# Theunis Piersma

Theunis Piersma (born 15 June 1958) is a Dutch ornithologist, ecologist, and educator. He is among the most influential ornithologists, particularly in the wader bird area, in the world. He specifically looks at waders and correlations between flock size and distribution, climate, food, predators, pathogens, and their historical-genetic background. RTV Drenthe referred to him in 2012 as the "first migratory bird professor in the world."
He is currently a professor and chair of the Global Flyway Ecology department at the University of Groningen and Senior Research Leader at Royal Netherlands Institute of Sea Research (NIOZ). He is also a Wadden biologist at the Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, where he works on sea conservation.

## Education

Piersma earned his BSc in biology and palaeontology in 1980; his biology MSc cum laude in 1984; and his PhD cum laude in biology in 1994, all from the University of Groningen. Piersma led his first research trip to Mauritania in 1980 as a student. His PhD advisor was animal ecologist Rudolf H. Drent. Following graduation, he moved to the NIOZ as a postdoc.

## Career
### Research

Among his many contributions to the scientific community are proof that a bird's maximum non-stop flight distance was more than double what it was originally known to be; examination of the phenotype and its relation to evolution; and the discovery that "migratory birds can change the structure of their bodies radically in order to adapt to the diverse conditions they encounter on their journeys." His research on the ecology of the Yellow Sea was a major influence in China refining environmental policy and increasing conservation efforts. Nature organizations in the Netherlands ended all mechanical cockle fishing in the Wadden Sea after his work at NIOZ proved it harmful. This was a particular achievement, as he has criticized the Netherlands for not working harder on conservation efforts.
As of 2020, Piersma has published more than 500 peer-reviewed articles and 14 books. Among his many funding sources, he received 2 NWO grants to research tools used for bird tracking in 2011, and 2 from National Geographic in 2014.
He is heavily involved in Wader's Study Groups and served as vice-chair of the International Wader Study Group for 15 years. He has also been the editor-in-chief of Ardea, a peer-reviewed ornithological journal, and helped found the Global Flyway Network to track birds nationwide. At University of Groningen, he was the animal ecology chair for 9 years before moving to the global flyway ecology department and serving as its chair. He appeared as the subject of De wereld is plat (The World is Flat), a 2007 Dutch documentary about his conservation work.

### Work in Friesland

Piersma helped found start the Station Fryslân 2018, a citizens' ecological organization dedicated to looking after Freisland's environment. In 2012, the initiative established ‘Kening fan ’e Greide’ (King of the Meadow, a reference to the godwit), which enabled farmers, scientists, and artists to collaborate in an effort to "promote sustainable attitudes to nature and the landscape."

### Outreach

Piersma is known for his creative teaching style, which he tries to make accessible to everyone. In 2012, he opened the WWF's Dutch Jubilee Conference with a theatre performance illustrating the migration of the black-tailed godwit, with composer Sytze Pruiksma providing accompanying music. He has two main performances: The Sound and Science of Bird Migration and Music of Migration, which he has performed in front of Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands, at the Oerol Festival, and to the Bohai Bay community while he was there studying the Yellow Sea.

## Personal life

Piersma was born in Hemelum in 1958; his native language is Frisian. He currently lives in Gaast.

## Awards and honours

In 2001, a red knot subspecies from the New Siberian Islands was named Calidris canutus piersmai in his honour.
| Year | Prize | Awarding institution | Notes |
| 1989 | Herman Klomp Prize | Netherlands Ornithologists' Union, SOVON-Bird Monitoring Netherlands, Vogelbescherming-BirdLife Netherlands | 1.5 k€ award |
| 1994 | Dutch National Zoology Prize | Netherlands Zoological Society | 3 k€ award |
| 1996 | PIONIER Award | NWO | 0.9 M€ award |
| 1998 | Corresponding Fellow | American Ornithologists’ Union | Elected |
| 2000 | Research Award | National Geographic Society | 50 kUSD |
| 2001 | Membership | Fryske Akademy | Elected |
| 2004 | Prize for Nature Conservation | Prince Bernhard Cultural Foundation | 50 k€ |
| 2004 | Ornithologenpreis | German Ornithologists' Society | 5k€ |
| 2004 | Luc Hoffmann Medal for Excellence in Science and Conservation | Wetlands International | |
| 2009 | Membership | Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences | Elected |
| 2011 | Recipient | TOP-subsidie | NWO, NWO Council for Earth and Life Sciences |
| 2014 | Spinoza Prize | NWO | 2.5M€ award |
| 2016 | Membership | Royal Holland Society of Sciences and Humanities | |
| 2017 | Order of the Netherlands Lion knightship | Kingdom of the Netherlands | |
| 2017 | The Marsh Award for International Ornithology | Marsh Christian Trust and British Trust for Ornithology | |
| 2017 | Anita Andriesen Prijs | Anita Andriesen Prijs | |
| 2020 | Godman-Salvin Medal | British Ornithologists' Union | Organization's most prestigious award |
| 2020 | Stairway to Impact Award | NWO | Inaugural awards; €50,000 prize |

