With coral reefs in global decline and further threatened by growing anthropogenic impacts, effective strategies for restoring these critical ecosystems are increasingly sought after. In Caribbean reefs, where disease outbreaks and fishing pressure have reduced herbivore abundances and facilitated widespread phase shifts from coral to algal dominance, herbivorous invertebrates have gained recent attention as a promising restoration tool. However, many restoration practitioners face challenges in evaluating the feasibility and anticipated outcomes of integrating invertebrate herbivores into their programs. Here we review recent developments regarding species and techniques and identify remaining barriers that require further research attention before invertebrate enhancement can be considered a scalable strategy for restoring Caribbean reefs. Bottlenecks in mariculture processes remain in the larval and juvenile rearing stages for many species that impede the scalability of invertebrate production, with significant outstanding challenges across all species in terms of stocking effectiveness and monitoring feasibility. Integrating alternative herbivorous invertebrate species can ameliorate some of these bottlenecks, and investigating the culture feasibility and grazing effectiveness of additional species holds notable research opportunities. Across research and restoration initiatives, ecological objectives and viable techniques for measuring outcomes against these objectives are needed. These findings establish research priorities for restoration and invertebrate husbandry communities alike and provide guidance for practitioners in the critical and rapidly evolving field of coral restoration.
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The sustainable supply of fish in the face of climate change and other drivers of change is a policy priority for Pacific nations. Creel and market surveys are increasingly used to document catches but this information has not been aggregated at a regional scale. In this paper we provide a comprehensive and standardized list of Pacific marine foodfishes in 22 Pacific Island Countriesand Territories to enable comparative analyses and improved national surveys. National lists of marine teleost fish caught for food were cleaned of errors and standardized to current valid names using authoritative global databases. National lists were subsequently aggregated to subregional and regional scales. Pacific people were found to consume more than 1000 species of marine fish (presently 1031 species), with the highest diversity observed in Melanesia and the lowest in Polynesia. A total of 14% of species names have changed since surveys were completed. An estimated 3847 species of marine fish are recorded from the region, most of which are small reef species. This list of Pacific foodfish is available through the Pacific Data Hub curated by the Pacific Community. Conclusions. The study quantifies, for the first time, the great diversity of fishes consumed by Pacific people and highlights the need for more baselines of catch, acquisition and consumption. These findings provide a foundation across the region for analysing species’ relative importance in local economies and diets, supporting fisheries management and food security policies critical to the wellbeing of Pacific people in a changing world.
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Caribbean coral reefs are in rapid decline and artificial reefs are increasingly often deployed to restore lost three-dimensional structure. The majority of artificial reefs and other marine infrastructure is built from concrete, with Ordinary Portland Cement (CEM I) as the most important ingredient. However, the production of CEM I results in substantial CO2 emissions. In addition, there are indications that the material is colonized by different benthic assemblages compared to natural reefs. To make artificial reefs more sustainable and ecologically optimal, research into alternative materials is required. For this study, CEM I was compared with five alternative substrates: a mixture of CEM III cement with recycled CEM I fines (CEM III), Calcium Sulfoaluminate cement (CSA), geopolymer-sediment tiles (GS), lime-sediment tiles (LS), and Xiriton (E0). Settlement of the long-spined sea urchin Diadema antillarum on the different materials was tested under marine laboratory conditions. Competent D. antillarum larvae were added to beakers with a tile made from one of the substrates and monitored for settlement after two days. Half of the tiles of each material were covered with a four-week old biofilm, the other half had no biofilm. Results show that substrate type and the presence of a biofilm affected settlement rates significantly. After 48h, highest settlement rates were found on CEM III with biofilm (30% settlement), CSA with biofilm (26% settlement) and E0 with biofilm (20% settlement). Without biofilm, the same substrates yielded only 4 to 10% settlement. CEM I, GS, and LS had overall low settlement rates (<5%) irrespective of biofilm. Post-settlement morphology was not affected by substrate type or biofilm, with juveniles having a mean test diameter of 593 ± 12 µm and a mean spine length of 487 ± 27 µm. This study provides alternative choices for regular concrete that enhance the larval settlement of the key herbivore D. antillarum. We recommend studying these alternative materials in the field to obtain a better understanding of the effects of substrate on the ecological community development over larger time- and spatial scales.
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Het doel van serious games is anders dan puur entertainment. Door gebruik te maken van gamificationelementen is het idee om gebruikers op een leuke en uitdagende manier nieuwe vaardigheden te leren of aan te zetten tot gedragsverandering. In veel sectoren is een leven lang leren en ontwikkelen inmiddels een integraal onderdeel geworden en serious games zijn dan ook bijna overal wel terug te vinden. Met deze brede toepassingen is de effectiviteit van serious games echter een veel besproken vraagstuk. Ook binnen de gezondheidszorg zijn serious games sterk in opkomst en door nieuwe technologieën als virtual reality in te zetten kunnen levensechte situaties worden nagebootst en dienen als oefen- en trainingsomgeving voor zorgprofessionals. De kern van dit project draait dan ook om de vraag hoe serious games kunnen worden geëvalueerd in termen van opgedane kennis, vaardigheden of gedragsverandering van zorgprofessionals. In het verlengde hiervan ligt de vraag hoe tijdens het ontwikkelen van serious games al rekening gehouden kan worden met de toekomstige evaluatie ervan. Hoe zouden meetmethoden kunnen worden ingebouwd in de game zelf, welke data moet er worden verzameld, en hoe kan die verzameld worden? Binnen dit project zal met een scoping review bestaande literatuur worden onderzocht op effectiviteitsstudies om zo een overzicht te maken van gebruikte methoden en technieken en te inventariseren welke data hierbij gebruikt worden. Resultaten hiervan zullen worden omgezet in methoden voor evaluatie van serious games voor zorgprofessionals en ontwerpcriteria ten behoeve van het evalueren van beoogde leereffecten hiervan. Uiteindelijk zullen de ontwerpcriteria als proof-of-concept in het ontwikkeltraject van een serious game worden toegepast. Dit project creëert hiermee inzicht in hoe serious games voor zorgprofessionals goed geëvalueerd kunnen worden op leereffecten en hoe hier tijdens het ontwikkelproces al rekening mee gehouden kan worden.
Er zijn zorgen over sommige jongeren, die te jong al delicten plegen. We weten dat antisociaal gedrag de voorloper hiervan is. Inmiddels weten we ook hoe we daar vroegtijdig op in kunnen grijpen. Welke interventies zijn er in Nederland? Waar zetten professionals op in?
Er zijn zorgen over sommige jongeren, die te jong al delicten plegen. We weten dat antisociaal gedrag de voorloper hiervan is. Inmiddels weten we ook hoe we daar vroegtijdig op in kunnen grijpen. Welke interventies zijn er in Nederland? Waar zetten professionals op in?Doel Laten zien welke interventies beschikbaar zijn in Nederland om pro-sociaal gedrag vanaf jonge leeftijd te versterken. Resultaten Verwachte resultaten zomer 2023 Looptijd 01 oktober 2022 - 01 september 2023 Aanpak Vanuit de internationale literatuur: welke kennis over antisociaal gedrag en interventies op ontwikkeling ervan is beschikbaar? Vanuit nationale databanken: wat is er in Nederland beschikbaar aan erkende interventies? Delphi-onderzoek: op welke interventies zetten professionals in?
