ALBERT

Description: The exploitation of marine resources has caused drastic declines of many large predatory fishes. Amongst these, sharks are of major conservation concern due to their high vulnerability to overfishing and their ecological role as top predators. The 2 protected and endangered shark species tope Galeorhinus galeus and smooth hammerhead Sphyrna zygaena use overlapping coastal areas around the globe as essential fish habitats, but data to assess their trophic ecology and niche partitioning are scarce. We provide the first comparative assessment of the trophic ecology, ontogenetic shifts, and niche partitioning of the co-occurring tope and juvenile smooth hammerhead around the Azores Islands, mid-north Atlantic, based on delta 13C, delta 15N, and delta 34S (CNS) stable isotope analysis of muscle tissue of the sharks and their putative prey species. Overall, isotopic niches of both species indicated a reliance on similar resources throughout the sampled sizes (tope: 35-190; smooth hammerhead 54-159 cm total length), with significant ontogenetic shifts. Topes displayed a gradual shift to higher trophic levels and a more generalist diet with increasing size (increasing delta 15N values and isotopic niche volumes, respectively), whereas smooth hammerhead diet shifted towards prey with lower delta 34S at a constant trophic level and a more specialized diet than tope of comparable body size (decreasing delta 34S and constant delta 15N and delta 13C values, respectively). Our results indicate contrasting ontogenetic shifts in delta 13C and delta 34S along with pronounced differences between niche overlap of life stages pointing to intra- and interspecific niche partitioning of habitat and prey.

Description: Im Rahmen des Projektes „Aufbau und Betrieb eines erweiterten umweltsensitiven Verkehrsmanagementsystems in Berlin (eUVM)“ wird die mögliche Aufhebung der Tempo-30-Zone in der Leipziger Straße und die Rückkehr zu Tempo 50 untersucht. In diesem Zwischenbericht werden die ersten Ergebnisse einer Messkampagne rund um die Leipziger Straße vorgestellt, insbesondere die Erfassung von Rad- und Fußverkehr und die Befragungen beider Gruppen bezüglich deren geschätzter Sicherheit.

Description: L’alimentation est à la fois un levier central pour engager la transition socio-écologique et un theme quotidien tangible pour chaque citoyen.ne. En Allemagne comme en France, quelques collectivités territoriales engagent des mesures innovantes pour promouvoir une alimentation locale et durable. Le Forum pour l’avenir franco-allemand s’est penché sur les expériences de certaines de ces collectivités et a facilité le dialogue entre elles durant plusieurs mois afin de comprendre quelles politiques nationales peuvent soutenir de telles initiatives locales. En associant des expert.e.s issus de la sphère scientifique, de l’administration et de la société civile, il a recommandé de « Donner la priorité au développement de systèmes alimentaires locaux et durables » avec cinq propositions d’action concrètes aux gouvernements français et allemand. Cette étude présente les initiatives françaises et allemandes ayant nourri les propositions d’action du Forum pour l’avenir.

Description: Food and food policy is central to social-ecological transformation. It is also an everyday issue that is easy to communicate to citizens. Municipalities in Germany and France have recognized the potential of innovative local food policies and have developed and tested innovative approaches to transforming local food systems. However, they are encountering structural barriers that cannot be overcome at the municipal level. The Franco-German Forum for the Future has researched the opportunities and obstacles of local nutritional change and brought engaged municipalities from both countries into exchange with each other. Together with experts from academia, public administrations and civil society, it has developed the seven recommendations for the national governments, one of which concerns "Prioritizing the development of local and sustainable food systems" with five proposals for action. This study is intended as a background paper to the Recommendation. With recourse to the concrete example of Mouans-Sartoux and other municipalities in France and Germany, it describes the potentials of a sustainable municipal food policy and provides – from concrete local practice – the background knowledge for each of the five proposals for action.

Description: Technologien für CO₂-Abscheidung und -Speicherung machen Hoffnung, werden aber gleichzeitig als Rechtfertigung für die geringe Reduktion von Emissionen aus fossilen Energiequellen genutzt. Das ist nicht vereinbar mit dem Ziel, die Erderwärmung auf 1,5 oder 2 °C zu begrenzen.

Description: In this paper, the authors discuss the role of China in the emerging geopolitics of hydrogen. It begins with a review of China's external energy policy and its evolution over the past decades, highlighting China's transition to a net-energy importer as an important inflection point in that process. It then goes on to describe the main pillars of China's national hydrogen policy. Building on this the paper provides and overview of China's external hydrogen policy and how this aligns with both its broader energy foreign policy and its hydrogen policy objectives. The paper finds that China’s hydrogen strategy – both internal and external – are still at an emergent stage. National targets remain modest, and policy remains ambiguous regarding the preferred production pathway. China’s long-term vision clearly emphasizes the role of renewable hydrogen to help balance an energy system dominated by wind and solar energy. However, current policy provides ample space for the promotion of other forms of hydrogen production. Rather, than a strong, centralized policy approach, local and provincial governments along with SOEs have been driving investment and policy experimentation in the sector, which includes efforts to boost fossil-based hydrogen production.

