Netherlands Annual Ecology Meeting
Held in February of each year
Since 2008 the Netherlands Ecological Research Network (NERN) organises her annual conference, the Netherlands Annual Ecology Meeting (NAEM) on the second Tuesday and Wednesday of February. This conference is particularly geared towards people working in the field of ecology and/or evolution. It aims to strengthen and profile Dutch ecological research in an (inter)national context to accordingly strengthen the ecological network.
The NAEM meeting is two full days, each day consisting of a plenary session, in which a Dutch/Flemish and an international world leader present their view on a specific topic in ecology or evolution, two sets of five parallel sessions (including more workshop-like sessions), and a poster session. Parallel sessions generally consists of 6 oral presentations, thus leading to a total of approximately 125 oral presentations. On average, about 75-100 scientific posters are presented during the meeting. On Tuesday evening, a more relaxed and thought-provoking presentation is generally scheduled.
The NAEM meeting is financially supported by the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO).
Previous Netherlands Annual Ecology Meetings (NAEM)
| Dates | Plenary speakers | # participants | # posters | Handout |
| 10 & 11 February 2026 | Josef Settele, Helmholtz Center for Environmental Research, Germany Koos Biesmeijer, Naturalis Biodiversity Center Laura Antão, University of Turku, Finland Wilco Verberk, Radboud University | 290 registered | 63 | Download |
| 11 & 12 February 2025 | Paula Kahumbu, Chief Executive Officer Wildlife Direct, Kenya Michiel Veldhuis, Leiden University Yadvinder Malhi, University of Oxford, UK Marielos Pena Claros, Wageningen University | 318 registered | 75 | Download |
| 13 & 14 February 2024 | Jens-Christian Svenning, Aarhus University, Denmark Liesje Mommer, Wageningen University Akira Mori, University of Tokyo, Japan Esther Turnhout, University of Twente | 364 registered | 108 | Download |
| 20 & 21 September 2022 | Grant Hopcraft, University of Glasgow Judy Shamoun-Baranes, University of Amsterdam Laura Govers, University of Groningen Frans Bongers, University of Oxford | 281 registered | 72 | Download |
| 9 & 10 February 2021 | No plenary keynotes this year (due to Covid-19) | 726 registered | 23 poster pitches and 70 thematic session talks | Download |
| 11 & 12 February 2020 | Henry Janzen, Lethbridge Research and Development Centre Rien Aerts, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam Tristram Wyatt, University of Oxford Astrid Groot, University of Amsterdam | 254 | 55 | Download |
| 12 & 13 February 2019 | Jens-Christian Svenning, Aarhus University Liesbeth Bakker, Netherlands Institute of Ecology Laura Airoldi, University of Bologna Tjeerd Bouma, Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research | 278 | 62 | Download |
| 13 & 14 February 2018 | Trisha B. Atwood, Utah State University Katja Poveda, Cornell University Han Olff, University of Groningen Erik Poelman, Wageningen University & Research | 278 | 54 | Download |
| 14 & 15 February 2017 | Margaret Mayfield, The University of Queensland Hanna Kokko, University of Zürich David Kleijn, Wageningen University & Research Sander van Doorn, University of Groningen | 333 | 87 | Download |
| 9 & 10 February 2016 | Peter Hudson, Penn State University Stan Harpole, Martin-Luther-Universität-Halle-Wittenberg Irene Tieleman, University of Groningen Martin Wassen, Utrecht University | 305 | 73 | Download |
| 10 & 11 February 2015 | Felix Hol, Delft University of Technology Alexandre Antonelli, University of Gothenburg Toby Kiers, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam Hans ter Steege, Naturalis Biodiversity Center | 366 | 102 | Download |
| 11 & 12 February 2014 | Yngvild Vindenes, University of Oslo Brian Silliman, Duke University André de Roos, University of Amsterdam Peter Herman, Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research | 359 | 103 | Download |
| 5 & 6 February 2013 | David Sims, University of Southampton Mary Firestone, University of California, Berkeley Johan van de Koppel, Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research George Kowalchuk, Utrecht University | 300 | 82 | Download |
| 7 & 8 February 2012 | Andrew Hendry, McGill University José M. Gómez, Universidad de Granada Luc de Meester, KU Leuven Nicole van Dam, Radboud University Nijmegen | 308 | 63 | Download |
| 8 & 9 February 2011 | Anthony Ives, University of Wisconsin Mike Begon, University of Liverpool Jacintha Ellers, VU Amsterdam Hans Heesterbeek, Utrecht University | 372 | 72 | Download |
| 9 & 10 February 2010 | Jordi Bascompte, Doñana Biological Station, Spanish Council for Scientific Research (CSIC) Sandra Diaz, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba Marten Scheffer, Wageningen University Hans Cornelissen, VU Amsterdam | 316 | 62 | Download |
