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Ecology and Evolution
Netherlands
2026

D-Index & Metrics

Ecology and Evolution

D-Index
112
Citations
54585
World Ranking
151
National Ranking
6

Research.com Recognitions

  • 2026 - Research.com Ecology and Evolution in Netherlands Leader Award
  • 2025 - Research.com Ecology and Evolution in Netherlands Leader Award
  • 2022 - Research.com Ecology and Evolution in Netherlands Leader Award
  • 2014 - Spinoza Prize, Dutch Research Council
  • 2009 - Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences

Overview

Theunis Piersma is affiliated with the University of Groningen in the Netherlands and specializes in Environmental Science with a strong emphasis on Ecology. Their research covers several key subfields including Ecology, Global and Planetary Change, Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics, Oceanography, and Nature and Landscape Conservation.

Theunis Piersma's work predominantly addresses topics related to Avian ecology and behavior, Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, Animal Behavior and Reproduction, Marine and coastal plant biology, Marine and fisheries research, Species Distribution and Climate Change, as well as Fish Ecology and Management Studies.

Frequent publication venues for Theunis Piersma include:

  • Ardea
  • Ibis
  • Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
  • SSRN Electronic Journal
  • Avian Research

Coauthor collaborations often involve the following researchers:

  • Jos C. E. W. Hooijmeijer
  • Chris J. Hassell
  • Mo A. Verhoeven
  • Allert I. Bijleveld
  • A. H. Jelle Loonstra

Recent papers by Theunis Piersma demonstrate a focus on migratory bird behavior and ecological systems. Notable publications include:

  • Pattern and predictability of potential wind assistance for waders and geese migrating from West Africa and the Wadden Sea to Siberia, 2020, Ornis Svecica
  • Mangrove-mudflat connectivity shapes benthic communities in a tropical intertidal system, 2021, Ecological Indicators
  • Age-dependent timing and routes demonstrate developmental plasticity in a long-distance migratory bird, 2021, Journal of Animal Ecology
  • Exploration speed in captivity predicts foraging tactics and diet in free-living red knots, 2021, Journal of Animal Ecology
  • Geolocators lead to better measures of timing and renesting in black-tailed godwits and reveal the bias of traditional observational methods, 2020, Journal of Avian Biology

Theunis Piersma has been recognized with several awards including the Spinoza Prize from the Dutch Research Council in 2014 and membership in the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences since 2009.

Best Publications

  • The interplay between habitat availability and population differentiation

    Yvonne Verkuil;Theunis Piersma;Joop Jukema;Leo Zwarts

  • Phenotypic flexibility and the evolution of organismal design

    Theunis Piersma;Jan Drent

  • Rapid reversible changes in organ size as a component of adaptive behaviour

    Theunis Piersma;Åke Lindström

  • Rapid population decline in red knots: fitness consequences of decreased refuelling rates and late arrival in Delaware Bay

    Allan J. Baker;Allan J. Baker;Patricia M. González;Theunis Piersma;Lawrence J. Niles

  • Extreme endurance flights by landbirds crossing the Pacific Ocean : Ecological corridor rather than barrier?

    Robert E. Gill;T. Lee Tibbitts;David C. Douglas;Colleen M. Handel

  • Rethinking China's new great wall

    Zhijun Ma;David S. Melville;Jianguo Liu;Ying Chen

  • A supergene determines highly divergent male reproductive morphs in the ruff

    Clemens Küpper;Clemens Küpper;Michael Stocks;Judith E Risse;Natalie Dos Remedios

  • HIGH-LEVELS OF ENERGY-EXPENDITURE IN SHOREBIRDS - METABOLIC ADAPTATIONS TO AN ENERGETICALLY EXPENSIVE WAY OF LIFE

    Marcel Kersten;Theunis Piersma

  • The Flexible Phenotype: A Body-Centred Integration of Ecology, Physiology, and Behaviour

    Theunis Piersma;Jan A. van Gils

  • Mass changes in migrating birds: the evidence for fat and protein storage re‐examined

    Åke Lindström;Theunis Piersma

  • Rapid Changes in the Size of Different Functional Organ and Muscle Groups during Refueling in a Long‐Distance Migrating Shorebird

    Theunis Piersma;Gudmundur A. Gudmundsson;Kristján Lilliendahl

  • Pay-offs and penalties of competing migratory schedules

    Rudi Drent;Christiaan Both;Martin Green;Jesper Madsen

  • Shorebirds: An illustrated Behavioural Ecology

    Jan van de Kam;Bruno Ens;Theunis Piersma;Leo Zwarts

  • Do global patterns of habitat use and migration strategies co-evolve with relative investments in immunocompetence due to spatial variation in parasite pressure?

    Theunis Piersma

  • Guts Don't Fly: Small Digestive Organs in Obese Bar-Tailed Godwits

    Theunis Piersma;Robert E. Gill

  • Empirical evidence for differential organ reductions during trans-oceanic bird flight

    Phil F Battley;Theunis Piersma;Maurine W Dietz;Sixian Tang

  • A Three-Stage Symbiosis Forms the Foundation of Seagrass Ecosystems

    Tjisse van der Heide;Laura L. Govers;Jimmy de Fouw;Han Olff

  • Long‐term indirect effects of mechanical cockle‐dredging on intertidal bivalve stocks in the Wadden Sea

    Theunis Piersma;Anita Koolhaas;Anne Dekinga;Jan J. Beukema

  • Travelling on a budget: predictions and ecological evidence for bottlenecks in the annual cycle of long-distance migrants

    Deborah M Buehler;Theunis Piersma

  • Waterbirds around the world

    Theunis Piersma

  • Interactions Between Stomach Structure and Diet Choice in Shorebirds

    Theunis Piersma;Anita Koolhaas;Anne Dekinga

  • Effects of microhabitat, flocking, climate and migratory goal on energy expenditure in the annual cycle of Red Knots

    Popko Wiersma;Theunis Piersma

Frequent Co-Authors

Anne Dekinga
Anne Dekinga Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research
Jan A. van Gils
Jan A. van Gils Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research
Han Olff
Han Olff University of Groningen
Tjisse van der Heide
Tjisse van der Heide Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research
Allan J. Baker
Allan J. Baker Royal Ontario Museum
Phil F. Battley
Phil F. Battley Massey University
Christiaan Both
Christiaan Both University of Groningen
Johan van de Koppel
Johan van de Koppel Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research
Åke Lindström
Åke Lindström Lund University
Henk W. van der Veer
Henk W. van der Veer Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research

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