Description: This chapter reviews Japan’s hydrogen strategy with a particular focus on its international elements. It begins by outlining Japan’s international commitment to reduce economy-wide greenhouse gas emissions. The chapter then reviews Japan's domestic policy settings designed to support the deployment of hydrogen in power generation, transport, and industrial uses. The chapter then reviews the strategy that the government is using to enable the development of international supply chains to enable the required imports to satisfy projected hydrogen use in the country. It outlines bilateral technology partnerships and international activities within multilateral forums. It concludes with a short discussion of the geopolitical implications of Japan's hydrogen strategy. Japan has been at the forefront of global efforts to increase the role of hydrogen and ammonia as an option for supporting decarbonization. Japan’s government is positioning hydrogen to play a large role in its overall decarbonisation strategy in support of its mid-century, net zero emissions reduction goal. In this context, the Japanese government is supporting the development of technologies on both the supply and demand side, informed by its understanding of feasible decarbonization pathways domestically and the industrial policy opportunities it has identified to promote Japan's technological leadership. Key features of Japan’s strategy are the central focus on the need to import hydrogen and ammonia and the emphasis domestically on the use of hydrogen and ammonia co-combustion in existing thermal power generation as a transition technology, which is not emphasised in other countries’ national hydrogen strategies. In addition, the Japanese government is championing hydrogen and ammonia internationally through forums such as AZEC, which includes proposing ammonia as a technology option for reducing emissions from the power sector in the Asia-Pacific. A key near-term focus on the supply-side is testing the feasibility of different technology options for hydrogen transport, based on the strong emphasis on hydrogen and ammonia imports within Japan’s hydrogen strategy. Coupled with the potential for exporting technologies for hydrogen use, this suggests that new patterns of trade and investment may emerge, although there remain crucial questions about commercial feasibility in addition to technical challenges. Indeed, Japan’s hydrogen strategy is predicated on the ability to build international supply chains at scale. These are currently being enabled by public investment in early-stage projects. These testing different technology options to enable the export of hydrogen to Japan to support domestic decarbonization. Another challenge lies in unlocking hydrogen demand given that processes using hydrogen and ammonia remain more expensive than alternatives in most cases. A case in point is FCVs, in which consumer demand remains far lower than envisioned. In response, the Japanese government is developing a series of policies to reduce the gap between hydrogen and ammonia and best available technologies. The revised 2023 NHS also signalled a shift towards emphasising Japan’s technology leadership in fuel cells and taking a more neutral approach towards end-use sectors. We can expect Japan’s national hydrogen strategy to continue to develop in response to the effectiveness of policies implemented domestically and internationally to increase the demand for, and supply of hydrogen and associated vectors.

Description: Spatiotemporal observations are data rich and offer insights into links between ecological patterns and underlying processes. We present fine-scale autonomous observations from repeated ferry transects in the Strait of Georgia (British Columbia, Canada) during the 2020 spring bloom period using a FerryBox system (temperature, salinity, chlorophyll a fluorescence) and a digital inline holographic microscope. Despite instrument cleaning interruptions related to COVID-19 restrictions, 3 periods from late winter (February) to springtime (March and April) contained 14 days of high-quality holograms (〉70 000) capturing 〉10 500 identifiable micro- to mesoplankton using automatic object detection. The ferry set-up provided automatic data storage through Ocean Networks Canada, which also automatized data flagging and guaranteed remote access. The highest-quality holograms repeatedly covered the central and eastern Strait and showed aspects of bloom succession. Fast-growing diatoms (Skeletonema sp.) emerged first, followed by a diverse assemblage including Chaetoceros spp., Ditylum spp., and Eucampia spp., and by April, larger centric cells prevailed. The combined approach captured local suppression of chlorophyll a fluorescence and diatom concentrations in Fraser River plume waters during the freshet, suggesting fine-scale spatial patterns in seasonal planktonic community composition. This work is among the first of its kind to autonomously generate in situ imaging and physicochemical data with spatiotemporal resolution.

Description: Eutrophication-driven harmful algal blooms (HABs) can have secondary effects on larval fishes that rely on estuaries as nurseries. However, few studies worldwide have quantified these effects despite the global rise in eutrophication. This study presents a novel approach using biochemical body condition analyses to evaluate the impact of HABs on the growth and body condition of the larvae of an estuarine resident fish. Recurrent phytoplankton blooms of Heterosigma akashiwo occur in the warm-temperate Sundays Estuary on the southeast coast of South Africa. The response in body condition and assemblage structure on larval estuarine roundherring (Gilchristella aestuaria) was measured in conjunction with bloom conditions, water quality and zooplanktonic prey and predators. Larvae and early juveniles were sampled during varying intensity levels, duration and frequency of hypereutrophic blooms. This study demonstrated that extensive HABs could significantly impact larval roundherring, G. aestuaria, by decreasing larval nutritional condition and limiting their growth, resulting in poor grow-out into the juvenile phase. Poor condition and growth may likely affect recruitment success to adult populations, and since G. aestuaria is an important forage fish and zooplanktivore, poor recruitment will hold consequences for estuarine food webs.

