Title Promoter Affiliations Abstract "Can cooperative breeding buffer the impacts of habitat fragmentation?" "Luc Lens" Biology "In cooperative breeding species some individuals forego to breed independently and help raising offspring that are not their own. Whether and how facultative cooperative breeders may adaptively respond to population fragmentation remains poorly understood. We will investigate this question in an afro-tropical bird, Phyllastrephus placidus, in three different fragmented forest archipelagos located within the Eastern Arc Mountains biodiversity hotspot." "Effects of Afrotropical rainforest fragmentation on life-history strategies in a cooperative breeding bird." "Luc Lens" Biology "We will study how territory quality, habitat fragmentation and isolation shape reproductive, dispersal, settlement, and territorial strategies in fragmented populations of a tropical, cooperative breeder. Hypotheses will be tested by non-invasive measures and samples, field experiments, behavioral observations and a population model that tests how environmental quality and cooperation drive the joint evolution of sex-specific dispersal distance and timing." "Effects of Afrotropical rainforest fragmentation on lifehistory strategies in a cooperative breeding bird." "Erik Matthysen" "Evolutionary ecology group (EVECO)" "We will study how the combination of territory quality, habitat fragmentation and isolation shape reproductive, dispersal, settlement, and territorial strategies in fragmented populations of a tropical, cooperative breeding bird species." "Year-round sociality under anthropogenic change in a cooperatively breeding bird" "Luc Lens" Biology "Global change challenges biodiversity worldwide, and the ability of species to respond to rapid environmental shifts is of major concern in current biology. Yet, it remains poorly understood how effects of anthropogenic change, such as large-scale habitat fragmentation and climate change, impact sociality in animals. So far, an overwhelming majority of studies focused on the breeding season, while the non-breeding season is believed to represent the most critical period in balancing costs and benefits of sociality year-round. In this project, I aim to predict how anthropogenic change shapes broad patterns of sociality based on a fine-grained understanding of the drivers underlying year-round sociality. As model system, I will study a cooperatively-breeding songbird (placid greenbul, Phyllastrephus placidus) inhabiting the fragmented cloud forest archipelago of the Eastern Arc Mountains biodiversity hotspot. Building on a unique long-term dataset, this project will combine state-of-the-art high-resolution animal tracking, statistical and predictive modelling, and a region-wide survey to address the following objectives: (i) to model large-scale habitat suitability in relation to habitat fragmentation and climatic conditions, (ii) to assess the role of spatio-temporal variation in habitat suitability in shaping sociality year-round, and (iii) to predict large-scale patterns of sociality under anthropogenic change." "An Evo-Devo perspective on reproductive division of labour in wasps" "Tom Wenseleers" "Ecology, Evolution and Biodiversity Conservation, Universidade de Ribeirão Preto (UNAERP)" "The evolution of sociality in insects is an example of a so-called “major transition in evolution”, whereby previously solitary breeding insects went on to live in social groups. The question of what ancestral reproductive ground plans (RGPs) from solitary breeding insects have been co-opted in the evolution of their social behaviour is a topic of active study. Earlier, we have shown that conserved queen signals help to regulate the reproductive division of labour of insect societies and found that queen fertility and queen signal production can be under shared juvenile hormone (JH) control. In line with the RGP hypothesis, this shows that queen signals likely evolved from fertility cues produced as a byproduct of the ovarian cycle and associated hormone cycles of presocial insects. Likewise, patterns of division of labour among the workers, such as the nurse-forager transition, have sometimes been shown to be under JH control and were suggested to correspond to the multiple roles that JH may have played in regulating the behaviour of presocial ancestors. This “splitfunction hypothesis”, however, is as yet controversial, as it is also possible that this secondary function of JH was a later evolutionary innovation specific to social insects (“the novel function hypothesis”). Using a comparative analysis of Belgian and Neotropical wasps of different degree of sociality, the present project will test these two competing hypotheses on the origin of social behaviour in insects." "Automated Open Precision Farming Platform (Utopia)" "Steve Vanlanduit" "Industrial Vision Lab (InViLab)" "Precision-farming needs large-scale adoption to increase production at such a level that it significantly contributes to minimizing the gap between actual and required world-production of food. Increasing the measurement and actuation intervals of e.g. monitoring for pests and watering are expected to contribute to e.g. increased yields. Sensing is an important element to quantify productivity, product