Theunis Piersma

42.6k total citations · 4 hit papers
696 papers, 33.6k citations indexed

About

Theunis Piersma is a scholar working on Ecology, Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics and Global and Planetary Change. According to data from OpenAlex, Theunis Piersma has authored 696 papers receiving a total of 33.6k indexed citations (citations by other indexed papers that have themselves been cited), including 550 papers in Ecology, 219 papers in Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics and 163 papers in Global and Planetary Change. Recurrent topics in Theunis Piersma's work include Avian ecology and behavior (430 papers), Animal Behavior and Reproduction (187 papers) and Wildlife Ecology and Conservation (147 papers). Theunis Piersma is often cited by papers focused on Avian ecology and behavior (430 papers), Animal Behavior and Reproduction (187 papers) and Wildlife Ecology and Conservation (147 papers). Theunis Piersma collaborates with scholars based in Netherlands, United States and Australia. Theunis Piersma's co-authors include Joop Jukema, Jos C. E. W. Hooijmeijer, Allan J. Baker, Yvonne I. Verkuil, Leo Zwarts, Anne Dekinga, Jan A. van Gils, Åke Lindström, Jan Drent and Phil F. Battley and has published in prestigious journals such as Nature, Science and Nature Genetics.

In The Last Decade

Theunis Piersma

672 papers receiving 31.7k citations

Hit Papers

align trajectories

What are hit papers?

Hit papers significantly outperform the citation benchmark for their cohort. A paper qualifies if it has ≥500 total citations, achieves ≥1.5× the top-1% citation threshold for papers in the same subfield and year (this is the minimum needed to enter the top 1%, not the average within it), or reaches the top citation threshold in at least one of its specific research topics.

The interplay between habitat availability and population differentiation

2012 6.4k citations Yvonne I. Verkuil, Theunis Piersma et al. profile →
Phenotypic flexibility and the evolution of organismal design

2003 811 citations Theunis Piersma et al. profile →
Rethinking China's new great wall

2014 439 citations Theunis Piersma et al. profile →
A supergene determines highly divergent male reproductive morphs in the ruff

2015 327 citations Yvonne I. Verkuil, Theunis Piersma et al. profile →

Peers — A (Enhanced Table)

Peers by citation overlap · career bar shows stage (early→late) cites · hero ref

Name	h						Papers	Cites
Theunis Piersma Netherlands	85	23.3k	10.7k	6.6k	6.2k	5.4k	696	33.6k
Robert E. Ricklefs United States	106	22.4k 1.0×	19.9k 1.9×	5.0k 0.8×	6.6k 1.1×	14.8k 2.8×	496	43.1k
David Mouillot France	67	12.2k 0.5×	4.6k 0.4×	7.0k 1.1×	1.9k 0.3×	9.6k 1.8×	260	21.3k
Henri Weimerskirch France	87	20.6k 0.9×	7.7k 0.7×	6.6k 1.0×	2.3k 0.4×	4.0k 0.7×	394	25.2k
Tim M. Blackburn United Kingdom	83	17.0k 0.7×	9.5k 0.9×	5.0k 0.8×	3.8k 0.6×	12.7k 2.4×	293	29.0k
Anne E. Magurran United Kingdom	74	14.7k 0.6×	13.0k 1.2×	8.1k 1.2×	3.6k 0.6×	15.3k 2.8×	241	34.9k
Kevin D. Lafferty United States	71	18.8k 0.8×	3.2k 0.3×	4.8k 0.7×	4.0k 0.6×	2.7k 0.5×	214	26.0k
Juha Merilä Finland	77	9.3k 0.4×	10.4k 1.0×	6.2k 0.9×	10.4k 1.7×	6.0k 1.1×	456	23.9k
Keith A. Hobson Canada	93	30.3k 1.3×	5.0k 0.5×	7.0k 1.1×	1.8k 0.3×	5.7k 1.1×	691	35.9k
Nicholas J. Gotelli United States	71	12.8k 0.5×	11.7k 1.1×	5.2k 0.8×	4.4k 0.7×	13.9k 2.6×	222	29.4k
Andrew Sih United States	87	14.9k 0.6×	20.8k 1.9×	9.1k 1.4×	6.5k 1.1×	9.3k 1.7×	277	35.0k

Countries citing papers authored by Theunis Piersma

Since Specialization

Citations

This map shows the geographic impact of Theunis Piersma's research. It shows the number of citations coming from papers published by authors working in each country. You can also color the map by specialization and compare the number of citations received by Theunis Piersma with the expected number of citations based on a country's size and research output (numbers larger than one mean the country cites Theunis Piersma more than expected).

Fields of papers citing papers by Theunis Piersma

Since Specialization

Physical SciencesHealth SciencesLife SciencesSocial Sciences

This network shows the impact of papers produced by Theunis Piersma. Nodes represent research fields, and links connect fields that are likely to share authors. Colored nodes show fields that tend to cite the papers produced by Theunis Piersma. The network helps show where Theunis Piersma may publish in the future.

Co-authorship network of co-authors of Theunis Piersma

This figure shows the co-authorship network connecting the top 25 collaborators of Theunis Piersma. A scholar is included among the top collaborators of Theunis Piersma based on the total number of citations received by their joint publications. Widths of edges represent the number of papers authors have co-authored together. Node borders signify the number of papers an author published with Theunis Piersma. Theunis Piersma is excluded from the visualization to improve readability, since they are connected to all nodes in the network.