Description: Abundance, biomass and respiration rates of dominant medium- to larger-sized copepod species (ML class) from the upwelling system off Peru (8.5-16°S) were determined along with their carbon ingestion and egestion rates. Small copepods (S class) were included for comparisons of community rates. Overall, abundance/biomass was highest in the upper 50 m and decreased with depth and thus also community ingestion and egestion. Ingestion of the ML class (0-50 m) in shelf regions (14-515 mg C m -2 d -1 ) was lower in the south compared to the north and central study areas, while their offshore ingestion (11-502 mg C m -2 d -1 ) was comparable across regions (8.5-16°S). Ingestion rates (0-50 m) of the S class were in a range similar to those of the ML class in shelf regions (100-417 mg C m -2 d -1 ) but were higher offshore (177-932 mg C m -2 d -1 ). Calanus chilensis and the S class contributed most to total ingestion in the north, while in the south, Centropages brachiatus had the highest community ingestion aside from the S class. Egestion varied from 3-155 mg C m -2 d -1 for the ML class and 30-280 mg C m -2 d -1 for the S class. The high community rates highlight the crucial role of both size classes for carbon budgets in the northern Humboldt Current System off Peru and indicate that the ML class may enhance passive vertical carbon flux, whereas the S class may support carbon remineralization rates in surface waters.

Description: The Humboldt Upwelling System (HUS) supports high levels of primary production and has the largest single-stock fishery worldwide. The high fish production is suggested to be related to high trophic transfer efficiency in the HUS. Mucous-mesh grazers (pelagic tunicates and gastropods) are mostly of low nutritious value and might reduce trophic transfer efficiency when they are locally abundant. Unfortunately, little is known about the spatial dynamics of mucous-mesh grazers from Peruvian waters, limiting our understanding of their potential ecological role(s). We provide a spatial assessment of mucous-mesh grazer abundance from the Peruvian shelf in austral summer 2018/2019 along six cross-shelf transects spanning from 8.5 to 16° S latitude. The community was dominated by appendicularians and doliolids. Salps occurred in high abundance but infrequently and pelagic gastropods were mostly restricted to the North. At low latitudes, the abundance of mucous-mesh grazers was higher than some key species of crustacean mesozooplankton. Transects in this region had stronger Ekman-transport, higher temperature, lower surface turbidity and a broader oxygenated upper water layer compared to higher-latitude transects. Small-scale lateral intrusions of upwelled water were potentially associated with high abundances of doliolids at specific stations. The high abundance and estimated ingestion rates of mucous-mesh grazers in the northern HUS suggest that a large flux of carbon from lower trophic levels is shunted to tunicates in recently upwelled water masses. The data provide important information on the ecology of mucous mesh grazers and stress the relevance to increase research effort on investigating their functioning in upwelling systems.

Description: The Observing Air–Sea Interactions Strategy (OASIS) is a new United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development programme working to develop a practical, integrated approach for observing air–sea interactions globally for improved Earth system (including ecosystem) forecasts, CO2 uptake assessments called for by the Paris Agreement, and invaluable surface ocean information for decision makers. Our “Theory of Change” relies upon leveraged multi-disciplinary activities, partnerships, and capacity strengthening. Recommendations from 〉40 OceanObs’19 community papers and a series of workshops have been consolidated into three interlinked Grand Ideas for creating #1: a globally distributed network of mobile air–sea observing platforms built around an expanded array of long-term time-series stations; #2: a satellite network, with high spatial and temporal resolution, optimized for measuring air–sea fluxes; and #3: improved representation of air–sea coupling in a hierarchy of Earth system models. OASIS activities are organized across five Theme Teams: (1) Observing Network Design & Model Improvement; (2) Partnership & Capacity Strengthening; (3) UN Decade OASIS Actions; (4) Best Practices & Interoperability Experiments; and (5) Findable–Accessible–Interoperable–Reusable (FAIR) models, data, and OASIS products. Stakeholders, including researchers, are actively recruited to participate in Theme Teams to help promote a predicted, safe, clean, healthy, resilient, and productive ocean.

Description: The EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) is expected to launch in October 2023, with reporting obligations only. The scheme aims to ensure that European efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions do not induce so-called ‘carbon leakage’, which could occur if companies based in the EU relocate carbon-intensive production to countries with less ambitious climate standards or increase imports of carbon-intensive products to the EU. The mechanism will require companies importing certain products to the EU to offset embedded GHG emissions by purchasing CBAM certificates, thus ensuring that the carbon price of imported products is equivalent to that of products made by European producers under the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS). CBAM’s effectiveness and impact will be evaluated by the EU towards the end of its phase-in period. This evaluation will likely lead to adjustments in the mechanism’s design and will be followed closely by third countries considering the introduction of similar instruments. Economies and sectors dependent on exports to the EU will be both more exposed and vulnerable to the mechanism. In this policy brief we explore the views of stakeholders in South Africa, the EU’s largest trading partner in Africa, and consider measures necessary to ensure that CBAM addresses issues of justice and sustainability. In particular we identify three key recommendations for European policymakers.

