Dr. K.F. (Kenneth) Rijsdijk

Quaternary Geology - Island Biogeography

E-mail: rijsdijk@naturalis.nl
Phone: +31 (0)6 300 95 006
Fax: +31 (0)71 5687666

My name is Kenneth Rijsdijk (1968) and I am currently a fixed term researcher at the geology department at Naturalis. Originally educated as physical geographer my research is focussed on the dynamics of abiotic processes that shape the earth’s surface. I am especially interested in the Quaternary dynamics of landscape evolution in the North Sea and Irish Sea basins. In 2006 I was part of a team that discovered an exceptionally rich 4000 yrs old fossil mass grave in Maurtius, a volcanic island in the Indian Ocean. This mass grave contained bones of the iconic flightless bird, the dodo and more than 10 other extinct vertebrates. This discovery led to new research questions and since this discovery I have become fascinated by the role of environmental change and landscape dynamics in affecting and generating island biota and their ecosystems. I am particularly interested in 1) the role of deep time, dynamics of geodiversity and interaction with island biodiversity and 2) quantifying the impacts of humans on island ecosystems.

After the discovery with the help of Mauritian partners, I set up an international network the Dodo Research Programme that includes scientific, museum, business and NGO staff, amounting at current more than 100 persons and a rich array of disciplines (from history, socioeconomy to archaeology, geology, ecology). One of aims of the Dodo Research Programme is to utilize the iconic significance of the dodo to inform the general public about the uniqueness, urgency and need to protect vulnerable island ecosystems.

At the Institute of University of Amsterdam I lectures Earth Sciences (geology and the physics of earth sciences). Further I have helped to develop an entirely new beta-gamma Bsc. study programme Future Planet Studies, that aims to educate a new generation of scientists that are able to integrate gamma and beta science to resolve the future challenges that faces societies (climate change, depletion of natural resources, socioeconomic disruptions) http://www.iis.uva.nl/.

Affiliations

I am guest researcher and lecturer at the institute of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, Computation Geo-Ecology Group of IBED University of Amsterdam and at the GeoBiology Team of TNO.

I act as an advisory editor of the Netherlands Journal of GeoSciences.

I am a member of the: Dutch Royal Society of Mining and Geology (KNGMG), Royal Society of Geography (KNAG), UK-based Quaternary Research Association, and Dutch professional network societies Physical Geography and Sedimentology.

Lastly I am an ambassador for the advancement of beta sciences in the Netherland http://www.beta-ambassadeursnetwerk.nl.

C.V.
In 1993 I obtained an M.Sc. on Physical Geography at the University of Amsterdam. I specialised in sedimentology, alpine and (peri)glacial geomorphology. I worked for two years at the Geological Survey of the Netherlands on the Quaternary of the North Sea. In 1998 I obtained a Ph.D. at the University of Wales, Swansea, on the dynamics of the deglaciation of the Irish Sea basin 15.000 years ago. In 1999 I became employed as geologist at the Geological Survey of the Netherlands, and and worked on the Quaternary of the North Sea focussing on the Rhine Meuse depositional system. In 2005 I became involved in applied biogeological studies of microfossils in Palaeozoic rocks from the North Sea basin and North Africa. Since 2006 I am lecturing geoscience modules at the University of Amsterdam and became a guest researcher at the computation geo-ecology group. In 2008 I took up a fixed term contract with Naturalis at the Geology Department to continue research on the dodo mass grave.

Research interests

Island Biogeography, the dodo and Naturalis

Since the early 19th century Naturalis is involved in island-biogeographical research. After the discovery of the dodo-massgrave in 1864 it was Hermann Schlegel (1804-1884) second director of Naturalis, who was asked to contribute a review paper in IBIS (The International Journal of Avian Science) on the Mauritian endemic fauna including the dodo. Schlegel's paper adjoined the paper by Clark (1865) heralding the finding of a dodo mass grave (history of discovery). The dodo came back to Naturalis some 150 years later in 2005 when the dodo-massgrave was rediscovered. The dodo, in fact an icon of human induced extinction, is also one of the most famous examples of island evolution leading to giantism.

