Prof Dr Willem Renema

Research group leader, Marine biodiversity, Naturalis Biodiversity Centre, The Netherlands

Central in my research is the evolution and ecology of large benthic foraminifera. To achieve this goal, role of large benthic foraminifera in their environment. These small calcifiers are an important component of the coral reef carbonate budget, and were even more so in the past. I rely on a thorough understanding of their morphological and molecular evolution. I look at all aspects of spatial and temporal variation in the fossil record of large benthic foraminifera.

At larger scales, my interests include the origins and maintenance of marine biodiversity, including the role of turbid environments as a possible cradle and refuge for coral reefs.

I am appointed as professor of Marine Palaeodiversity at the Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics in the Ecosystems and Landscape Dynamics group.