Description: In mid-2021, the Republic of Nauru invoked a treaty provision at the International Seabed Authority known as the “two-year rule”. This effectively imposed a deadline on the Council of the International Seabed Authority to complete the elaboration and adoption of regulations for the exploitation of seabed minerals in the international seabed Area by 9 July 2023. Come 10 July 2023, the Authority would be presented with a new legal situation, whereby applications for mining activities may be submitted despite the absence of applicable regulations. There remain many outstanding matters in the negotiations and, considering that the regulations for exploitation must be adopted by consensus at the Council, it would appear that there is still a long and winding road ahead before an agreement is reached among member states – if this is at all possible. In light of this, the Council clearly needs to discuss what would occur if an application for the approval of a plan of work for exploitation activities happens to be submitted in the absence of applicable regulations. While the open legal questions that arise from the invocation of the two-year rule and upon the expiration of the deadline have been analysed elsewhere, this discussion paper examines the new political reality that the Authority finds itself in following the expiry of the deadline on 9 July 2023. Building on previous work by the author, this discussion paper attempts to underscore what is at stake at the Authority and explores how member states should approach this situation.

Description: This paper examines the challenges and prospects for Norway’s internal and external hydrogen strategy from around 2019, when Norway’s low-carbon hydrogen policies and activities began to gain traction. Norway has taken a technology-neutral approach to ‘green’ and ‘blue’ hydrogen technologies linked to reducing emissions. Two end-use sectors have been prioritised: maritime transport and energy-intensive industries. This strategy is based on Norway’s energy mix, industry structure/interest and research competence. While climate concerns appear as the predominant motivation underlying the Norwegian government’s low-carbon hydrogen strategy, industrial value creation is an additional key goal. Political priorities roughly align with actual funding priorities – there has been a massive increase in direct state aid to low-carbon hydrogen projects. Externally, Norway’s hydrogen strategy has potential significance for Europe, particularly for countries with maritime interests and high hydrogen import needs. However, Norway’s technology-neutral approach deviates from most other European countries. What Norway’s hydrogen strategy will mean for Europe remains to be seen – but its main interests concern the export of ‘blue’ hydrogen, with ‘green’ hydrogen primarily suited to meet domestic needs.

Description: The COVID-19 pandemic has led to a surge in online communication, offering a unique burning glass perspective on the advantages of transferring formerly face-to-face conversations online as well as uncovering limitations of using technical applications to this end. These experiences are of great importance for the development of new e-participation instruments. So far, digital participation has failed to match the quality of real-world procedures. This paper discusses various emerging formats for online participation and their prerequisites. Blended participation models, in particular, appear to offer the most promise, enhancing negotiation processes between heterogenous social groups and facilitating responsive policy making.

Description: Die Corona-Pandemie hat die Nutzung der Online-Kommunikation stark befördert. Diese einzigartige experimentelle Situation machte die Möglichkeiten und Grenzen eines Wechsels der Kommunikationsmedien von Face-to-Face- in Online-Formate sichtbar. Die gesammelten Erfahrungen sind von erheblicher Bedeutung für die Entwicklung neuer Instrumente und Tools der Online-Beteiligung. Bislang allerdings sind Online-Beteiligungsformate den klassischen Offline-Beteiligungsformaten qualitativ nicht ebenbürtig. Daher werden in diesem Beitrag Ansatzpunkte für neue Formate und deren Grundvoraussetzungen diskutiert. Insbesondere Konzepte, welche sowohl Online- als auch Offline-Elemente verbinden (Blended Participation), erscheinen vielversprechend, da sie Austauschprozesse zwischen heterogenen sozialen Gruppen verbessern und die Responsivität des politischen Entscheidungsfindungsprozesses erhöhen können.

Description: The invocation of a treaty provision known as the "two-year rule" at the International Seabed Authority effectively placed a deadline on the Authority to complete the adoption of regulations for exploitation activities within two years, i.e. by 9 July 2023. However, it is not a hard "deadline" and it is likely that the Authority might miss this deadline. In recent months, the member states of the Authority have commenced discussions on what would happen if the deadline is missed (or the "what if scenario"). It follows that missing the deadline will give rise to a host of open legal questions. Building on previous work, this discussion paper attempts to provide some insights and possible interpretations to answer some of those questions.

Description: Stakeholder engagement has become increasingly important in energy research and is now even required by many funding agencies. Recent energy modelling projects also claim to involve stakeholders in the research process, although this is usually a process of one-way communication. This raises the question of the extent to which stakeholder involvement can have an impact on the modelling work, or whether it is often a case of mere ‘stakeholder-washing’ to meet funding requirements. In this discussion paper, I reflect on the experiences of stakeholder engagement in the EU Horizon 2020 project Sustainable Energy Transition Laboratory (SENTINEL), discuss the impacts of stakeholder participation on the energy modelling and unfold key challenges of involving stakeholders in energy modelling. I discuss that it worked well to engage stakeholders in defining user needs and discussing modelling results, while only a few stakeholders could be continuously involved through the project period. I also show that although the project successfully identified research questions and needs, the ability of models to answer questions was limited, and making models understandable to users remains a key challenge. Stakeholder engagement in SENTINEL was more than ‘stakeholder-washing’: it led to the identification of user needs and research questions, impacted scenario design, modelling improvements and the development of new modelling tools, and enabled critical reflection on modelling approaches and results. Finally, I make nine recommendations for future stakeholder engagement in energy (modelling) research that can enable mutual learning and enhance the legitimacy, relevance and impact of modelling. The further development of multi-stakeholder communities of practice around innovative energy modelling approaches can facilitate the transition to climate neutrality.

