zo kunnen ze lange droogteperiodes overbruggen. Veel soorten worden met uitsterven bedreigd door...

naturetoday.com
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Alexandra van der Geer retweeted
IslandBiologyJAPAN@IslandBiologyJ
3 Dec 2025
Island Biology 2026 Conference 2–6 Nov. 2026 ホームページ公開しました！ We’ve launched the Island Biology 2026 Conference website! 2–6 Nov. 2026 sites.google.com/view/island… #IB2026

Island Biology 2026

Important Notice

sites.google.com
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Alexandra van der Geer retweeted
Pierre Orgebin@PiedStone
3 Sep 2025
🦌🧠🏝️ So happy to share my first PhD chapter! First digital brain endocast of Hoplitomeryx matthei - a strange five-horned ruminant from Gargano paleo-island (Italy). Full study: doi.org/10.1098/rspb... #Paleontology #Paleoneurology #IslandBiogeography 1/7

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Data-rich article by Julian Schrader and team on 'Islands are key for protecting the world’s plant endemism' 🏝️🎍🌿(paywall, unfortunately) nature.com/articles/s41586-0…

Islands are key for protecting the world’s plant endemism

Nature - A standardized checklist of all known vascular plants shows the distribution of island native and endemic species, identifies their conservation status and highlights the need for actions...

nature.com
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New article by @GeorgiosLyras and Dionysia Liakopoulou: The brain of Myotragus balearicus, an insular bovid from the Balearics tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.…

The brain of Myotragus balearicus, an insular bovid from the Balearics

Myotragus balearicus is the terminal species of a Caprinae lineage that inhabited the Balearic Islands since the Messinian. Myotragus balearicus had a relatively small brain, reported to be half th...

tandfonline.com
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Proud with our newest manuscript on Irish Megaloceros giganteus: Increased incidences of cervical ribs in deer indicate extinction risk | PNAS pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.24…
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The End of an Era: Jared Diamond's ecological collapse story of Rapa Nui inhabitants nailed. Read this population genomics paper nature.com/articles/s41586-0… #Rapanui #resilience #sustainable #Polynesians

Ancient Rapanui genomes reveal resilience and pre-European contact with the Americas

Nature - An analysis of 15 ancient genomes from individuals dating to AD 1670–1950 from Rapa Nui (also known as Easter Island) addresses questions about the population history of the island.

nature.com
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Afgezonderde madeliefjes: de verbazingwekkende biodiversiteit van Asteraceae op oceanische eilanden naturetoday.com/intl/nl/natu…

Afgezonderde madeliefjes: de verbazingwekkende biodiversiteit van Asteraceae op oceanische eilanden

Uit nieuw onderzoek blijkt dat Asteraceae, de plantenfamilie van onder andere madeliefjes en zonnebloemen, de meest diverse plantengroep is op tientallen eilanden wereldwijd. De bescheiden madelief...

naturetoday.com
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excavations at Liang Bua continue... #Homo_floresiensis #dwarf_megafauna #giant_rats
Paige Madison@FossilHistory
9 Sep 2024
📍Liang Bua
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Very happy with our new book Marvels and Perils of Island Life, Evolution, Ecology and Extinction in Splendid Isolation, by Mark Lomolino and me, now available at Amazon - Kindle Direct Publishing: ISBN-13 979-8879215922 at a.co/d/hw4nr7v
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Zeldzaam fossiel onthult hoe de ‘hobbitmens’ in razend tempo kromp parool.nl/ts-b5f7e022/

Zeldzaam fossiel onthult hoe de ‘hobbitmens’ in razend tempo kromp

parool.nl
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Great article by Kaifu and colleagues on early Homo floresiensis: dwarfism evolved in about 300 thousand years. Reminds me of dwarf elephants, where we found similar rates of dwarfism 🏝️⌛️#islands #rapid_evolution nature.com/articles/s41467-0…
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Alexandra van der Geer retweeted
Paléonews@PaleonewsFrance
12 Jul 2024
The skull of the small ruminant Hoplitomeryx (Pleistocene of Italy) has such a Sauron vibe ! #fossilfriday
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well-said: "the final populations of all moa species persisted in suboptimal habitats in cold, mountainous areas that were generally last and least impacted by people". This applies to all remaining insular endemic species, not only flightless birds 😢#vulnerable #extinction_risk
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Alexandra van der Geer retweeted
Roberto Rozzi@Rozzi_Roberto
27 Jul 2024
Had a great week CT scanning insular artiodactyls at @Naturalis_Sci with @PiedStone & @IslandEvolution! Always a joy to visit these amazing collections #island #dwarfism 🏝️🐐🦌 #brain #evolution 🧠 #fossils🦴 #CTscanning 🩻 #Dubois
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