| 10 & 11 February 2009 | Robert E. Ricklefs, University of Missouri Christa Schleper, University of Vienna Theunis Piersma, University of Groningen / Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research Mike Jetten, Radboud University Nijmegen | 309 | 54 | Download |
| 12 & 13 February 2008 | Steve Hubbell, University of California, Los Angeles Joan Ehrenfeld, Rutgers University Jef Huisman, University of Amsterdam Wim van der Putten, Netherlands Institute of Ecology | 285 | unknown | Download |
Symposium series "Current Themes in Ecology"
Held in Autumn of each year
Ecology has been referred to as the science of the new millennium. Many of the current environmental issues in our society, such as climate change, environmental pollution, and land use, require ecologists to analyse and solve them. However, as a scientific discipline, ecology is under pressure, partly caused by the increasing attention for novel developments in biotechnological and biomedical research. Yet, ecology is a thriving scientific discipline making enormous progress in many fields, producing exciting results and is ready for the major task to cope with current issues in the world. The symposium series Current Themes in Ecology has been founded to highlight some of the exciting developments in ecological research and bring them to the attention of a wider audience of both fundamental and applied scientists. The first Current Themes in Ecology symposium was organised in 2001. Because in the first few years, the symposium was organised twice a year, we had our 20th anniversary in 2014.
The theme of each of the Current Themes in Ecology symposia is broad, interdisciplinary, and highly contemporary. Each year, an international company of outstanding scientists are invited to focus on theory, empiricism, applications, and controversies of the topic in a coherent programme. Our aim is that those who attend will be inspired, or simply be fascinated by the latest sparkling results. The Current Themes in Ecology symposium series is supported by the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO).
Previous editions of the Current Themes in Ecology Meetings (CT)
| Dates | Title of the symposium | Handout | |
| Cancelled | CT28: Increasing Human Health: Nature as Solution
| Cancelled | |
 | 14 November 2024 | CT27: Long-term ecological research: scientific insights, challenges and opportunities | Download |
 | 17 November 2023 | CT26: Optimizing ecological structures in agricultural landscapes to enhance biodiversity | Download |
 | 28 October 2021 | CT25: Nitrogen: Past, Present and Future | Download |
 | 13 November 2019 | CT24: Biodiversity in Crisis - Perspectives on how to bend the curve | Download |
 | 29 November 2017 | CT23: Innovation in Conservation - Fundamental science as a basis for sustainable conservation | Download |
 | 24 November 2016 | CT22: Ecological Networks - Networks in Ecology | Download |
 | 19 November 2015 | CT21: Microbial Power - Impact of microbial communities: from gut to globe | Download |
 | 20 November 2014 | CT20: Biodiversity research at the crossroads - Understanding the long-term dynamics of ecosystems | Download |
 | 30 October 2013 | CT19: The future of ecosystems, Ecosystems for the future | Download |
 | 20 November 2012 | CT18: Soil, Biodiversity and Life - The contribution of soil to sustainability of life | Download |
 | 8 December 2011 | CT17: Eco-informatics - The silver bullet for ecology? | Download |
 | 24 November 2010 | CT16: Biodiversiteit - Van fascinatie tot innovatie | Download |
 | 18 September 2009 | CT15: Revolution in Evolution? Epigenetics in Ecology and Evolution | Download |
 | 7 November 2008 | CT14: Plants - insects - microbes: An ecological dance for three | Download |
 | 2 November 2007 | CT13: Polar Biodiversity, Past Present and Future | Download |
 | 13 April 2007 | CT12: Darwinian agriculture; the evolutionary ecology of agricultural symbiosis | Download |
 | 3 November 2006 | CT11: Ecological implications of adaptive behaviour | Download |
 | 19 April 2006 | CT10: Influenza Ecology and Pandemics | Download |
 | 23 November 2005 | CT9: Hot Issue - The Ecology of Temperature | Download |
 | 29 April 2005 | CT8: Ecological and Evolutionairy Genomics | Download |
 | 19 November 2004 | CT7: Biological invasions | Download |
 | 2 April 2004 | CT6: Experimental Evolution, fundamental and applied | Download |
 | 21 November 2003 | CT5: Ecology in Freshwater Management | Download |
 | 17 April 2003 | CT4: Global Ecology | Download |
 | 22 November 2002 | CT3: Spatial Ecology | Download |
 | 15 March 2002 | CT2: Biodiversity in Agricultural Landscapes | Download |
 | 5 November 2001 | CT1: Environmental genomics | Download |