Description: This chapter provides a review of Germany’s ambitious import-oriented hydrogen strategy. It places the German policy approach in the context of its broader Energiewende (energy transition) strategy, aimed not only at a transition of Germany’s energy and industrial system to carbon neutrality by 2045 but also at the promotion of the German Energiewende approach abroad. The chapter begins by providing a short review of the German Energiewende policy legacy, relating it to it emerging hydrogen policy. On this basis, it provides a comprehensive review of Germany’s National Hydrogen Strategy (NHS) with a particular focus on its outward-oriented elements. It discusses Germany’s external hydrogen policy along the following five dimensions: political dialogue and diplomacy (both bilateral and multilateral); interventions aimed at building international supply chains; cooperation in research and innovation; capacity building and skill development; and activities aimed at addressing questions of sustainability. The chapter closes with discussion of key strengths and weaknesses of the strategy and highlights areas for its further development. While Germany's outward-oriented approach is identified as an important strength of the strategy, it could place greater emphasis on cooperation with partners in the EU. Moreover, collaboration with partner countries, both in- and outside the EU, should go beyond the relatively narrow focus on the promotion of hydrogen production and trade. Rather, it should take a broader perspective, aimed at promoting competitive and resilient industrial value chains centered on the EU and its policy and regulatory model. In particular, countries in the European Neighborhood represent important partners in such a strategy. Broadening the scope of cooperation with these countries will also increase the incentives for these countries to engage in partnership development. Finally, the chapter points out that Germany has taken an ambiguous stance on the role that blue hydrogen should play in a future hydrogen economy. While its strategy comes out strongly in favor of green hydrogen, it is also pursuing partnerships for the import of blue hydrogen. This has resulted in a mismatch. While analytical capacities and standardization-related activities are being advanced for green hydrogen production, the government also needs to clearly define its stance on blue hydrogen imports and develop the needed analytical tools and policy instruments for this purpose.

Description: The UK aims to become a leader in green industries by developing a competitive hydrogen industry, bringing new jobs, and revitalizing peripheral areas of the country. Hydrogen is also seen as an opportunity for the country to improve its energy security, as extracting fossil fuels is increasingly costly and unfeasible given the UK’s decarbonization goals. Its hydrogen strategy takes a “twin track” approach, that is, simultaneously promoting hydrogen from gas with carbon capture and hydrogen from low-carbon electricity. The UK strategy focuses on the importance of applying hydrogen to industry including chemicals, steel, and glass. However, its funding and research initiatives rather place an emphasis on developing local hydrogen markets by using hydrogen for heating and transportation. In the short term, the UK aims to develop “blue” hydrogen, which is perceived as cheaper, to replace household gas use. Funding for hydrogen innovation comes from the government, but revenue support is likely to be funded by levies on energy consumption. This approach seems unlikely to result in the green industrial leadership the government hopes to achieve. The unwillingness of the government to take strategic decisions on hydrogen types and uses means that its funding is stretched across different cases. And, while the UK participates in international standard-setting initiatives to better participate in global markets, it is not officially coordinating with or investing in hydrogen infrastructure that could connect it with Europe and thereby enable regional hydrogen trade. Given the rise in industrial policy measures including for hydrogen in the US and EU, the UK’s goal of becoming a major hydrogen player seems unlikely without a significant change in policy clarity and ambition.

Description: Der Strukturwandel in den ehemaligen Braunkohlerevieren wird mit erheb- lichen Bundes- und Landesmitteln gefördert. Sie fließen zum einen als Kompensation für einen vorzeitigen Kohleausstieg. Damit verbunden ist zum anderen der Anspruch, dass Transformationen Erfolg haben können, indem neue Arbeitsplätze sowie lebenswerte und zukunftsfähige Regionen entstehen. Es geht um Nachhaltigkeit im Strukturwandel und nicht nur um den Kohleausstieg. Da es bisher kein Nachhaltigkeitsmonitoring für die Lausitz gibt, lassen sich aufgrund der vorliegen- den Projekte und Projektanträge sowie zahlreicher Gespräche vor Ort nur erste vorsichtige Schlüsse zie- hen. Diese beziehen sich auf die verabschiedeten und vorgeschlagenen Projekte, bei denen das Land Bran- denburg die Verantwortung hat (sog. Arm 1-Projekte): Antragsstellende müssen erläutern, wie ihre Projek- te einen positiven Beitrag zu einem ökologischen und einem weiteren der 17 nachhaltigen Entwick- lungsziele der Vereinten Nationen leisten. Diese Auflage führte bislang kaum dazu, dass die Projek- te einen hohen Nachhaltigkeitsanspruch verfolgen. Hohe Förderquoten würden es bereits jetzt ermög- lichen ambitioniertere Nachhaltigkeitsinvestitionen zu vertretbaren Kosten umzusetzen. Eher günstige geographische und makroökonomi- sche Bedingungen führen dazu, dass viele Projekte auf eine Reduktion von Treibhausgasemissionen bzw. zur Erforschung entsprechender Technologi- en ausgerichtet sind. Mit seinem bisherigen Verfahren verfolgt Branden- burg einen anderen Ansatz als Sachsen, das Nachhal- tigkeit in einem Scoring-Verfahren berücksichtigt. Sowohl die Nachhaltigkeitserklärungen als auch die Scoring-Verfahren setzen geringe Nachhaltigkeitsan- reize im Vergleich etwa zu EU-Vorgaben. In diesem Policy Brief liefern wir drei umsetzbare und kostengünstige Vorschläge, wie sich die Nach- haltigkeit des Strukturwandels in der brandenburgischen Lausitz verbessern ließe.