Dodo massgrave

In 2005 we discovered at MAS a several-thousands-year-old fossil layer containing fauna, flora and microfossils, including bones of the dodo (Raphus cucullatus), representing the remains of a nearly complete fossil natural ecosystem. Considering the high sub-fossil concentration and richness in composition including vertebrate bones, invertebrate remains (insects, snails) and flora remains (seeds, tree stems, branches, rootlets, leaves) the up to 0.5 m thick sub-fossil layer, extending for 0.3 km², can be considered a Concentration-Lagerstätten. It contains 50% of the known (extinct) vertebrate species and several dozens of natural and threatened or nearly extinct arboreal species. The dodo-Lagerstätten is situated within sediments that are rich in microfossils providing contextual data and hence provides a high-resolution snapshot insight in a pristine ecosystem, active several thousands year ago. See http://www.dodo-expedition.nl/ for more details and a weblog of the dig.

Ideal Island for biodiversity research

deforestation Mauritius.jpg

Deforestation of Mauritius updated by Vincent Florens university of Mauritius

The dodo-Lagerstätten and identification of natural archives elsewhere, in Mauritius provide unique conditions to reconstruct the prehuman ecosystem that may serve as a baseline for ecological restoration projects. Moreover, the late date of human colonisation of the island in 1638, and the Mauritian historical and archaeological archives, which contain a wealth of data on human activities since colonization, allow for quantitative assessment of human impact in a pristine natural volcanic island ecosystem. It provides a great opportunity for fundamental research on human impact on island ecosystem development, biodiversity changes and the extinction of species.

Quantifying and modelling human impact of the dodo-ecosystem is carried out in cooperation with the Computational Geo-Ecology Group of IBED-University of Amsterdam.

Dodo Research Programme

After the discovery of the dodo massgrave in Mauritius, comprising substantial parts of a fossil ecosystem of the dodo, in 2005 the Dodo Research Programme was established. In collaboration with Mauritian partners Omnicane, Mauritius Museums Council and Dutch partners Naturalis, IBED-UVA and TNO an international network of researchers was founded: the Dodo Research Programme (DRP) which aims to reconstruct the prehuman ecosystem and investigate the reasons of its degradation. Currently the DRP network comprises more than 50 researchers and more than 15 research institutes. The Dodo Research Programme is an international research initiative that aims to utilise the iconic status of the dodo (Raphus Cucullatus), to generate research and public awareness on the vulnerability of island biodiversity. The DRP is an initiative of the Mauritian Museums Council, Naturalis, IBED-UvA and Geological survey of the Netherlands and comprises more than 15 research institutes worldwide.

The DRP has three main aims:

Research: to reconstruct the world of the dodo and determine the factors of its demise,
Raise public awareness on the importance and vulnerability of island biodiversity,
Contribute towards the realisation of a UNESCO World Heritage Park including the dodo massgrave.

Dodo Research

Because of the richness of the massgrave many scientific disciplines are involved to resolve the research questions. We hope by understanding the ecosystem of Mauritius to contribute towards conservation and protection of threatened biota against extinction in island settings elsewhere. Our main research questions include:

How did the dodo massgrave (Concentration-Lagerstätten) form?

What conditions led to preservation of the subfossils (bones, wood, snails, insects), bone collagen and aDNA?

How did the ecosystem response to human impact?

How will the remaining ecosystem respond to future scenarios of climate change and human impact?

Public Awareness Biodiversity

The general public is still unfamilar with the vulnerability and uniqueness of island ecosystems. The DRP aims to raise public awareness by connecting the dodo with threatened island biodiversity. This is realised by museum exhibits, organisation of seminars and partaking in various initiatives involving the general public. So far two exhibits on the dodo have been realised one in Naturalis (Leiden) in cooperation with MTMD and one, realised by the Tropeninstituut, Amsterdam (coordinated by Marijke Besselink), and the Mauritius Museums Council in the National History Museum of Mauritius in Port Louis, the capital of Mauritius.

Dodo graveyard part of UNESCO World Heritage Park

The dodo massgrave is unique in its kind. It belongs to one of the most bone rich natural graves in the world, it is so far the youngest of its kind (max. 4000 years old) and it is the only one found on a volcanic island so far. Being unique in the world it merrits therefore a World Heritage status. As a UNESCO region it could be combined with other culturally important heritage sites within the Mahbourg region (SE Mauritius), including; Fort Frederik Hendrik (the location of first human settlement of Mauritius), Isles aux Aigrettes (where the original ecosystem is being restored by Mauritian Wildlife), and also it is the bay where Napoleon Bonaparte's fleet was defeated in 1810 and therefore includes a rich and unique marine archeology.

