NIOZ, the Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, is the national oceanographic institute and the Netherlands’ centre of expertise for ocean, sea and coast. We advance fundamental understanding of marine systems, the way they change, the role they play in climate and biodiversity, and how they may provide sustainable solutions to society in the future.
As tidal flats subside due to gas extraction, their composition changes. This is shown in a paper that is published in this month’s Journal of Applied Ecology.
For cold-blooded species, temperature determines their activity and metabolism: if it is warm enough, they become active and if it gets too cold, they remain still.
Against the trends for many shorebirds, sanderlings have been doing relatively well in the Wadden Sea for the past years. The key to that success lies in the timing of these little birds' main food: shrimp on the mudflats.
Our science is conducted in four scientific departments;. Three of them are area oriented: estuaries and delta areas, coastal seas and open oceans. Marine Microbiology and Biogeochemistry conducts science in all three area types.