Description: This RIFS discussion paper presents preliminary insights from transdisciplinary research on the Co-Creative Reflection and Dialogue Space (CCRDS) implemented at the 25th, 26th and 27th United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Conference of the Parties (COP). The transformative research design and findings from over six years of dedicated experimentation with different participatory formats and design principles at the CCRDS are emphasised. The aim was to better understand the communication culture at the COP and to orientate the experimental formats towards reflecting the rich and diverse perspectives, knowledge, and potential of COP participants. A key objective was thereby to better understand whether participatory and reflective formats can support individual and collective climate action. Building on this, CCRDS research and practice design at COP 28 is presented, which aims to understand more relational communication practices as a way to more effective and supportive communication pathways and to work with other organisations and individuals to scale these efforts.

Description: This deliverable provides a summary of a two-day expert workshop conducted in hybrid format. The workshop’s primary objective was aimed towards identifying future opportunities within the global ocean governance regime to strengthen governance of ocean-based NETs in a comprehensive manner. The workshop was organised by the Research Institute for Sustainability – Helmholtz Centre Potsdam (RIFS) as part of the work of Task 2.2 of the OceanNETs project. This deliverable follows a first online workshop (see Deliverable 2.3) that identified challenges within the current governance framework for ocean-based NETs. The second workshop consisted of breakout groups and plenary discussions designed to explore scenarios that reflect on identified governance challenges within the current and potential future global ocean governance regimes. Participants were asked to reflect on the concept of „good governance” and develop responses to the scenarios presented through specific prompts. They were encouraged to actively contribute to discussions that aimed to advance our understanding of the future governance of ocean-based NETs.

Description: Europe's growing interest in securing green hydrogen from North Africa is part of a strategic effort to enhance its energy security. The promise of green hydrogen projects in Morocco, Algeria, and Mauritania is substantial, offering economic growth and job opportunities. However, numerous factors limit these countries’ ability to develop robust local green hydrogen sectors, while political disputes—particularly around Western Sahara—complicate regional collaboration. European actors can play an important role in advancing green hydrogen’s development in the region, but must tread carefully to secure local buy-in and avoid exacerbating tensions within or between these countries.

Description: À la suite de la fermeture de ses mines dans les années 1980, Loos-en-Gohelle, ancien haut lieu minier du nord de la France, est devenu un modèle de commune écologique. L’action culturelle et son importance singulière dans la transformation dite « du noir au vert » demeurent encore peu connues. À l’échelle du Bassin minier des Hauts-de-France, la sortie du charbon a été accompagnée par une politique d’équipement et d’investissement culturel visant à faire évoluer l’image extérieure de ce territoire. Cette étude met en évidence la singularité de l’approche loossoise, dont l’ambition est d’abord d’impliquer ses propres habitant.e.s à la transition écologique et sociale du territoire. Ce travail culturel participatif est ainsi devenu un outil d’émancipation. Toutefois, au cours des dernières années, les possibilités de mobilisation de la population semblent être à un tournant. Loos-en-Gohelle fait face au défi de construire de nouvelles formes de participation culturelle afin d’éviter l’essoufflement de son dynamisme.

Description: Following the end of coal production in 1986, the small town of Loos-en-Gohelle in northern France transformed itself from a former mining stronghold into a model municipality for sustainability. This article highlights the importance of cultural policy measures in this structural change: while in other municipalities in the northern French coalfield, cultural policy was used to change the image of the region, Loos-en-Gohelle aimed to involve the local population in the socio-ecological transformation process. Participatory cultural work thus became an instrument of emancipation. However, the possibilities for mobilising the population appear to have reached a turning point in recent years. Loos-en-Gohelle is faced with the challenge of developing new forms of cultural participation in order to prevent the momentum from slowing down.

