Effect of variations in concentration of algae and silt on filtration and growth of the razor clam (Ensis directus, Conrad)

As part of a collaboration between the research programme Knowledge for Primary Processes Silt of Rijkswaterstaat Waterdienst NWOB (department of Infrastructure and Environment, MinIenM, RWS) and the Monitoring programme Sand extraction RWS and the LaMER Foundation, RWS-WD NWOB requested further research into the relation between food availability and Ensis production. The aim is to better understand the effect of different algae and silt concentrations on filtration and growth rates and improve prediction of effects. Laboratory experiments were carried out with Ensis directus to estimate food intake rate and growth rate as a function of food density and clam size. Growth experiments carried out in 2010 showed that the species seems to be very fragile as shown by the low growth rates and high mortality rates. Improvements designed to optimize the experimental conditions, survival rates and experimental set-up were implemented in 2011. These were: experimental animals were collected with a box corer instead of a suction dredge; animals were kept in cylinders without sediment, but their shells were closed with elastic bands during the filtration experiments; circular tanks were used with increased water movement; the diet during the growth experiment consisted of two species of algae. Two food levels were tested: low food availability (6.5 μg Chla/l) and high food availability (16.5 μg Chla/l) at four silt concentrations (0, 50, 150 and 300 mg/l). Only the highest silt concentration induced a reduction in filtration rate. Food level did not influence filtration rate of Ensis, but intake rate is higher at the high food concentration, because more algal cells are present in a certain volume of water. Longterm (10 weeks) exposure to silt concentrations of 300 mg/l showed significantly higher growth than the 150 mg/l treatment indicating that exposure to a high silt concentration did not induce a reduction in growth. Long-term (10 weeks) exposure to a food level of 6.5 ug chla per liter reduced shell growth of Ensis compared to growth at 16.5 ug chla per liter. The filtration and growth rate results are used in a modelling study on growth and condition of Ensis during sand extraction 2013-2017 (Schellekens, in prep). The conclusions of this study give more notion of the effects of sand extraction in the coastal zone of the North Sea on the viability of the razor clam Ensis directus. Sand extraction always goes together with an increase of silt concentration in the water column. This reduces the light conditions for algal growth which reduces the food availability for Ensis. The laboratory experiments suggest that Ensis is more sensitive to a reduction in algal concentration than to an increase in silt concentration. Some discussion is given on the implications of the results for the management of sand extraction

Productivity response of calcareous nannoplankton to Eocene Thermal Maximum 2 (ETM2)

© The Author(s), 2012. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Climate of the Past 8 (2012): 977-993, doi:10.5194/cp-8-977-2012.The Early Eocene Thermal Maximum 2 (ETM2) at ~53.7 Ma is one of multiple hyperthermal events that followed the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM, ~56 Ma). The negative carbon excursion and deep ocean carbonate dissolution which occurred during the event imply that a substantial amount (103 Gt) of carbon (C) was added to the ocean-atmosphere system, consequently increasing atmospheric CO2(pCO2). This makes the event relevant to the current scenario of anthropogenic CO2 additions and global change. Resulting changes in ocean stratification and pH, as well as changes in exogenic cycles which supply nutrients to the ocean, may have affected the productivity of marine phytoplankton, especially calcifying phytoplankton. Changes in productivity, in turn, may affect the rate of sequestration of excess CO2 in the deep ocean and sediments. In order to reconstruct the productivity response by calcareous nannoplankton to ETM2 in the South Atlantic (Site 1265) and North Pacific (Site 1209), we employ the coccolith Sr/Ca productivity proxy with analysis of well-preserved picked monogeneric populations by ion probe supplemented by analysis of various size fractions of nannofossil sediments by ICP-AES. The former technique of measuring Sr/Ca in selected nannofossil populations using the ion probe circumvents possible contamination with secondary calcite. Avoiding such contamination is important for an accurate interpretation of the nannoplankton productivity record, since diagenetic processes can bias the productivity signal, as we demonstrate for Sr/Ca measurements in the fine (<20 μm) and other size fractions obtained from bulk sediments from Site 1265. At this site, the paleoproductivity signal as reconstructed from the Sr/Ca appears to be governed by cyclic changes, possibly orbital forcing, resulting in a 20–30% variability in Sr/Ca in dominant genera as obtained by ion probe. The ~13 to 21% increase in Sr/Ca above the cyclic background conditions as measured by ion probe in dominating genera may result from a slightly elevated productivity during ETM2. This high productivity phase is probably the result of enhanced nutrient supply either from land or from upwelling. The ion probe results show that calcareous nannoplankton productivity was not reduced by environmental conditions accompanying ETM2 at Site 1265, but imply an overall sustained productivity and potentially a small productivity increase during the extreme climatic conditions of ETM2 in this portion of the South Atlantic. However, in the open oceanic setting of Site 1209, a significant decrease in dominant genera Sr/Ca is observed, indicating reduced productivity.This work was supported by the Darwin Center for Biogeosciences (MD and PZ), the National Science Foundation (NSF EAR-0628336 to HMS) and the Spanish Minister of Science and Innovation (MCINN PK122862 and AD122622)

