Prof. van Bodegom is professor Environmental Biology at the Institute of Environmental Sciences, Leiden University. With his department of approx. 60 employees, he investigates the mutual dependencies between nature and society. His department addresses urgent challenges in understanding the impacts of human influences on nature and biodiversity and the needs of society for nature through natural capital and ecosystem services. By developing state-of-the-art tools from molecular ecology (for environmental DNA), remote sensing (in data assimilation systems) and data science (for global databases and analyses, e.g. on traits-based approaches or functional diversity patterns), nature and biodiversity patterns are assessed at unprecedented accuracy and resolution. In inter- and transdisciplinary national and international teams, he contributes to sustainable solutions towards creating a resilient livelihood. His focus therein is on quantifying the natural mechanisms involved, the connections to society and their trade-offs and synergies at spatiotemporal scales.