Description: Städte stehen vor der Herausforderung, ihr Verwaltungshandeln auf komplexe sozial-ökologische Transformationsprozesse auszurichten. Die Landeshauptstadt München hat mit dem Modell der Handlungsräume einen Ansatz entwickelt, um dieser Herausforderung zu begegnen. Durch eine strategische Priorisierung von Teilgebieten, und agilen, fachübergreifenden Kooperationsstrukturen ermöglicht der Handlungsraumansatz eine konstruktive Moderation von komplexen Interessenslagen, die Akquise von innovativen Entwicklungs- und Forschungsprojekten und schafft Synergieeffekte zwischen Verwaltung und Zivilgesellschaft. Die vorliegende Analyse untersucht die Potenziale des Ansatzes und legt Empfehlungen zu seiner Weiterentwicklung in München vor. Gleichzeitig bietet die Analyse empirische Evidenz zu Debatten über die Rolle von strategischen Planungsräumen und ‚soft spaces‘ in der nachhaltigen Stadtentwicklung.

Description: Cities are faced with the challenge of aligning their administrative actions with complex socio-ecological transformation processes. The City of Munich has developed an approach to meet this challenge with strategic action spaces or opportunity areas (Handlungsraumansatz). Through a strategic prioritisation of geographic areas in the city and agile, interdisciplinary cooperation structures, the action space approach enables a constructive moderation of complex interests, the acquisition of innovative development and research projects and creates synergy effects between administration and civil society. The present analysis examines the potentials of the approach and presents recommendations for its further development in Munich. At the same time, the analysis provides empirical evidence for debates on the role of strategic planning spaces and 'soft spaces' in sustainable urban development.

Description: The Dutch government believes hydrogen will play an important role in decarbonizing the energy system. Industry, NGOs and the government work together in the Netherlands to setup low-carbon hydrogen supply chains. The Netherlands is in a good position to make a significant contribution to Europe's low-carbon hydrogen market, thanks to its current role as a European energy hub, large chemical industry, geographic location at the North Sea, offshore wind potential and existing gas and oil infrastructure. The Dutch national hydrogen strategy predominantly focuses on hydrogen produced via electrolysis from renewable electricity. However, there is also room for hydrogen produced from natural gas or waste gases with CCS, given that this effectively contributes to the development of the broader Dutch hydrogen system, without hampering the growth of hydrogen produced via electrolysis from renewable electricity. In the initial market phase, the Dutch government will prioritize hydrogen supply for the hard-to-abate sectors such as heavy industry and heavy-duty transportation. In later market phases more sectors could be using hydrogen as an energy carrier. The Dutch government has chosen for a combination of obligations and a variety of subsidies schemes, to increase investment security and scale up the low-carbon hydrogen market by 2030. Internationally the Netherlands aims to position itself as the low-carbon hydrogen hub of Northwest Europe, connecting international exporters and Dutch domestic production at the North Sea with industrial demand centres in Northwest Europe. Acknowledging the scale of the task at hand, the Dutch government is open for partnerships along the whole value chain to work towards an international low-carbon hydrogen market.

Description: This paper examines the recent evolution of the domestic and external dimension of hydrogen in Spain. When published in 2020, the Spanish Hydrogen Strategy was focused on the creation of hydrogen clusters that could concentrate production and consumption, attracting economic activity associated with the molecule. For this reason, the external dimension of Spain's hydrogen strategy was relatively modest in its nascent state. The Russian invasion of Ukraine and the EU Commission's call in the REPowerEU to increase the level of ambition for renewable hydrogen has led to a change in Spain's hydrogen policy, reinforcing its external and energy security dimensions and contributing to a more geopolitically resilient Europe. This new approach to hydrogen development creates a complex tension between the promises of industrial development and the potential for integrating Spain in the European energy system.

Description: Southeast Asia is one of the fastest growing regions worldwide by both gross domestic product and electricity demand. Solar photovoltaics (PV) will play an increasingly important role as the region strives to decarbonize and meet rising energy demand. High solar resource potential, a significant cost drop for installed PV in the region (about 45 percent between 2012 and 2016), and favourable policies have allowed Southeast Asia to surpass other regions in solar capacity growth, from approximately 23 GW in 2020 a projected 241 GW by 2030. The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) deems solar “the flagship resource for ASEAN’s decarbonization”. Two countries in particular–Vietnam and Malaysia–have led the way in solar offtake in recent years and installed more new PV capacity than others in the region in 2020. They are the world’s second and third largest manufacturers of solar PV modules and have significantly lowered barriers to utility-scale and residential solar adoption. However, their diverging approaches to electricity markets, renewables integration, and distributed energy resources have resulted in very different outcomes for solar growth. In many respects, Malaysia’s holistic approach to solar pricing, grid modernization, and regional interconnectivity provides lessons for both Vietnam’s solar market and the broader ASEAN region.

Description: Hydrogen is a much-discussed facet of Hungary’s energy transition that has seen little progress, but offers an important tool to extend the government’s foreign and energy policy. Policy-making in Hungary is highly centralised and government ambitions have prioritised the continued role of nuclear power, natural gas, and a solar PV boom. These closely trace foreign policy priorities as well, given that the former two entrench relations with Russia, while the latter enhances self-reliance while allowing the country to meet EU renewable energy targets. A hydrogen economy supports such ambitions, while the government has also welcomed EU funds and foreign investment into novel (green) technologies that increase the value added in the economy. Domestic demand offers a secondary, but nonetheless important, push for the uptake of hydrogen in industry and transportation. Hungary’s case shows how pre-existing political economic confines shape the uptake of hydrogen, as governments and other key actors take action while disrupting pre-existing practices to the least extent possible.

