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Seasonal timing
Species can adapt over the course of time. As the lives of species are altered by climate change, a different seasonal timing could make them adapt to an early spring, for example. How does this work, and what are the limits to such adaptations? -
How do nutrients and temperature affect cyanobacterial bloom toxicity?
Toxic cyanobacterial blooms threaten freshwater quality, made worse by climate change and eutrophication. The toxicity of these blooms depends not only on cyanobacteria quantity but also on the presence potentially toxin-producing species and genotypes, and their varied toxin production. -
Costs of scaring grass-eating barnacle geese often outweigh the benefits
At the current population sizes, the practice of scaring geese off pastures in the province of Friesland probably ends up costing more than it saves. Ecologist Monique de Jager and colleagues from the Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW), Utrecht University, Wageningen University & Research and the University of Amsterdam conclude this based on a model study, that was conducted as part of the Dutch contribution to European goose management. The results suggest that scaring geese is cost-effective only when there are few geese in the area. -
Climate change impacts on harmful algal blooms
Harmful cyanobacterial blooms produce toxins that are a major threat to water quality and human health. Blooms increase with eutrophication and are expected to be amplified by climate change. Yet, we lack a mechanistic understanding on the toxicity of blooms, and their response to the complex interplay of multiple global change factors. Bloom toxicity is determined by a combination of mechanisms acting at different ecological scales, ranging from cyanobacterial biomass accumulation in the ecosystem, to the dominance of toxic species in the community, contribution of toxic genotypes in the population, and the amounts of toxins in cells. -
Is agroforestry the answer for rainforest restoration?
The conversion of Amazon rainforest for agriculture has led to deforestation and soil degradation. Agroforestry has been suggested as a sustainable alternative, but NIOO's Eiko Kuramae says its impact on the soil needs to be more fully considered. -
The relationship between yield loss and grazing pressure: implications for goose management
Grazing by geese can cause a lot of damage to agricultural crops. Goose management aims to reduce such damages, for example by actively reducing population sizes. -
Fireworks have long-lasting effects on wild birds
An international team of scientists has examined the long-term effects of fireworks on wild birds. -
More grazing geese does not always mean less harvest
An international team led by the Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW) looked at the impact of different goose species and the number of geese on agricultural damage in the province of Friesland. -
Climate change could make cyanobacteria more toxic
Climate change could result in more toxic cyanobacteria. But what determines their toxicity? Dedmer van de Waal has won a major European grant to find out. -
Large herbivores can bend the curve of biodiversity loss in tropical forests
A 10-year experiment in Brazil’s endangered Atlantic Forest, led by NIOO-researcher Nacho Villar, has found that there's less biodiversity loss in areas where large herbivores can roam free.