Jeffrey Jacobs
PhD student
Master of science: evolutie en gedrags-biologie
Joined the group in August 2019
Research project: Biodiversity on urban green roofs: a focus on macro-invertebrates.
My research focuses on assessing the biodiversity on green roofs. Green roofs have potential for providing substantial habitat to plants, birds, and arthropod species that are not well supported by other urban habitats. Whereas the plants on a typical green roof are chosen and planted by people, the arthropods that colonize it can serve as an indicator of the ability of this novel habitat to support a diverse community of organisms.
We’re currently investigating multiple green roofs in the city of Antwerp and focussing on the macro-invertebrates that live on them. Further on in our study we want to compare our results from the roofs with urban green spaces to see if the green roofs can really compensate for the loss of green space in an urbanizing world. We hope that by doing so we can derive main principles regarding the design of green roofs with the aim of maximizing their macro-invertebrate biodiversity.
My favorite quote: “If you think you are too small to make a difference, try sleeping with a mosquito” – Dalai Lama