The experimental fishing method of pulse trawling was initially developed to decrease fuel consumption rates of flatfish fisheries in the North Sea targeting common sole (Solea solea). By replacing tickler chains with electrodes, the targeted fish is immobilised until it enters the net by using electrical …

Rijkswaterstaat has an effort-obligation and result-obligation to take measures to achieve the goals of the Water Framework Directive (WFD) at the Eastern Scheldt and Lake Grevelingen. The WFD aims to achieve and protect a sufficient ecological and chemical status of inland surface waters, transitional …

For multiple reasons, such as changing ocean temperatures, overfishing and unsustainable tourism coral reefs are declining worldwide. A negative feedback loop is created by the loss of three-dimensional structures that the coral reefs create. These three-dimensional structures provide shelters for grazing …

From single-cell organisms to complex neural networks, all evolved to provide control solutions to generate context- and goal-specific actions. Neural circuits performing sensorimotor computation to drive navigation employ inhibitory control as a gating mechanism as they hierarchically transform (multi)sensory …

INAUGURAL LECTURE The world is in disarray. Species are extinct, climates are changing, we are becoming unhealthier. To liberate ourselves from this doom scenario we need to take care of ourselves and our environment. The solutions of former generations offer no future solace. Moreover, these caused …

Recent research has shown that many chloroplast markers commonly used for the identification of species in land plants are not useful in the moss genus Campylopus. The only known suitable marker in Campylopus is the nuclear ribosomal ITS1-5.8S-ITS2 region. However, evolutionary patterns of this region …

Howler monkeys (genus Alouatta) are new world monkeys native to Central and South America. Although the overall population of howler monkeys is declining due to habitat loss and the illegal trade, their status, as categorised by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (2017), ranges from Least Concern …

Daily life is greatly influenced by fossil fuels. New technological inventions and the reduction of the ice coverage due to climate change makes it possible for humans to be present and undertake activities, such as gathering oil in previously inaccessible areas like the North Pole (Sagerup, Nahrgang, …

To ensure stability for ships, ballast water is often used to correct or adjust the list or trim of a ship. After loading the ballast water is often carried across the ocean and discharged in an area with another aquatic environment. As a result, invasive species can end up in the water and effect the …

The waldrapp ibis (Geronticus eremita) is a colonial and monogamous bird species, which is classified as ‘Critically Endangered’ by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature. Due to the rapid decline of wild waldrapp ibises a European Endangered species Programme (EEP) has been set up as …