Expertise

Intertidal Benthic Ecology, Wadden Sea Fieldwork, Sediment Grainsize analysis, ArcGIS, QGis

CV          

2008-present

Research Assistent at NIOZ

2008

BSc Environmental Sciences at van Hall Institute Leeuwarden

2002 - 2008    

Petrochemical analyst & inspector at SGS Oil, Gas and Chemicals Amsterdam

1999-2002

MBO Allround Lab Technician at Nova College Beverwijk

Research Interest

 I am currently involved in the following projects:

Synoptic Intertidal Benthic Survey

SIBES

across the Dutch Wadden Sea

The Wadden Sea, recognised as a wetland and heritage site of international importance (Ramsar status, UNESCO World Heritage Site), covers an area of almost ten thousand square kilometres and stretches from The Netherlands to Denmark, with a large part of this ecosystem falling within The Netherlands. Ecosystem services provided by the Wadden Sea to neighbouring coastal areas are numerous. Economic services include fisheries, and ecological services include essential habitat to migratory shorebirds that fuel-up in the Wadden Sea prior to flying to the Arctic or Africa.

Map of sampling points across the Dutch Wadden Sea.                             

 The Wadden Sea as seen from space, stretching from Den Helder to Esbjerg. (source:ESA)

Benthic macrofauna are an integral component of the Wadden Sea ecosystem. Defined as organisms greater than 1 mm in size, they provide food sources to humans and many animal species, especially migratory shorebirds. In addition, they are pivotal in keeping the ecosystem functioning, as they recycle nutrients, decompose organic matter and regulate nutrient cycles. Thus substantial changes to the macrofauna community could induce changes that cascade through the ecosystem.

A few examples of one of many benthic species sampled are Allita succinea, Hydrobia ulvae, Corrophium volutator and Cerastoderma edule.

To assess whether there are changes in the ecosystem due to land subsidence, a “Synoptic Intertidal Benthic Survey” (SIBES) has been completed annually across the entire intertidal Dutch Wadden Sea since 2008. The SIBES survey is comprehensive in the Dutch context and covers an area of 2483 km² or ~4500 sampling stations.

Each summer, from June to October, a team of 8 scientists and many volunteers go out with NIOZ’s RV Navicula to take benthic samples

The ~4500 samples are then taken back to NIOZ where a team of experts identify and measure both the various worms and bivalve species encountered during the sampling.

Working on the data in the lab.

Distribution of Scoloplos armiger and Macoma balthica in 2008 and 2009. The distribution of these species, show different habitat associations, such that Macoma balthica is mainly found in the areas along the coast, where sediments are muddy, whereas Scoloplos armiger occurs broadly across the tidal flat areas where sediments are more sandy.

SIBES TEAM

Theunis Piersma, Henk van der Veer, and Jaap van der Meer (Project leaders)

Tanya Compton (analyst), Anita Koolhaas (data manager)

Anne Dekinga, Sander Holthuijsen, Job ten Horn (Field and lab managers)

SIBES is funded by the ZKO Wadden Sea programme for monitoring of the western Wadden Sea and by NAM for the ecological monitoring of the gas drilling areas in the eastern Wadden Sea. 

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Waddensleutels

www.waddensleutels.nl

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Internships and BSc/MSc projects

None at the moment, but feel free to contact me.

In the Media (Dutch)

Video

SIBES Fieldwork impression

MOSSELBANKEN IN WADDENZEE NEERGELEGD VOOR BIODIVERSITEIT | RTV Noord en NOS 07-05-2011 (opens in new window)

MOKSELBANKEN OP WAAD KLEAR | Omrop Fryslan 07-05-2011 (opens in new window)

WADDENSLEUTELAARS IN ACTIE OP SCHIERMONNIKOOG | Omrop Fryslan - Hea! 14-04-2011

Radio

WETENSCHAPPERS STORTEN 36.000 KILO MOSSELEN IN DE WADDENZEE | RTV Noord-Holland 9-5-2011 Radio interview

Biologen Sander Holthuijsen en Anne Dekinga nemen jaarlijks bodemmonsters op het wad. Rob Buiter ging mee op hun zoektocht naar de oester, de mossel, de wadpier en de gestippelde dieseltreinworm | Radio 5 04-08-2010

Newspapers & Magazines

Alumni. Nova Magazine december 2012

Beproefd Mosselrecept, plastic kratten brengen de mossel terug. Bionieuws 09-06-2013

Wadbodem in kaart gebracht. Trouw 19-07-2010

Publications and reports

Tanya J. Compton, Sander Holthuijsen, Anita Koolhaas, Anne Dekinga, Job ten Horn, Jeremy Smith, Ysbrand Galama, Maarten Brugge, Daphne van der Wal, Jaap van der Meer, Henk W. van der Veer, Theunis Piersma, (2013), Distinctly variable mudscapes: Distribution gradients of intertidal macrofauna across the Dutch Wadden Sea. Journal of Sea Research 82, pp 103-116.

Tanya J. Compton, Sander Holthuijsen, Anita Koolhaas, Anne Dekinga, Job ten Horn, Jeremy Smith, Ysbrand Galama, Maarten Brugge, Jaap van der Meer, Henk W. van der Veer and Theunis Piersma (2012) Synoptic Intertidal Benthic Survey (SIBES) across the Dutch Wadden Sea. Report on data collected from 2008 to 2010. Report for the Nederlands Aardolie Maatschappij. NIOZ report number 2486.3.SIBES.NIOZ

Aarts G, Koolhaas A, Dekinga A, Holthuijsen S, ten Horn J, Smith J, Kraan C, Brugge M, Bijleveld A, Piersma T and v.d. Veer H (2011)Benthic macro fauna in relation to natural gas extraction in the Dutch Wadden Sea. Report for the Nederlands Aardolie Maatschappij.NIOZ report number 2486.2.SIBES.NIOZ

Aarts G, Dekinga A, Holthuijsen S, ten Horn J, Smith J, Kraan C, Brugge M, Bijleveld A, Piersma T and v.d. Veer H (2010)Benthic macro fauna in relation to natural gas extraction in the Dutch Wadden Sea. Report for the Nederlands Aardolie Maatschappij.NIOZ report number 2486.1.SIBES.NIOZ

Pieter Honkoop; Eilke M Berghuis; Sander Holthuijsen; Marc Lavaleye; Theunis Piersma, (2008), Molluscan assemblages of seagrass-covered and bare intertidal flats on the Banc d'Arguin, Mauritania, in relation to characteristics of sediment and organic matter, Journal of Sea Research 60, pp 235-243.

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