quality and to make decisions. Applications, such as mapping, surveillance, exploration and precision agriculture, require a reliable platform for remote sensing. In precision agriculture, the goal is to gather and analyze information about the variability of soil/water and plant conditions in order to maximize the efficiency of the farm field. This would also increase the burden on the farmer, as the measurement-time and data-processing time increases significantly. This can be mitigated with Automated (cooperative) Precision Farming with the use of autonomous driving vehicles, vessels, drones and dedicated installations mounted on regular agri-machinery. For the cooperative robotic missions, the data will be tagged with accurate position information and merged with other data in order to create a digital map. To achieve good performance for an intelligent system in autonomous navigation tasks we will also build a 3D world model which will be integrated with a digital twin at plant level in order to improve the local path such that we obtain accurate information. To integrate the data from heterogeneous sensors, a platform will be developed to determine the practicality of the available sensors for the optimization of the spatio-temporal interpolation. This project will focus on a single (standardized) platform where (robotic)paths, monitoring strategies can be set and the drones/USV's/AGV's automatically deployed when certain conditions are met. The measurement data will be available for different stakeholders in the same platform." "Sustainable vanilla provision using crop wild relatives in a joint land sparing / land sharing approach" "Bart Muys" "Forest, Nature and Landscape" "The vanilla sector faces several challenges that negatively affect its stable supply. Domestication bottlenecks, vegetative propagation, and manual pollination instigated a strong genetic erosion in the crop species Vanilla planifolia. Moreover, practices involving intense monocultures and supply chains with asymmetrical revenue partition further exacerbate the vulnerability of this sector. The Neotropics host several Vanilla crop wild relatives (CWRs). Alike the closely related V. planifola, Vanilla CWRs produce fragrant fruits, better known as beans or pods. Furthermore, they hold untapped diversity for potential use in crop improvement and breeding, yet, are threatened by extinction. There is an urgent need to protect these Vanilla species, and simultaneously evaluate their possible contribution to counteract the abovementioned production problems. This PhD thesis aimed at providing initial insights into the use of Vanilla CWRs within an approach that endeavors a joint effort of (a) the conservation of the natural habitat of Vanilla CWRs and their associated pollen and seed dispersers, and (b) the sustainable cultivation of the vanilla spice in agroforestry systems surrounding these protected areas, promoting the integration of promising Vanilla CWRs and natural pollinators. We define this as the Vanilla land sparing/sharing (SPASHA) approach, whereby the produced vanilla beans are ideally traded via direct supply chains that involve organized farmer groups and responsible businesses. We conducted an interdisciplinary study to explore the application potential of the proposed Vanilla SPASHA approach within our study region Área de Conservación Osa (ACOSA) – a biodiversity hotspot in southwest Costa Rica holding several Vanilla CWR populations. As such, this PhD implemented four work packages to acquire information on the distribution patterns, pollination mechanisms, and cultivation potential of Vanilla CWR’s, as well as on the perceptions of the vanilla supply chain members towards the proposed innovations.In the first work package (Chapter 2), we applied species distribution modelling to provide spatially explicit recommendations for the implementation of the Vanilla SPASHA approach in ACOSA. The maps, modelled at the extent of Costa Rica, showed interspecific variation in suitability, most likely influenced by species-specific functional plant traits or certain biotic interactions. ACOSA proved highly suitable for the four modelled CWRs, and suitability maps were overlaid with land use maps to define (a) low- and high-priority conservation areas, i.e. forested areas respectively with or without protection status, both with high Vanilla suitability, and (b) potential cultivation areas, i.e. fallow and degraded lands that could be reforested with the integration of promising Vanilla CWRs, or existing agricultural lands that could be transformed to agroforestry systems with vanilla as an (additional) cash crop. In this context, cultivation areas may serve as biological corridors between the protected areas, encouraging the exchange of ecosystem services between forest and farmland. The spatially explicit recommendations resulting from this study fit within the scope of the National Bio-Corridor program that seeks to develop sustainable land use practices within the corridor network.In the second work package (Chapters 3 and 4), we assessed the potential integration of natural pollinators within vanilla cultivation systems, as an alternative to the widely applied manual pollination technique. We identified pollinators and