PhD in Biodiversity & Biological Pest Control – Wageningen University

Key details

• Host institution: Wageningen University & Research
• Location: Wageningen University & Research, Droevendaalsesteeg, Wageningen, Netherlands
• Application deadline: July 31, 2026

Funding

Not funded by a EU programme

Funding level (from listing): partial or not via EU framework — confirm on the official call.

How to apply

• Apply by email to [email protected] (subject line and attachments per the official instructions).
• Full vacancy text and updates: Euraxess listing.

About the position

We are seeking a motivated PhD candidate to contribute to the transition toward nature-inclusive agriculture and horticulture, with a focus on biodiversity, ecosystem services, and biological pest control. You will join the NWO-KIC project RISE – Resilient Integrated Systems for Ecosystem restoration, co-developing an interactive spatial decision-support framework for agrifood transitions within an interdisciplinary team of four PhD candidates. This role involves close collaboration with farmers, growers, and societal stakeholders.

Project Overview

Biodiversity restoration in agriculture and horticulture is urgently needed but difficult to realize in practice due to complex systems involving value chains, regional communities, regulatory environments, ecological landscapes, and business models that often prioritize short-term productivity. RISE addresses this challenge by developing systems-based tools and implementation pathways for nature-inclusive decisions that are ecologically meaningful, economically viable, and socially supported. The project involves Eindhoven University of Technology, Wageningen University & Research, Leiden University, and Inholland University of Applied Sciences, alongside a broad network of societal partners. Work focuses on two regional case areas: Oostland Zuid-Holland (greenhouse horticulture) and Reusel-Zuid (open-field agriculture), with a third region on tree-nursing for validation and replication.

Your PhD Project

Hosted by Wageningen University & Research within the Laboratory of Entomology and the crop protection team of the Greenhouse Unit in Bleiswijk, this project focuses on biodiversity monitoring and biological pest control as an ecosystem service. You will study how biodiversity implementation in the two case areas relates to biological pest control, validate key performance indicators, design biodiversity heat maps, identify key indicator species, set up field and greenhouse experiments, conduct molecular gut content analyses of key predators, and assess biological control capacity with sentinel prey.

Your Duties and Responsibilities

• Develop, implement, and evaluate innovative methods for biodiversity and ecosystem services monitoring
• Conduct field and greenhouse studies to validate ecosystem services of input key performance indicators
• Study how functional diversity can enhance biological pest control
• Contribute to collaborative scenario development and implementation roadmaps for nature-inclusive agrifood systems
• Publish high-quality academic papers on topics such as functional ecology, biological pest control, collaborative innovation for biodiversity restoration, and business viability of nature-inclusive transition pathways, sometimes in collaboration with other RISE PhDs

Your Work Environment

You will work within the entomology team at the expertise centre for Greenhouse Horticulture of Wageningen Research in Bleiswijk, supervised by Prof. Gerben Messelink as promotor. The research is embedded within the Laboratory of Entomology, led by Prof. Bregje Wertheim. You will collaborate closely with other RISE PhD candidates focusing on spatial system mapping, decision-support design, and ecological indicators. Cross-university supervision includes Prof. Bige Tunçer and Dr. Ershad Sarabi Shahryar from TU/e Built, and Prof. Peter van Bodegom from Leiden University. You will also be embedded in the PE&RC graduate school, offering a wide variety of training courses and academic support.