Discovery in the World Press

Holden C. 2006. World of the Dodo. Science 311: 155.

Nicolls, H., 2006. Digging for dodo. Nature 443, 138-140.

Parker I. 2006. Letter from Mauritius: digging for dodos – hunting an extinct bird. New Yorker Magazine.

Roth S. 2006. Graveyard of the dodos. National Geographic Magazine, August.

Kleeman E. 2006. No# 85. Paleontology. Dodos lost world resurrected. Special issue Top 100 science stories of 2006. Discover Magazine.

Zimmer C. 2006. Newfound Island graveyard may yield clues to dodo life long ago. New York Times.

Publications

Dodo and island ecosystems

K.F. Rijsdijk, J. P. Hume, F. Bunnik, V. Florens, C. Baider, B. Shapiro, J. van der Plicht, A. Janoo, O. Griffiths, L. W. van den Hoek Ostende, H. Cremer, T. Vernimmen, P. De Louw, A. Bholah, S. Saumtally, N. Porch, J. Haile, M. Buckley, M. Collins, E. Gittenberger. 2009. Middle-Holocene Concentration-Lagerstätte on oceanic island Mauritius provides a window into the ecosystem of the dodo (Raphus cucullatus). Quaternary Science Reviews. 21: 14-24.

M. Buckley, A. Walker, S.Y.W. Ho, Y. Yang, C. Smith, P. Ashton, J. Thomas Oates, E. Cappellini, H. Koon, K. Penkman, B. Elsworth, D. Ashford, C. Solazzo, P. Andrews, J. Strahler, B. Shapiro, P. Ostrom, H. Gandhi, W. Miller, B. Raney, M.I. Zylber, M. T. P. Gilbert, R.V. Prigodich, M. Ryan, K.F. Rijsdijk, A. Janoo, and M.J. Collins. 2008. Comment on Protein Sequences from Mastodon and Tyrannosaurus rex Revealed by Mass Spectrometry. Science. 319, 5859

Rijsdijk K.F. & Janoo A. (Guest Editors) 2008. Darwin, the dodo and island-biodiversity. Proceedings of the 4th Dodo Research Programme – Treub Society – Naturalis seminar May 2007. Nieuwsbrief Maatschappij voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek in de tropen (Treub-Maatschappij). 11: 1-12. (abstracts).

De Louw P. and Rijsdijk K.F. 2008. The Dodo-Polder (The Hydrology of Mare aux Songes, Mauritius). Stromingen. 13: 5-22.

Posters

Rijsdijk K.F, Zinke J., and Van der Plicht H. 2009. Mid-Holocene natural vertebrate mass mortality induced by climatic extremes? Darwin symposium 2009 Evolutionary islands. (poster)

Rijsdijk K.F. 2009. Past and future dynamics of a oceanic island ecosystem (Mauritius): From prehuman fossil baseline towards future scenario testing. Dutch Ecological Research Network NERN Annual Meeting. (poster)

Rijsdijk K.F., Hooghiemstra H., Hume J., de Louw P., van Loon E. 2008. The dodo (Raphus cucullatus) icon of extinction or rather icon of high resilience? Poster. Netherlands Ecological Research Network NERN Annual Meeting. (poster)

Related MSc BSc reports / projects

The Dodo Research Programme is keen to facilitate student research projects that lead to a better understanding of the dodo ecosystem or that contribute to the dessimination of knowledge gained. Please contact me to inform whether there are vacancies for student projects.r

Bohn von Ochsee R. ongoing. The ecology of omphalotropis sp. Naturalis, Leiden. Msc. study. (Schilthuizen, Rijsdijk, de Winter supervisors).

Gill A. ongoing. Inventory and analysis of insular vertebrates at Mare aux Songes, Mauritius. Naturalis, Leiden. Msc. study. (de Vos, Meijer supervisors).

