The die-off of the long-spined sea urchin Diadema antillarum in the 1980s highlighted its crucial role as a primary grazer in tropical western Atlantic coral reefs. However, natural recovery has been slow, exacerbated by a new die-off in 2022. Interest in actively restoring D. antillarum populations …

Many coastal communities worldwide are facing challenges caused by increasing sea levels. However, urban development, population growth and industrialisation in low-lying delta regions persist. This includes the Netherlands and British Columbia, Canada. Both regions explore new and innovative flood risk …

Zee-egels spelen een cruciale rol bij het behoud van de gezondheid van Caribische koraalriffen, omdat ze grazen op algen die anders koraal zouden kunnen overgroeien. In de jaren '80 stierven zee-egels massaal, met alle gevolgen van dien. De populatie is nog altijd niet op peil, hoewel de gemiddelde zee-egel …

Restoration engineering measures, such as managed realignments or building groins, modify the environmental characteristics of coastal intertidal ecosystems. Creating physical modifications that are beneficial to an intertidal system's ecology necessitates an in-depth understanding of the relationships …

The Dutch Caribbean is making significant strides in coral reef restoration through innovative approaches to restoring invertebrate herbivores, as presented by Alwin Hylkema of Van Hall Larenstein University of Applied Sciences and Wageningen University during the DCNA Reef Restoration Workshop. Hylkema …

This research investigates Aeolian sand transport in the dynamic dune area of Kop van Schouwen Meeuwenduinen, Netherlands. Despite previous studies, many aspects of sand transport in this region remain unexplored. This study aims to provide new insights into sand erosion and transport dynamics. Two …

Gesprek met Alwin Hylkema, marine ecoloog aan de Hogeschool Van Hall Larenstein en de Wageningen universiteit (WUR). Hij is hoofdonderzoeker en projectleider van het Diadema II project op het Caribisch eiland Saba. Daarbij herstellen ze de populatie zee-egels om het koraalrif-ecosysteem te herstellen …

High population growth, a lack of wastewater treatment plants and poor wastewater management are major challenges in wastewater management in Timor-Leste (East Timor). One of the approaches of the government of Timor-Leste is to separate wastewater into greywater and blackwater from domestic, commercial, …

That coral reefs are in decline worldwide, particularly in the Caribbean, will come as no surprise. This decades-long decline has reached a potential tipping point as the weight of the effects of climate change have come decidedly to bear on the planet’s most diverse marine ecosystem. Whether coral reefs …

Coastal flood managers seek to anticipate future flood risk and as a result consider the adaptation of flood defences. Instead of crest heightening, dikes can be adapted to include hydrodynamic reducing vegetated foreshores to form a nature-based hybrid flood defence, for instance; at managed realignments. …