Ocean Acidification: a review of the current status of research and institutional developments

Ocean acidification is defined as the change in ocean chemistry driven by the oceanic uptake of chemical inputs to the atmosphere, including carbon, nitrogen and sulphur compounds. Ocean acidification is also referred to as ‘the other CO2 problem’ of anthropogenic carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions alongside climate change. Ocean acidification has become a hot topic on the international research agenda, whereby most publications are less than a decade old. Ocean acidification has also become an emerging topic on the international policy agenda. UNESCO supported the first global meeting on ocean acidification in 2004 and in 2007 the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) first recognized ocean acidification in its 4th assessment report as an associated disturbance of climate change caused by increasing CO2 emission. Recommendations to get ocean acidification on the Dutch policy agenda are to focus on important economic activities such as fisheries and aquaculture and on vulnerable habitats such as deltas and coral reefs

Aanwijzing nieuwe productiegebieden: Onderbouwing monstername sanitair programma

In dit rapport wordt een onderbouwing met aanbevelingen gepresenteerd van het sanitair monitoringsprogramma voor schelpdieren. De analyse is opgesplitst in de Waddenzee, (Zuidelijk) Deltagebied (Oosterschelde, Grevelingenmeer, Veerse Meer en Westerschelde) en Noordzee

De KREEK teRUG: Uitbreiding zoetwater landbouw met kansen voor natuur en aquacultuur

In de Zuidwestelijke Delta is zoetwater voor de landbouw schaars. Het grond- en oppervlaktewater in de polders is ongeschikt omdat het overwegend brak tot zout is. De zoetwatervoorraad in de kreekruggen is niet voldoende om in tijden van droogte aan de watervraag vanuit de landbouw te kunnen voldoen. Hierdoor is de kans op gewasschade aanzienlijk tijdens langdurige periodes van droogte. De dikte van de zoetwaterbel in en onder de kreekrug wordt gehanteerd als uitgangspunt in een mogelijke oplossing voor zoetwatervoorziening. Omdat de slecht doorlatende kleilaag onder de kreekrug zich op meer dan 60m beneden maaiveld bevindt, zal de groei van de zoetwaterbel als gevolg van een ingreep als ‘De KREEK teRUG’ niet door geologische barrières worden afgerem

Zeehonden in het Deltagebied; populatiesontwikkeling en geperfluoreerde verbindingen

Dit rapport omvat een overzicht van aantallen, reproductie en sterfte van zeehonden in het Deltagebied en de resultaten van een literatuuronderzoek naar mogelijke effecten van perfluorverbindingen (PFC’s) op de gezondheid van zeehonden. Momenteel zijn er in aantal voldoende gewone en grijze zeehonden in het Deltagebied aanwezig om aan het Natura2000 instandhoudingsdoel van 200 exemplaren in het Deltagebied te voldoen. Als het doel is om op zichzelf staande populaties aan zeehonden in het Deltagebied te hebben dan wordt hier niet aan voldaan. Het aantal pups dat jaarlijks wordt geboren in het Deltagebied is lager dan nodig om een populatie in stand te houden en blijft achter in vergelijking tot de Waddenze