All Works

Sort: Min cites: Since: Top N: Style:

20 of 20 papers shown

Kempenaers, Bart, et al.. (2025). Large-scale sampling of potential breeding sites in male ruffs. Proceedings of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences. 292(2038). 20242225–20242225.

Vansteelant, Wouter M. G., Md. Shariful Islam, Marco van der Velde, et al.. (2025). Three subspecies of Black-tailed Godwit share non-breeding sites in the world's largest river delta. Avian Research. 16(1). 100226–100226.

Verkuil, Yvonne I., et al.. (2024). Biometric variability and sexual size dimorphism in the Great Knot Calidris tenuirostris. The European Zoological Journal. 91(1). 64–74. 1 indexed citations

Movalli, Paola, Georgios Gkotsis, ‪Nikiforos Alygizakis, et al.. (2023). High resolution mass spectrometric suspect screening, wide-scope target analysis of emerging contaminants and determination of legacy pollutants in adult black-tailed godwit Limosa limosa limosa in the Netherlands – A pilot study. Chemosphere. 321. 138145–138145. 12 indexed citations

Rakhimberdiev, Eldar, Julia Karagicheva, Anatoly A. Saveliev, et al.. (2022). Misidentification errors in reencounters result in biased estimates of survival probability from CJS models: Evidence and a solution using the robust design. Methods in Ecology and Evolution. 13(5). 1106–1118. 6 indexed citations

Chan, Ying‐Chi, et al.. (2022). Hidden in plain sight: migration routes of the elusive Anadyr bar‐tailed godwit revealed by satellite tracking. Journal of Avian Biology. 2022(8). 5 indexed citations

Verhoeven, Mo A., et al.. (2020). Migration route, stopping sites, and non-breeding destinations of adult Black-tailed Godwits breeding in southwest Fryslân, The Netherlands. Journal für Ornithologie. 162(1). 61–76. 20 indexed citations

Bouma, Tjeerd J., et al.. (2020). Long-term changes in seagrass and benthos at Banc d’Arguin, Mauritania, the premier intertidal system along the East Atlantic Flyway. Global Ecology and Conservation. 24. e01364–e01364. 12 indexed citations

Oudman, Thomas, Theunis Piersma, Anne Dekinga, et al.. (2018). Resource landscapes explain contrasting patterns of aggregation and site fidelity by red knots at two wintering sites. Movement Ecology. 6(1). 24–24. 18 indexed citations

10.

Piersma, Theunis. (2017). Book review. Prum R.O. 2017 The evolution of beauty: How Darwin’s forgotten theory of mate choice shapes the animal world – and us. Ardea.

11.

Jukema, Joop, et al.. (2013). Incomplete and irregular annual replacement of secondaries in Eurasian Golden Plovers, Pluvialis apricaria. Data Archiving and Networked Services (DANS). 120(2). 102–107. 1 indexed citations

12.

Geest, Matthijs van der, et al.. (2013). Seasonal changes in mollusc abundance in a tropical intertidal ecosystem, Banc d'Arguin (Mauritania): Testing the ‘depletion by shorebirds’ hypothesis. Estuarine Coastal and Shelf Science. 136. 26–34. 38 indexed citations

13.

Velde, Marco van der, et al.. (2011). Forensische DNA-methoden in het boerenland: Was het misvormde ei van zendergrutto Heidenskip?. Data Archiving and Networked Services (DANS). 84. 155–161. 2 indexed citations

14.

Márquez‐Ferrando, Rocío, et al.. (2011). Could Doñana, SW Spain, be an important wintering area for continental Black-tailed Godwits Limosa limosa limosa?. Data Archiving and Networked Services (DANS). 118(2). 82–86. 3 indexed citations

15.

Buehler, Deborah M., Francisco Encinas‐Viso, Magali Petit, et al.. (2009). Limited Access to Food and Physiological Trade‐Offs in a Long‐Distance Migrant Shorebird. II. Constitutive Immune Function and the Acute‐Phase Response. Physiological and Biochemical Zoology. 82(5). 561–571. 59 indexed citations

16.

Meltofte, Hans, Theunis Piersma, Hugh Boyd, et al.. (2007). Effects of climate variation on the breeding ecology of Arctic shorebirds. 59. 72 indexed citations

17.

Kraan, Casper, et al.. (2006). Bergeenden vinden slijkgarnaaltjes en rust op nieuwe ruiplaats bij Harlingen. University of Groningen research database (University of Groningen / Centre for Information Technology). 79. 19–24. 2 indexed citations

18.

Piersma, Theunis, Maurine W. Dietz, Anne Dekinga, et al.. (1999). Reversible size-changes in stomachs of shorebirds: when, to what extent, and why?. Acta Ornithologica. 34(2). 175–181. 41 indexed citations

19.

Wiersma, Popko & Theunis Piersma. (1995). Scoring Abdominal Profiles to Characterize Migratory Cohorts of Shorebirds: An Example with Red Knots. Journal of Field Ornithology. 66(1). 88–98. 30 indexed citations

20.

Zwarts, L. & Theunis Piersma. (1990). How important is the Banc d'Arguin Mauritania as a temporary staging area for waders in spring?. Ardea. 78(1). 113–122. 11 indexed citations

Rankless uses publication and citation data sourced from OpenAlex, an open and comprehensive bibliographic database. While OpenAlex provides broad and valuable coverage of the global research landscape, it—like all bibliographic datasets—has inherent limitations. These include incomplete records, variations in author disambiguation, differences in journal indexing, and delays in data updates. As a result, some metrics and network relationships displayed in Rankless may not fully capture the entirety of a scholar's output or impact.

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