Project properties

Title Mass strandings of bryozoans in the North and Waddensea
Group Aquatic Ecology and Water Quality Management Group
Project type thesis
Credits 24
Supervisor(s) Name: Dr. Robbert Jak
Email: robbert.jak@wur.nl

Name: Mischa Streekstra
Email:mischa.streekstra@wur.nl

Examiner(s) Mischa Streekstra
Contact info Email:mischa.streekstra@wur.nl
Begin date 2021/11/12
End date 2022/12/30
Description Bryozoans (or moss animals) are colonial aquatic invertebrate animals that are common in the Dutch North sea. Recently, mass strandings of the species Electra pilosa have occurred, though the reason for this is not so clear. Your task would be to shine light on the abundance, species distribution and ecology of salt water bryozoans in the Netherlands. For this you can use literature, monitoring data of Wageningen Marine Research, and/or conduct interviews or questionnaires with stakeholders (eg fishermen, municipality representatives, beach work groups). Experimental work at Wageningen Marine Research in Den Helder would be possible depending on interest, for example looking at survival and reproduction of E.pilosa under manipulated conditions, and/or simple chemical analyses of colony skeletons. Your work will help to better understand which bryozoans species benefit from what conditions, and ultimately aids to understand and manage these stranding bryozoans.
Used skills Literature review, lab experiments, fieldwork/observations, data analysis/statistics
Requirements Read and take interviews in Dutch