Van der Kooi, Dr Casper

Casper van der Kooi studied Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Groningen, after which he obtained his first PhD in Biopsychics and Plant Physiology and his second in Evolutionary Biology. His first dissertation was on flower colour, aided by methods from optics and botany. His second one was on the evolution of reproductive systems of insects. Van der Kooi is currently a researcher at the Faculty of Science and Engineering. In his research, he studies how flowers gain their colours and how these colours have evolved in the eyes of the animals that look at them. Blooming plants are pollinated by a diverse group of animals that see the world in different ways. If plants are to propagate, their flowers have to be attractive for pollinators while remaining unattractive to other animals, maintaining an optimal temperature, and maximizing their propagation results. All in all, this leads to a range of (often contradictory) selection conditions for plants and pollinators. Van der Kooi uses biophysics to study the optical and thermal characteristics of flowers and to then place these within the evolutionary context of animals’ visual capacities and reproductive biology.

Since 2020, he has been a member of Young Academy Groningen, a club for the most talented, enthusiastic, and ambitious young researchers at the University. In 2024, Van der Kooi received the Heineken Young Scientists Award. The jury indicates that, by combining physics and biology, he crosses scientific boundaries which makes his work unique. The jury also praised him for his role in social debate. A frequent guest on radio, TV and in newspapers, he makes biodiversity issues debatable.

From red poppy to shiny beetle: how does color work? - Casper van der Kooi

Hoe krijgen bloemen hun kleuren - en waarom? | Casper van der Kooi

New Young Academy Groningen member 2020 - Casper van der Kooi, Faculty of Science and Engineering

Casper van der Kooi nominated for New Science Scientific Talent 2023

Previously in the news

Ecologist warns for 'exotic' free-riders: 'We are disrupting the natural dynamic' (in Dutch)

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Publications

2024

Sosa Espinosa, J., Stavenga, D. G., van der Kooi, C. J., & Giraldo, M. A. (2024). Morpho butterfly flashiness crucially depends on wing scale curvature. Biology Letters, 20(11), 20240358. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2024.0358

Fan, X.-Q., Trunschke, J., Ren, Z.-X., Wang, H., Pyke, G. H., van der Kooi, C. J., & Lunau, K. (2024). Why are the inner and outer sides of many flower petals differently coloured? Plant Biology, 26(5), 665-674. https://doi.org/10.1111/plb.13680

2023

van der Kooi, C., & Sage, R. F. (2023). A focus on plant reproduction, and a new cover for Annals of Botany. Annals of Botany, 132(1), i-iv. https://doi.org/10.1093/aob/mcad101

van der Kooi, C. J., Reuvers, L., & Spaethe, J. (2023). Honesty, reliability, and information content of floral signals. Iscience, 26(7), Article 107093. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.isci.2023.107093

Sage, R. F., & van der Kooi, C. (2023). Preface to the Focus Issue on Pollination and Floral Regulation. Annals of Botany, 132(6), i-iv. https://doi.org/10.1093/aob/mcad177

van der Kooi, C. J., & Spaethe, J. (2023). Visual ecology: How glossy colours shine and confuse. Current Biology, 33(16), R865-R867. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2023.07.011

2022

van der Kooi, C., & Kelber, A. (2022). Achromatic cues are important for flower visibility to hawkmoths and other insects. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, 10, 1-14. Article 819436. https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2022.819436

van der Kooi, C. J., & Spaethe, J. (2022). Caution with colour calculations: Spectral purity is a poor descriptor of flower colour visibility. Annals of Botany, 130(1), 1-9. https://doi.org/10.1093/aob/mcac069

van der Kooi, C., Spaethe, J., & Leonhardt, S. D. (2022). Editorial: Sensory ecology of plant-pollinator interactions. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, 10, Article 1101114. https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2022.1101114

2021

Stavenga, D. G., Leertouwer, H. L., Dudek, B., & van der Kooi, C. J. (2021). Coloration of flowers by flavonoids and consequences of pH dependent absorption. Frontiers in Plant Science , 11, Article 600124. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2020.600124

Ausma, T., Bansal, V., Kraaij, M., Verloop, A. C. M., Gasperl, A., Müller, M., Kopriva, S., de Kok, L. J., & van der Kooi, C. J. (2021). Floral displays suffer from sulphur deprivation. Environmental and Experimental Botany, 192, Article 104656. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envexpbot.2021.104656

van der Kooi, C. J. (2021). How much pigment should flowers have? Flowers with moderate pigmentation have highest color contrast. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, 9, 1. Article 731626. https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2021.731626

van der Kooi, C. J., Vallejo-Marín, M., & Leonhardt, S. D. (2021). Mutualisms and (a)symmetry in plant–pollinator interactions. Current Biology, 31(2), R91-R99. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2020.11.020

2020

van der Kooi, C. J., Stavenga, D. G., Arikawa, K., Belušič, G., & Kelber, A. (2021). Evolution of insect color vision: From spectral sensitivity to visual ecology. Annual review of entomology, 66, 435-461. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-ento-061720-071644

Ausma, T., Mulder, J., Polman, T. R., van der Kooi, C., & de Kok, L. J. (2020). Atmospheric H₂S exposure does not affect stomatal aperture in maize. Planta, 252(4), Article 63. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00425-020-03463-6

Stavenga, D. G., Staal, M., & van der Kooi, C. J. (2020). Conical epidermal cells cause velvety colouration and enhanced patterning in Mandevilla flowers. Faraday Discussions, 223, 98-106. https://doi.org/10.1039/d0fd00055h

Verloop, A. C. M., Dyer, A. G., & van der Kooi, C. J. (2020). How biotic and abiotic effects colour flowers in a land Down Under. New Phytologist, 228(6), 1701-1703. https://doi.org/10.1111/nph.16856

van der Kooi, C., & Ollerton, J. (2020). The origins of flowering plants and pollinators. Science, 368(6497), 1306-1308. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aay3662

