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Researcher

Marc[us] Simon Maria Sosef

  • Keywords:B290-systematic-botany, Taxonomy, Flora, Identification, Herbarium, Botany, Central Africa, Gabon, Begonia, Poaceae, Biodiversity, tropical Africa, Pleistocene vegetation change, Climate change, Evolution, Biogeography, Biohistory
  • Users of research expertise:

    Personal research activities involve the taxonomy of African grasses, taxonomy, phylogeny and biogeography of African Begonia species, the alpha-taxonomy of Ochnaceae, the Flora of Central Africa, the Flora of Gabon, e-Floras, biodiversity assessment methods, species distribution modelling, and the theory concerning the necessity to recognize paraphyletic groups in a Linnaean classification. Furthermore, I have a keen interest in the history of the African rain forest, especially in Pleistocene forest refuges, their role in speciation processes and their implications for the effects of future climatic change on biodiversity and vegetation. Finally, I am intrigued by 17th and 18th century botanists and have also been closely involved in the digitisation of over 4 million herbarium collections, making this unique biodiversity dataset available for on-line consultation and more.

     

    Key-words: Begonia, biodiversity assessment, biogeography, biohistory, classification, climate change, digitisation, e-taxonomy, evolution, Gabon, Ochnaceae, phylogeny, Pleistocene refuges, Poaceae, speciation, species distribution modelling, systematics, taxonomy, tropical Africa.

     

    Specific skills: editing and reviewing, Flora writing and production including coordination and e-Flora development, taxonomic database BRAHMS, alpha-taxonomic research

     

    Main national and international partners:

    Prof.dr. Frans Bongers, Centre for Ecosystem Studies, Wageningen University, PO Box 47, 6700 AA Wageningen, the Netherlands.

    Prof.dr. Henri-Paul Bourobou Bourobou, IPHAMETRA, CENAREST, B.P. 842, Libreville, Gabon.

    Dr. Lars Chatrou, Biosystematics group, Wageningen University, Gen. Foulkesweg 37, 6703 BE Wageningen, the Netherlands.

    Dr. Thomas Couvreur, IRD-UMR DIADE, 911 Av. Agropolis, 34394 Montpellier, France.

    Dr. Gilles Dauby, Laboratoire d’Evolution Biologique et Ecologie, Faculté des Sciences, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Av. F.D. Roosevelt 50, 1050 Bruxelles, Belgique

    Dr. Jacques Florence, IRD-UMR OSEB & Muséum national de l’Histoire naturelle, 16 rue Buffon, Paris, France.

    Dr. Ludovic Ngok Banak, IRET, CENAREST, B.P. 842, Libreville, Gabon.

    Dr. Ingrid Parmentier, Evolutionary Biology & Ecology, Université Libre de Bruxelles, 50 Av. F. Roosevelt, 1050 Brussels, Belgium.

    Dr. Niels Raes, Naturalis Biodiversity Center (section NHN), Leiden University, P.O. Box 9514, 2300 RA Leiden, The Netherlands

    Dr. Tariq Stévart, Missouri Botanical Garden, 4344 Shaw Blvd., St. Louis, United States.

    Dr. Ronald van den Berg, Biosystematics group, Wageningen University, Gen. Foulkesweg 37, 6703 BE Wageningen, the Netherlands.

    Dr. Jan J. Wieringa, Naturalis Biodiversity Center, Biosystematics group, Wageningen University, Gen. Foulkesweg 37, 6703 BE Wageningen, the Netherlands.