Zoeken
172 zoekresultaten
Zoekresultaten
-
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. -
Klimaatverandering kan blauwalgen giftiger maken
Dedmer van de Waal gaat met een Europese beurs onderzoeken wat de giftigheid van blauwalgen bepaalt, en of klimaatverandering het probleem verergert. -
Sublethal Effects of Pharmaceuticals on Aquatic Food Web Functioning (Infodisrupt)
Pharmaceuticals are therapeutic agents contaminating aquatic systems and hence included in the Water Framework Directiveās watch list of Contaminants of Emerging Concern. High global consumption of pharmaceuticals has led to their increased occurrence in aquatic systems. As they are designed to be therapeutically active at ng/L to Ī¼g/L concentrations, pharmaceuticals can affect non-target organisms in aquatic system exhibiting sub-lethal effects. Sub-lethal effects caused by pharmaceuticals can be direct when there are similarities in the mode of action. Indirect effects triggered by pharmaceuticals can be density-mediated and/or trait-mediated including the once caused by the disruption and/or mimicking of infochemicals involved in chemical communication between organisms.
In this project, we explore the sub-lethal effects of pharmaceuticals on aquatic food web functioning. Firstly, by understanding the impact of sub-lethal concentrations of pharmaceuticals on trophic interactions. Secondly, we assess the significance of these sub-lethal effects on aquatic food web functioning. Therapeutic drugs with high global occurrence, environmental relevance and persistence are used for all the experiments. The observations and findings of this project will inform the water managers about the significance of considering the sub-lethal effects of environmental concentrations of pharmaceuticals on aquatic ecosystems while determining their environmental risk limits.
-
Decreasing greenhouse gas emissions from surface waters by climateāsmart water management (DIGS)
Though shallow surface waters are known GHG emission hotspots, the quantification of its GHG emission levels is hampered by the lack of accurate measurements and sound spatial extrapolation methods. As a consequence, climate-smart decision-support tools for surface water management cannot be developed. This is an important caveat, because there is a large potential to reduce GHG emissions from shallow surface waters. The project will tackle this problem by providing a first evidence-based estimate of GHG emissions of shallow inland waters in the Netherlands, and by identifying measures to reduce GHG emission and increase carbon storage in surface waters. These data will be used to develop and validate climate-smart management tools that can be applied by the water management stakeholders involved in the project. DIGS will provide means that will directly contribute to the principal priority of the Dutch government to combat climate change: reduction of Netherlandsā GHG emissions by 49% in 2030, compared to 1990 levels. DIGS is funded by the Open Technology Program of NWO and has a term of four years starting in 2021. -
Microplastics and the aquatic foodweb (MICROPLASTICS)
Plastics have been widely used in everyday life since the 1950s, mainly because they are cheap and have a long durability. Plastics have a long degradation period, remaining in the environment for hundreds and thousands of years. During this period, plastics break down, due to photodegradation, abrasion, hydrolysis and biodegradation into smaller particles called microplastics (< 5āÆmm). Until now, much attention has been paid to quantify microplastics in the oceans. However, there are indications that microplastics are accumulating in the food web not only in the oceans, but also in fresh water systems.
Because microplastics shield the light, they can cause growth inhibition and decrease photosynthesis activity of freshwater microalgae species. In addition, zooplankton and benthic invertebrates accumulate microplastics in their digestive tracts leading to a reduced feeding activity, and in some cases reduced survival and fecundity. The zooplankton benthic invertebrates are in turn consumed by fish. In this way, microplastics can affect the entire food web, including higher trophic levels such as birds and humans.
The objective of this research project is to demonstrate the effect of microplastics on trophic interaction and scale up to food web effects in large indoor mesocosms. Linking small-scale laboratory studies to large-scale experiments and exploring more environmentally relevant scenarios will provide critical knowledge on the effects of microplastics at the community and ecological level, essential for further risk assessment.
-
Network of Leading Ecosystem Scale Experimental AQUAtic MesoCOSM Facilities Connecting Rivers, Lakes, Estuaries and Oceans in Europe and beyond (Aquacosm-Plus)
Network of Leading Ecosystem Scale Experimental AQUAtic MesoCOSM Facilities Connecting Rivers, Lakes, Estuaries and Oceans in Europe and beyond (Aquacosm-Plus) -
Securing biodiversity, functional integrity and ecosystem services in DRYing rivER networks (Dryver)
Securing biodiversity, functional integrity and ecosystem services in DRYing rivER networks (Dryver) -
UKRI-GCRF Living deltas Hub
Creating sustainable deltas through international partnerships -
Development of Nature-based solutions (ecotechnologies) for improved water quality and healthier ecosystems
Unraveling the black-box for designing improved engineered ecosystems