2019

Kraaij, M., & van der Kooi, C. J. (2020). Surprising absence of association between flower surface microstructure and pollination system. Plant Biology, 22(2), 177-183. https://doi.org/10.1111/plb.13071

Dyer, A. G., Boyd-Gerny, S., Shrestha, M., Garcia, J. E., van der Kooi, C. J., & Wong, B. B. M. (2019). Colour preferences of Tetragonula carbonaria Sm. stingless bees for colour morphs of the Australian native orchid Caladenia carnea. Journal of Comparative Physiology A, 205(3), 347-361. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00359-019-01346-0

van der Kooi, C. J., Dyer, A. G., Kevan, P. G., & Lunau, K. (2019). Functional significance of the optical properties of flowers for visual signalling. Annals of Botany, 123(2), 263-276. https://doi.org/10.1093/aob/mcy119

Matthey-Doret, C., van der Kooi, C. J., Jeffries, D. L., Bast, J., Dennis, A. B., Vorburger, C., & Schwander, T. (2019). Mapping of multiple complementary sex determination loci in a parasitoid wasp. Genome Biology and Evolution, 11(10), 2954-2962. https://doi.org/10.1093/gbe/evz219

Ruedenauer, F. A., Spaethe, J., van der Kooi, C. J., & Leonhardt, S. D. (2019). Pollinator or pedigree: Which factors determine the evolution of pollen nutrients? Oecologia, 191(2), 349-358. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-019-04494-x

van der Kooi, C. J., Kevan, P. G., & Koski, M. H. (2019). The thermal ecology of flowers. Annals of Botany, 124(3), 343-353. https://doi.org/10.1093/aob/mcz073

van der Kooi, C. J., & Stavenga, D. G. (2019). Vividly coloured poppy flowers due to dense pigmentation and strong scattering in thin petals. Journal of Comparative Physiology A, 205(3), 363-372. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00359-018-01313-1

2018

van der Kooi, C. J., Ghali, K., Amptmeijer, D., & Schwander, T. (2019). Niche differentiation among clones in asexual grass thrips. Journal of Evolutionary Biology, 22(1), 126-130. https://doi.org/10.1111/jeb.13393

2017

van der Kooi, C. J., Matthey-doret, C., & Schwander, T. (2017). Evolution and comparative ecology of parthenogenesis in haplodiploid arthropods. Evolution Letters, 1(6), 304-316. https://doi.org/10.1002/evl3.30

van der Kooi, C. J., Elzenga, J. T. M., Dijksterhuis, J., & Stavenga, D. G. (2017). Functional optics of glossy buttercup flowers. Journal of the Royal Society Interface, 14(127), Article 20160933. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsif.2016.0933

Stavenga, D. G., van der Kooi, C. J., & Wilts, B. D. (2017). Structural coloured feathers of mallards act by simple multilayer photonics. Journal of the Royal Society Interface, 14(133), Article 20170407. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsif.2017.0407

2016

Stavenga, D. G., & van der Kooi, C. J. (2016). Coloration of the Chilean Bellflower, Nolana paradoxa, interpreted with a scattering and absorbing layer stack model. Planta, 243(1), 171-181. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00425-015-2395-0

van der Kooi, C. J., Pen, I., Staal, M., Stavenga, D. G., & Elzenga, J. T. M. (2016). Competition for pollinators and intra-communal spectral dissimilarity of flowers. Plant Biology, 18(1), 56-62. https://doi.org/10.1111/plb.12328

van der Kooi, C. J., Reich, M., Löw, M., de Kok, L. J., & Tausz, M. (2016). Growth and yield stimulation under elevated CO₂ and drought: A meta-analysis on crops. Environmental and Experimental Botany, 122, 150-157. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envexpbot.2015.10.004

van der Kooi, C. J., Elzenga, J. T. M., Staal, M., & Stavenga, D. G. (2016). How to colour a flower: On the optical principles of flower coloration. Proceedings of the Royal Society B, 283(1830), Article 20160429. https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2016.0429

van der Kooi, C. (2016). Plant biology: Flower orientation, temperature regulation and pollinator attraction. Current Biology, 26(21), R1143-R1145. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2016.08.071

2015

van der Kooi, C. J., Dyer, A. G., & Stavenga, D. G. (2015). Is floral iridescence a biologically relevant cue in plant-pollinator signaling? New Phytologist, 205(1), 18-20. https://doi.org/10.1111/nph.13066

van der Kooi, C., & Schwander, T. (2015). Parthenogenesis: Birth of a new lineage or reproductive accident? Current Biology, 25(15), R659-R661. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2015.06.055

van der Kooi, C. J. (2015). The coloration toolkit of flowers: Filtering pigments, scattering structures and biological significance. [Thesis fully internal (DIV), University of Groningen]. University of Groningen.

2014

van der Kooi, C. J., & Schwander, T. (2014). Evolution of asexuality via different mechanisms in grass thrips (Thysanoptra: Aptinothrips). Evolution, 68(7), 1883-93. https://doi.org/10.1111/evo.12402

van der Kooi, C. J., Wilts, B. D., Leertouwer, H. L., Staal, M., Elzenga, J. T. M., & Stavenga, D. G. (2014). Iridescent flowers? Contribution of surface structures to optical signaling. New Phytologist, 203(2), 667-673. https://doi.org/10.1111/nph.12808

van der Kooi, C. J., & Schwander, T. (2014). On the fate of sexual traits under asexuality. Biological Reviews, 89(4), 805 – 819. https://doi.org/10.1111/brv.12078

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11 September 2024 11.48 a.m.

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