## Books

| Year | Title | Title language | Title in English | Subject | Notes |
| 1982 | | English | Wintering waders on the Banc d'Arguin, Mauritania: Report of the Netherlands Ornithological Mauritanian Expedition 1980 | Ornithology | Written with Wibe Altenburg, Meinte Engelmoer, and Ron Mes |
| 1992 | | English | The Migration of Knots | Ornithology | With Nick Davidson |
| 1994 | | English | Close to the edge: Energetic bottlenecks and the evolution of migratory pathways in knots | Ornithology, biology | |
| 1999 | Ecologische Atlas van de Nederlandse Wadvogels | Dutch | | Ecology | Written with Bruno J. Ens and Leo Zwarts; photographs by Jan van de Kam |
| 2000 | De onvrije natuur: Verkenningen van natuurlijke grenzen | Dutch | | Ecology | Edited with J.M. Tinbergen, J.P. Bakker, and J.M. van den Broek |
| 2000 | Op de vleugels van de wind: Wadvogelverhalen | Dutch | | Ornithology | Photographs by Jan van de Kam |
| 2001 | Goudplevieren en wilsterflappers: Eeuwenoude fascinatie voor trekvogels | Dutch | | Ornithology | Written with Joop Jukema, Jan Hulscher, Erik J. Bunskoeke, Anita Koolhaas, and A. Veenstra |
| 2003 | | English | Life along land's edge: Wildlife on the shores of Roebuck Bay, Broome | Animal ecology | Written with Danny I. Rogers, Marc S.S. Lavaleye, Grant Pearson, and Petra de Goeji; photographs by Jan van de Kam |
| 2004 | | English | Shorebirds: An illustrated behavioural ecology | Behavioral ecology | Written with Bruno Ens and Leo Zwarts; photographs by Jan van de Kam |
| 2005 | | English | Seeking Nature's Limits: Ecologists in the field | Ecology | Edited with Joost Tinbergen and Jan Bakker; translated by R.H. Drent |
| 2006 | Waarom nonnetjes samen klaarkomen en andere wonderen van het Wad | Dutch | | Ecology | |
| 2008 | | English | Invisible Connections: Why Migrating Shorebirds Need the Yellow Sea | Ornithology | Edited with Jan Lewis; photographs by Jan van de Kam |
| 2011 | | English | The Flexible Phenotype: A Body-Centred Integration of Ecology, Physiology, and Behaviour | Biology | Photographs by Jan A. van Gils |
| 2014 | Sweltsjes fan Gaast | Frisian | Guests of Summer: A House Martin love story | | |
| 2016 | Knooppunt Waddenzee | Dutch | Intersection Wadden Sea | Ecology | Rob Buiter, Laura Govers, Metawad team |
| 2016 | Reisvogels | Dutch | Marathon Migrants | Ornithology, migration | Photographs by Jan van de Kam |
| 2018 | Een horizon vol weidevogels in Zuidwest-Friesland: Inzichten uit de workshop van de International Wader Study Group, 28 september 2018 | Dutch | Meadowbirds on the horizon of southwest Friesland: Insights of the International Wader Study Group workshop, 28 September 2018 | Animal ecology, ornithology | With Ruth Howison, Heinrich Belting, Jennifer Smart, Mark Smart, Rob Shuckard, Ole Thorup, and International Wader Study Group |
| 2018 | De ontsnapping van de natuur: Een nieuwe kijk op kennis | Dutch | The Escape of Nature: A new perspective on knowledge | | Written with Thomas Oudman |