Xenia is a third-year PhD candidate in the Resilience project. She comes from a very broad background: before starting her PhD, she first did a Bachelor’s in Psychobiology. During this Bachelor’s, she developed an interest for modelling complex biological systems, which is why she then did a Master’s in Systems Biology. Since she wanted to write her Master’s thesis on an ecological topic, she moved to the island of Texel, where she worked on modelling marine fish populations. She was immediately drawn to the RESILIENCE project because of its relevance for conserving and protecting vulnerable ecosystems. Apart from her interest in ecological models, she is also passionate about science communication.

Research Project

Xenia’s research mainly focuses on spatial models of savanna and tundra ecosystems. Spatial models are a powerful tool to study the spatial resilience of ecosystems. At the start of her PhD, Xenia was trying to find her way in the literature of spatial savanna models, which resulted in her first project: a literature review on dynamics in spatial savanna models. This review paper provides a clear overview of the properties and dynamics of published spatial savanna models. In her second project, which is a collaboration with PhD candidate Emma from Leiden University, she is studying the effects of herbivory on the stability of the savanna-forest boundary. In addition to her modelling projects, she is also doing a project on science communication, specifically focusing on the communication of positive news regarding the effects of climate change. Next to her research activities, Xenia is also a member of the RESILIENCE communications team, which focuses on communicating the outcomes of the project to a broad audience.