pollination mechanisms, examined pollinator habitat requirements, and evaluated natural fruit set. We found that Vanilla pompona is pollinated by Eulaema cingulata, and displays a dual pollinator attraction mechanism that combines floral fragrance rewards with food deception to induce pollen removal. Vanilla hartii rewards its floral visitors with sucrose-rich nectar, and is pollinated by Euglossa species that morphologically fit with the flowers. Combining our results with an in-depth literature review, we presume that all the Neotropical fragrant Vanilla CWRs are pollinated by Euglossini, with the latter demonstrating specific habitat requirements. Overall, the low natural fruit set, even of nectar-rewarding Vanilla species, favours the continuation of manual over natural pollination. Yet, we highly encourage the development of agro-ecological landscapes that consist of Euglossini-friendly vanilla cultivation systems surrounding Euglossini refuges (i.e. intact forests), whereby vanilla beans produced in these landscapes could be certified and sold at specialty markets.In the third work package (Chapter 5), we obtained insights into the cultivation potential of the four modelled Vanilla CWRs. We established experimental field sites in both forested lands and existing agro-systems (i.e. cacao plantations) available in ACOSA, and developed models that predict the measured plant performance traits with Vanilla species (the four CWRs, a commercially-used hybrid, and the crop species V. planifolia), land use system, and several environmental variables. The hybrid and CWRs outperformed V. planifolia in terms of vitality, whereas the latter and the hybrid had the highest growth rate. The performance of each species, however, depended on land use system and light intensity, enabling us to identify species-specific preferences. Disease-suppressive and growth-promoting bacteria positively affected vanilla plant survival, vitality, and growth. Moreover, we observed significant effects of certain soil chemical variables and functional tutor tree traits on vanilla plant performance – emphasizing the important interactions between the vanilla orchid and its environment. Additionally, the quantified aromatic potential of the beans of the different Vanilla species demonstrates possibilities for market diversification. Our results demonstrate potential for the inclusion of Vanilla CWRs in cultivation systems that mimic their natural habitat. Yet, an evaluation of the feasibility (e.g. labour, production, revenues) of these systems within the proposed SPASHA approach is highly required, alongside further research on the spatial arrangement and associated management of the different Vanilla species and the other, additional crops (e.g. cacao).In the last work package (Chapter 6), we carried out a discrete choice experiment with 186 farmers living in ACOSA, to better understand the perspectives of the supply chain members towards innovations within the vanilla sector. Combining our results with a study on market preferences, we see great value in the development of a supply chain between (a) farmers willing to form part of a vanilla cooperative and interested in agro-ecological practices involving Vanilla CWRs, natural pollinators, and agroforestry, and (b) responsible businesses seeking sustainable vanilla sourcing and market diversification. In this context, farmer cooperatives will most likely play a central role in capacity building, farmer organization, and the provision of market outlets.In conclusion, we provide insights into possible measures that could contribute to the mitigation of the identified production and socio-economic problems within the vanilla sector; by probing the potential of a strategy that combines the conservation and sustainable cultivation of Vanilla CWRs. We combined the data acquired from the four work packages and developed a practical scheme for the implementation of the case-specific Vanilla SPASHA approach in ACOSA – an approach that coincides with the national land use policies for this biodiversity hotspot as well as the perceptions of a large part of the questioned farmers. Yet, further evaluation of this approach in terms of production feasibility, biodiversity conservation, and market integration of new vanilla varieties is highly required." "The evolution of caste plasticity and caste dimorphism in insect societies." "Tom Wenseleers" "Ecology, Evolution and Biodiversity Conservation" "The evolution of sociality in ants, bees and wasps is a prime example of a major transition in evolution, where individuals went to live in societies characterised by the presence of an advanced reproductive division of labour. In primitively eusocial species, the allocation to reproductive and nonreproductive roles in the colony is highly plastic, while in more advanced eusocial species, the queen and worker castes are morphologically distinct. Recently, it was shown that the caste plasticity in a primitively eusocial ant species showed reversible changes in brain volume in function of reproductive role, with breeding females reducing their brain size to allow for an increased investment in egg production. In the present project, we will study the occurrence of such caste plasticity in function of