Philippe J.R. Kok, PhD
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Time passes better when you ask questions
Many of my research questions are derived from observations made during fieldwork. My research mostly aims at understanding taxonomic and genetic diversity, evolutionary patterns (and the processes that produce them), and diversification through time and space, using amphibians and reptiles as my main models. My current research projects predominantly focus on the Pantepui region in northern South America where I study the biogeography, population genomics, population dynamics and spatial ecology of amphibians and reptiles in highly fragmented landscapes. I am also conducting collections-based research revising the systematics of several Guiana Shield amphibian and reptile taxa.


Like many scientists, my life has been greatly influenced by the reading of adventurers’ stories while I was a child, dreaming of exploration and discovery of unknown fabulous animals in untouched places and impressive landscapes. What would be more exciting than being an explorer describing species previously unknown to science? That dream partly became a reality and I feel fortunate to have been able to explore the “fairy worlds” of my childhood and describe some previously unknown taxa.
I try to spend as much time as possible in the field, first to collect samples for my research projects, but also because I like to understand the natural history of the organisms I am studying (i.e. observing them alive interacting with their environment), not only working with tissue samples, pipettes, sequencing machines and computer programs. Another – I confess major – reason is that I just like to be in the field, camping in my tent or hammock and living a simple life surrounded by the wilderness, far from the tumult and craziness of the human world.

