Netherlands Institute for Ecology (NIOO-KNAW)


Lisette de Senerpoint Domis is an aquatic ecologist at the Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW). She is interested in how different components of human-induced global changes, such as climate warming, eutrophication, and habitat fragmentation affect species interactions. Over the years, stimulated by the urgency of the ecology crisis this planet is facing, she became more and more interested in making ecological principles operational for aquatic ecosystem management and conservation. Together with researchers from the NIOO and Wageningen University (WUR), she has initiated the Aquatic Knowledge centre Wageningen or AKWA. AKWA translates state-
of-the art fundamental scientific knowledge to encompassing solutions for the complex problems water users face in the light of fast environmental changes. Her current research spans the continuum from fundamental scientific research to applied research. Importantly, she builds on fundamental scientific insights to answer applied questions. She holds a PhD in Natural Sciences of Leiden University.
Qing Zhan is the ESR for MANTEL Project 10. Qing has a background in mathmatics and studied Ecological Engineering at the Magdeburg-Stendal University of Applied Sciences, where he focused on water quality modelling and reservoir management. In his second year, he worked as student assistant handling high-frequency monitoring data of a reservoir observatory system called RRO at the Helmholtz Central for Environmental Research, Magdeburg (UFZ). Later on, he continued his master thesis at UFZ investigating the dissolved organic carbon (DOC) dynamics in a drinking water reservoir in the Harz Mountains, Central Germany. For mitigating the DOC loading from this reservoir, he has constructed an optimization model including a decision-making module and a DOC dynamics simulation module, and then interpolated the high-frequency data into this model. Qing's reservoir operation model has been recognized with great interest in a presentation at the responsible reservoir authority (Talsperrenbetrieb Sachsen-Anhalt).


Maggie Armstrong is the ESR for MANTEL Project 11. From growing up on and around freshwater lakes systems, Maggie chose to pursue a career in environmental studies. Theoretical knowledge attained from studies at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee has been implemented in research projects worldwide. In Alaska, Maggie took part in a multi-agency preservation effort by researching and mapping anadromous fish spawning sites. Results were incorporated in a water rights application to maintain specific in-stream flow levels. During a trip to Mexico, a team study on the brackish waters of Laguna Bacalar started the system’s hydrologic database. Discussions with local citizens and groups assisted in setting up long-term
citizen science studies and implementing conservation efforts. Similar community-oriented projects were undertaken in Kenya with permaculture planning in remote villages and New Zealand with rehabilitating a field into a neighbourhood food forest.