Dr. Baptiste Wijas

Dr. Baptiste Wijas is a landscape ecologist and zoogeochemist working with Dr. Amy Zanne to improve our understanding of deadwood decay within the carbon cycle of arid, temperate and tropical ecosystems. He is interested in understanding the role of abiotic (fire and rainfall) and biotic (termites and microbes) drivers of deadwood and their interactions at landscape scales. Baptiste is also interested in the fate of deadwood as it is consumed by termites and used inside their nests, having consequences on nutrient and carbon cycling in soils. 

PhD Research

During his PhD at the University of New South Wales (Sydney, Australia), Baptiste advanced understanding on the role of termites as decomposers of vegetation in arid environments and their importance as prey for small vertebrates. Baptiste was also interested in how biomass removal driven by large herbivores affected the transfer of energy to termites and their consumers.