Case Study Mussels - Modeling the effect of dredging on filter-feeding bivalves

The objective of this project is to study the effect of suspended silt concentrations on the activity of filter feeding bivalves (e.g. clearance, ingestion, pseudofaeces production and growth). Deterministic models will be presented that describe the effect of various silt concentrations on the model species for this study, the blue mussel (Mytilus edulis). These models can be used to investigate the impact of dredging on filterfeeding bivalve populations. The results of this study can be used to decide how much increase in suspended solids is acceptable and what is the best period of dredging and nourishment activities

Key Intervention Characteristics in e-Health: Steps Towards Standardized Communication

PURPOSE: This paper reports expert opinion on e-health intervention characteristics that enable effective communication of characteristics across the diverse field of e-health interventions. The paper presents a visualization tool to support communication of the defining characteristics. METHODS: An initial list of e-health intervention characteristics was developed through an iterative process of item generation and discussion among the 12 authors. The list was distributed to 123 experts in the field, who were emailed an invitation to assess and rank the items. Participants were asked to evaluate these characteristics in three separate ways. RESULTS: A total of 50 responses were received for a response rate of 40.7%. Six respondents who reported having little or no expertise in e-health research were removed from the dataset. Our results suggest that 10 specific intervention characteristics were consistently supported as of central importance by the panel of 44 e-intervention experts. The weight and perceived relevance of individual items differed between experts; oftentimes, this difference is a result of the individual theoretical perspective and/or behavioral target of interest. CONCLUSIONS: The first iteration of the visualization of salient characteristics represents an ambitious effort to develop a tool that will support communication of the defining characteristics for e-health interventions aimed to assist e-health developers and researchers to communicate the key characteristics of their interventions in a standardized manner that facilitates dialog

Consumer Perspectives on Genetic Testing for Psychiatric Disorders: The Attitudes of Veterans with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Their Families

The perspectives of patients with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) on genetic research have not yet been investigated in the genetics research literature. To provide a basis for research on attitudes toward genetic research in PTSD, we surveyed the U.S. Military Afghanistan/Iraq-era veterans with PTSD and their social support companions to investigate the attitudes and knowledge about genetics and genetic testing. One hundred forty-six veterans (76 with PTSD and 70 without PTSD) participated in this study. Each veteran participant had a corresponding companion (primarily spouses, but also relatives and friends) who they identified as a primary member of their social support network. Participants and companions completed self-report measures on knowledge of genetics and attitudes toward genetic testing for PTSD. Results indicated that, relative to veterans without PTSD, veterans with PTSD had similar levels of genetic knowledge, but less-favorable attitudes toward genetic testing. Differences persisted after controlling for age and genetics knowledge. No differences between companions of those with and without PTSD were observed. Results suggest that the perspective of those with PTSD regarding genetic testing is in need of further investigation, especially if potentially beneficial genetic testing for PTSD is to be utilized in the target population

Computer-Based Interventions for Problematic Alcohol Use:a Review of Systematic Reviews

PURPOSE: The aim of this review is to provide an overview of knowledge and knowledge gaps in the field of computer-based alcohol interventions by (1) collating evidence on the effectiveness of computer-based alcohol interventions in different populations and (2) exploring the impact of four specified moderators of effectiveness: therapeutic orientation, length of intervention, guidance and trial engagement.  METHODS: A review of systematic reviews of randomized trials reporting on effectiveness of computer-based alcohol interventions published between 2005 and 2015.  RESULTS: Fourteen reviews met the inclusion criteria. Across the included reviews, it was generally reported that computer-based alcohol interventions were effective in reducing alcohol consumption, with mostly small effect sizes. There were indications that longer, multisession interventions are more effective than shorter or single session interventions. Evidence on the association between therapeutic orientation of an intervention, guidance or trial engagement and reductions in alcohol consumption is limited, as the number of reviews addressing these themes is low. None of the included reviews addressed the association between therapeutic orientation, length of intervention or guidance and trial engagement.  CONCLUSIONS: This review of systematic reviews highlights the mostly positive evidence supporting computer-based alcohol interventions as well as reveals a number of knowledge gaps that could guide future research in this field