Norder S. ongoing. Sustainable island futures. Bsc. study. University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam. (Dietz, Rijsdijk, Seijmonsbergen supervisors)

Brinkemper J. ongoing. The hydrology of volcanic islands and the Mare aux Songes. Msc study. University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam. Joint project with Deltares. (Bouten, Rijsdijk & de Louw supervisors)

Aarts D. ongoing. Reconstructing the song of the dodo Raphus cucullatus and the solitaire Pezophaps solitaria - a feasibility study. Msc. study, Behavior Biology, Leiden (ten Cate and de Kort supervisors)

Gill A. 2009. Did the Dutch eat the dodo? The bone material of Fort Frederik Hendrik. Unpublished Msc report, Master track animal biology. University of Leiden, Leiden. (de Vos and Gittenberger supervisors)

Kamminga T. 2008. Vulnerability modelling to assess and predict landuse change; a case study of the island of Mauritius. Unpublished MSc thesis. University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam. (Seijmonsbergen & Rijsdijk supervisors)

Gallero J. 2007. A first approach to a groundwater model for Mauritius island. Unpublished MSc Report for Msc Course Modelling Geoecological Systems. University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam. (Bouten supervisor)

Van Heteren A. 2007. Doddle of the dodo. Assessing abiotic, biotic, temporal and spatial factors affecting morphology within insular populations of Columbiformes including the dodo Raphus cucullatus. Unpublished MSc Thesis. University of Utrecht. (de Vos & Reumer supervisors)

Bohncke C., van Dam B. and de Boer E. 2007 Reconstructing the World of the Dodo A pilot-study of macrofossils from Mauritius. Unpublished BSc. Thesis. University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam. (Hooghiemstra & van Geel supervisors)

Glacial Dynamics

Still the interpretation of glacial sediments is controversial, unlike fluvial sedimentology, there are no watertight criteria established that allow reconstructing depositional processes from glacial sediments. Together with my partners I work on establishing multiple criteria that allow for discrimination between depositional processes. These criteria are founded in proces based knowledge. Three realisations are crucial here: 1) Structural geological assessment is essential, diamicts interpreted without structural context are questionable. 2) Microscopic analysis of diamicts are crucial especially when working with bore hole data: macroscopically massive units reveal microstructural signatures that reflect depositional regimes. 3) What is currently hard, may have been soft in the past. The latter is not zenbudism, it is the realisation that glacial diamictons are rheologically dynamic. Subglacial rheological dynamics is illustrated in Rijsdijk et al. (1999). In Rijsdijk (2001) the best example I came accross of (proglacial) diamictons showing large scale soft sediment deformation is presented.

Rijsdijk K.F., Warren W.P and Van der Meer J.J.M. accepted. The deglacial sequence at Killiney, SE Ireland: terrestrial sedimentation and glaciotectonics. Quaternary Science Reviews.

Hiemstra J., Rijsdijk K.F., Shakesby R. A., McCarroll D. 2009. Reinterpreting Rotherslade, Gower Peninsula: implications for Last Glacial ice limits and Quaternary stratigraphy of the British Isles. Journal of Quaternary Science. 24, 399-410.

Passchier S., Laban C., Mesdag, C.S., Rijsdijk K.F. accepted. Transient character of subglacial bed conditions during late Pleistocene glaciations and their effect on ice dynamics in the southern North Sea. Boreas.

Hiemstra J., Rijsdijk K.F., van der Meer J.J.M., and Evans D., 2005. Reconstructing glacial environments using combined microscale and macroscale analyses of glacial sediments: Traeth y Mwnt and Abermawr, Wales, UK. Boreas. 34, 61-74.

McCarroll D. and Rijsdijk K.F., 2003. Deformation styles as a key for interpreting glacial depositional environments. Journal of Quaternary Science. 18, 473 – 489.

Hiemstra J. and Rijsdijk K.F., 2003. Observing artificially induced strain: consequences for subglacial deformation. Journal of Quaternary Science. 18, 373 - 383.

McCarroll D., Knight J., and Rijsdijk K.F., 2002 (Guest Editors). Editorial special issue: The glaciation of the Irish Sea Basin. Journal of Quaternary Science. 16, 391 - 392.

Rijsdijk K.F., 2001. Density driven deformation in consolidated glacial diamicts: Examples from Traeth y Mwnt, Cardiganshire, Wales. Sedimentary Research. 71, 122 - 135.