reproductive role across a wider range of primitively and advanced eusocial temperate and Neotropical ants, bees and wasps using a combination of state-of-the-art genomic, light sheet fluorescence microscopy (LSFM) brain imaging and behavioural experiments. This will allow us to study shifting patterns in the evolution of behavioural plasticity in eusocial insects, including possible tissue trade-offs and changes in the modularity in brain gene expression patterns. In addition, we will study how pre-existing gene regulatory ground plans in primitively eusocial wasps could have laid the basis for the evolution of morphologically defined castes in advanced eusocial wasps." "Sabbatical Filip De Beule: Hybrid Organizations, The Next Chapter in Sustainable Business: A Comparative Institutional Study" "Filip De Beule" "Department of Management, Strategy and Innovation (main work address Antwerp)" "Across the globe, hybrid organizations have attracted increased interest from practitioners and policymakers, but also from the academic world. Hybrid organizations, like social enterprises and cooperatives, set up in response to market failures in communities, are delivering innovative solutions to persistent social and environmental challenges. This new breed of organizations has taken a more business-oriented approach to tackling social and environmental problems. Although their company registration may vary according to country, they typically have a declared social mission, generate an income and are accountable to the communities they serve. This new hybrid form of organization is demonstrating ways to compete not only on the quality of goods and services, but also on the ability to effect positive social and environmental change. The business models these organizations employ blur the boundary between for-profit and nonprofit worlds. Hybrid organizations can exist on either side of the for-profit/nonprofit divide; blurring this boundary by adopting social and environmental missions like nonprofits, but generating income to accomplish their mission like for-profits. Hybrids are built on the assertion that neither traditional for-profit or nonprofit models adequately address the social and environmental problems we currently face. Entrepreneurs of hybrids therefore seek to build viable organizations and markets to address specific social and environmental issues. Hybrid organizations are underpinned by a new and growing demographic of individuals who place a higher value on healthy living, environmental and social justice, and ecological sustainability in the products and services they purchase, the companies in which they invest, the politicians and policies they support, the companies for which they work and, ultimately, the lifestyles they lead. Through this research, together with international colleagues, I plan to analyze and discuss the distinctive characteristics of the hybrid business model, both conceptually and in practice. We will also discuss ways in which hybrids are driving towards the alteration of long-held business norms and conceptions of the role of the firm in society, and are advancing a new meaning of corporate sustainability. Finally, we discuss the challenges that hybrid organizations face in accomplishing their social change imperative. The proposed research has two objectives: (a) To understand the nature and scope of hybrid organizations that work on global commons or public goods in different institutional environments; (b) Based on the field data, and case studies, and the extant literature, build new theories on hybrid organizations, commons, and public goods." "Exploration of genetic diversity, drought tolerance and Fusarium resistance of wild bananas in Vietnam." "Rony Swennen" "Crop Biotechnics, Plantentuin Meise" "Bananas accommodate the fourth most important global food commodity grown in more than 130 countries in tropical and subtropical regions. Global climate change and the everlasting demand to feed a continuously growing world population puts an increasing pressure on banana breeding and cultivation. In an era of globalization and climate change, it is important that novel and superior alleles are identified and conserved from wild relatives of agricultural crops such as bananas since they hold the key to disease resistance and important responses to abiotic stresses such as water deficit. Northern Indo-Burma, incl. northern Vietnam, is the centre of origin and an evolutionary hotspot of the genus Musa, as a whole, and of one of the ancestors of the edible bananas - M. balbisiana, in particular. The species rich Vietnamese forests do not only provide important ecosystem services, they are also valuable repositories of M. balbisiana genetic resources. The aim of this project is (1) to map Musa genetic resources of Vietnamese origin already available in ex-situ conservation programs, using gap analysis, (2) to gain insight in the distribution of genetic diversity of M. balbisiana using state-of-the-art high throughput sequencing techniques, and to link genetic diversity with (3) drought tolerance and (4) Fusarium wilt resistance. An important aspect consists of knowledge exchange and capacity building between Flemish and Vietnamese partners, each with their unique sets of skills."