Even in well-studied organisms, it is often challenging to uncover the social and environmental determinants of fitness. Typically, fitness is determined by a variety of factors that act in concert, thus forming complex networks of causal relationships. Moreover, even strong correlations between social …

It seems to hold that organisms either remain small, flexible and adaptive, or become relatively strong and invulnerable by growing very large. Denmark vs America, or Iceland vs China. A single-celled animal, such as the slipper animalcule, has a very strong strategy, and although we have run into serious …

Our world is made up of so much technology, all around us, that we are barely aware of it. Technology accommodates our existence, as nature did for our prehistoric ancestors and still does for (most) other organisms. In this series of 3, I examine the tension between technology and nature as the host …

As an essential nutrient for food production, phosphate is largely used in fertilizers to enhance crop growth (Baishya et al., 2016; Hasanuzzaman et al., 2018). Regardless of its enormous demand, the only concentrated P source is phosphate rock and the resource is finite (Cordell & White, 2011; Smit …

Plasmid-mediated dissemination of antibiotic resistance among fecal Enterobacteriaceae in natural ecosystems may contribute to the persistence of antibiotic resistance genes in anthropogenically impacted environments. Plasmid transfer frequencies measured under laboratory conditions might lead to overestimation …

Information about the sources of plastic litter found in the Zeeuwse Delta is still scarce. This problem is addressed by this study with the aim to identify the possible sources of plastics that washed ashore on a selection of beaches in the Zeeuwse Delta. For this study the source and origin of the …

Caribbean coral reefs are in decline and the deployment of artificial reefs, structures on the sea bottom that mimic one or more characteristics of a natural reef, is increasingly often considered to sustain ecosystem services. Independent of their specific purposes, it is essential that artificial reefs …

Implementation of reliable methodologies allowing Reduction, Refinement, and Replacement (3Rs) of animal testing is a process that takes several decades and is still not complete. Reliable methods are essential for regulatory hazard assessment of chemicals where differences in test protocol can influence …

Thermal disinfection is probably the oldest water treatment method ever used. Similarly to other disinfection processes, it targets the inactivation of pathogenic (micro)organisms present in water, wastewater and other media. In this work, a pilot-scale continuous-flow thermal disinfection system was …

The turbidity in Lake Markermeer limits the primary production by phototrophic algae and the growth of plants. In turn, this limits the amount of fish and other organisms that live in and around Lake Markermeer in its food sources. To determine if there are organisms that limit the resuspension, a survey …