Project properties

Title Spatio-temporal patterns in macrofaunal communities in Dutch floodplain systems
Group Aquatic Ecology and Water Quality Management Group
Project type thesis
Credits 24-36
Supervisor(s) Edwin Peeters (AEW) / Leo Nagelkerke (AFI) / Twan Stoffers (AFI)
Examiner(s) Edwin Peeters
Contact info Edwin.peeters@wur.nl (0317-483899)
Begin date 2020/02/01
End date 2020/11/30
Description The lower river Rhine has been extensively modified throughout history, resulting in a drastic loss of important habitats, and hence the decline or even disappearance of many of its original fish and macrofaunal species. Especially floodplains act as critical habitat for many of these species. Survival of larval and juvenile fishes is largely determined by rapid growth in the first months after hatching, with the bigger, potentially stronger, fish most likely to survive. The availability and accessibility of macrofaunal animals as food items is hereby critical. The student will study the abundance and species composition of macrofaunal communities in the secondary channel (floodplain system) of Hurwenen, along the river Waal in the Netherlands. Macrofaunal communities were sampled in 2018 and 2019 at multiple sampling sites (different habitats) once a month (March-October). The student will analyse macrofaunal communities in the lab by identifying species richness and abundances for different habitat types. The data will also be related to phytoplankton, zooplankton and juvenile fish community data to identify possible predation effects. This work will help identifying aquatic food-web interactions in Dutch floodplain systems.
Used skills Identification of macrofaunal species in the lab, analysis of large data set (2018-2019); food web analysis; optional fieldwork
Requirements Interest in freshwater ecology and fish biology; basic knowledge of R; analytical attitude