Hindmarsh R.C.A. and Rijsdijk K.F., 2000. Use of a viscous model of till rheology to describe gravitational loading instabilities in glacial sediments. In: Deformation of Glacial Materials. Eds. Maltman A. J., Hubbard B. and Hambrey M. J. Geological Society Special Publication. 176, 191 - 201.

Rijsdijk K. F., McCarroll D., Owen G., van der Meer J.J.M., and Warren W. P., 1999. Clastic dykes in glacigenic diamicts: Evidence for subglacial hydrofracturing from Killiney Bay, Ireland. Sedimentary Geology. 129. 111-126.

Rijsdijk K.F. and McCarroll D. 2001. Abermawr. In: The Quaternary of west-Wales, Field guide. Eds. Walker M.J.C.and McCarroll D. Quaternary Research Association. 32 – 38.

Rijsdijk K.F. and McCarroll D. 2001. Traeth y Mwnt. In: The Quaternary of west-Wales, Field guide. Eds. Walker M.J.C. and McCarroll D. Quaternary Research Association. 57 – 60.

Rijsdijk K.F. 2000. Reconstructing the Late Devensian (20-14 ka BP) deglaciation history of the southern Irish Sea Basin: Testing of competing hypotheses. Unpublished Ph.D. thesis. 400 pp.

McCarroll D. and Rijsdijk K.F., 2000. Interpreting Quaternary deposits using a deductive approach. Teaching Earth Sciences. 25, 183-185.

North Sea Basin and Stratigraphy

An integrated view on the Quaternary evolution of the North Sea basin in relation with paleontology and archeology is still lacking. Fundamental in its deeper understanding is insight in the 3D architecture of the fluvial, marine and glacial sequences and their connections with onshore stratigraphy units. Following four years of internal studies at the Geological Survey of the Netherlands an integration of land and sea stratigraphy for the Cainozoic was realised (Rijsdijk et al. 2005). Between 2001 and 2006 detailed mapping the southern region of the North Sea included the analyses of ca. 500 new boreholes (25 m -MSL) and high resolution shallow seismic records. We combined the stratigraphic insights with paleontological data, in particularly of molluscs by Ton Meijer (Naturalis) and geophysical based subsidence models by Ingrid Kroon (TNO). This provided new insights in the depositional histories of the Middle to Upper Pleistocene Rhine Meuse in the North Sea basin (Rijsdijk, Kroon. Meijer et al. under revision).

Rijsdijk K.F., Kroon I.C., Meijer T., Passchier S., Van Dijk T.A.G.P., Bunnik F. and Janse A.C. under revision. Fluvial depositional response to long term tectonic and shorter term base level changes: the Pleistocene Rhine Meuse fluvial sequence, North Sea. Journal of Quaternary Science.

Rijsdijk K.F., Passchier S., Weerts H.T.J., Laban C., van Leeuwen R.T.E., and Ebbing J., 2005. Revised Upper Cainozoic stratigraphy of the Dutch sector of the North Sea basin: Integrated lithostratigraphic, seismostratigraphic and allostratigraphic approach. The Netherlands Journal of Geo-Science. 84, 129-146.

Passchier S., Rijsdijk K.F., and Laban C. (Guest Editors), 2005. Editorial special issue: To-wards an integrated Land Sea stratigraphy of North Western Europe. The Netherlands Journal of Geo-Science. 84, 59-60.

Weerts H.J.T., Westerhoff W.E., Cleveringa P., Bierkens, M.F.P., Veldkamp J.G., and Rijsdijk K.F., 2005. Quaternary geological mapping of the lowlands of The Netherlands, a 21st. century perspective. Quaternary International. 33, 159-178.

Laban C. and Rijsdijk K.F., 2001, Rhine-Meuse delta’s in the North Sea basin. Grondboor and Hamer. 56, 60-65 (in Dutch).

Miscelaneous Earth Science

Laurs B.M., Zwaan J.C. (Hanco), Breeding M., Simmons, W.B. (Skip), Beaton D., Rijsdijk K.F., Befi R., Falster A.U. 2008. Copper-bearing (Paraiba-type) Tourmaline from Mozambique. Gems and Gemology. 44, 4-30. (This paper received the "Dr. Edward J. Gübeling Most Valuable Article Award 2008 First Place!")

Sunday, February 14, 2010 author: Kenneth Rijsdijk