Description: This paper investigates the main elements, drivers and challenges of the hydrogen sector in Sweden. A particular focus is placed on the approach of the Swedish government to hydrogen development and its internal and external dimensions. The Swedish government has intensified its support for the decarbonization of the economy in recent years in a bid to meet its goals of reaching climate neutrality by 2045 and reducing transport emissions (excluding aviation) by 70% until 2030, relative to 2010. Climate Leap, introduced in 2015, and Industrial Leap, launched in 2018, are the two main government funding schemes for private and public investments in low-carbon technologies in Sweden. While the government has set ambitious long-term climate goals and put in place the corresponding funding programs, investment and technology decisions have been mainly left to the business actors. Although such a market-based and private sector-driven approach may have worked well in the past, the Swedish government will need to embrace a more coherent steering role in ensuring smooth decarbonization and successful integration of hydrogen in the energy system of the future. The domestic interest in hydrogen in Sweden has in the past been primarily focused on the decarbonization of hard-to-abate industrial sectors, in particular the steel industry. Given the current surplus of low-carbon electricity supply, which relies on hydropower, nuclear and increasingly wind power, the attention was solely directed towards domestic production and use of low-carbon hydrogen for the industry. With the growing importance of hydrogen at the EU level, accompanied by the introduction of an EU hydrogen strategy, investment funds and common standards, there has been a rapid increase in interest by business actors in various hydrogen sectors (e-fuels, green hydrogen, ammonia) in Sweden. Individual regions in Sweden have also taken the initiative and made use of EU funds to try position themselves in and benefit economically from the emerging hydrogen sectors. As most private investors aim to use green hydrogen produced by renewable energy sources, the demand for green electricity, particularly in onshore and offshore wind, is expected to skyrocket. The government, however, has so far failed to enact credible plans and policies detailing where and how new wind power projects will be built and which sectors may gain priority access to renewable electricity. There has also been a lack of effort in facilitating the realization of infrastructure for the potential transport of hydrogen through pipelines or Swedish ports. The draft of the national hydrogen strategy by the Swedish Energy Agency laid out the ambitious target of 5 GW of electrolyser capacity by 2030. Such a target has been formulated largely based on the expressed intentions of business actors and without a direct link to EU strategic hydrogen targets. In light of the growing interest in low-carbon hydrogen, the considerable industry know-how and the vast renewable energy potential in Sweden, there is a pressing need for a more comprehensive approach by the government and a stronger alignment with the efforts of the EU and other Member States.

Description: In this report, the authors reflect on three key lessons they learned for the community from the two- day event that led to follow-up questions and elaborations: ▪ Transformative research critically advances from collaborative questioning: Is it really a mat- ter of combining efforts to formulate the right questions instead of generating fast knowledge and solutions? ▪ Transformative research benefits from a shared identity: Who are we and what does trans- formative research change for us in our role and every-day scientific practice? ▪ Embodying participatory practices is key for transformative research: What kind of attitudes and formats do we use to come together in meaningful ways?

Description: The U.S. is a leading actor in today’s hydrogen economy and possesses significant geo-economic potential to lead in the global clean hydrogen economy. The U.S. hydrogen strategy has been shaped by the strive to balance a) energy independence b) the fight against climate change, and c) expanding technology leadership. The recent landmark legislative packages of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Inflation Reduction Act reflect these priorities and include large-scale investments and financial incentives to promote the supply of clean hydrogen at lower costs, to strengthen innovation, and domestic value chains. The U.S. has been pioneering policy instruments for scaling up domestic clean hydrogen production and use cases across multiple sectors, which raised significant interest among policymakers and industrial actors worldwide. The international dimension of the U.S. hydrogen strategy has received much less attention in the U.S. policy debate and is less defined. This is apparent in comparison with other actors, such as a much more outward-oriented European Union, which reached out to numerous countries as potential trading partners for much-needed hydrogen imports. In contrast, the United States currently focuses much more on building up domestic hydrogen value chains, enabled by a favorable resource endowment. Nevertheless, the U.S. has fostered bilateral partnerships on hydrogen and strengthened its hydrogen-related engagement in international organizations and multilateral initiatives in the past five years. Emerging priorities for the United States' international collaboration on hydrogen include international demand creation and management, upscaling investments, international research collaborations, and joint efforts on regulation, standards, and certification. These efforts can be seen as the first steps towards the U.S. long-term goal to export hydrogen and related technologies to regional and global partners from the 2030s onwards.

Description: The Marine Regions Forum 2023 was held under the headline “Navigating Ocean Sustainability in the Western Indian Ocean and Beyond”, placing a focus on the Western Indian Ocean ( WIO) region and its challenges, and featuring many of the region’s ocean actors and experts. It provided an opportunity to reconnect in-person after the COVID -19 pandemic in a biodiversity-rich area that is particularly vulnerable to climate change, food insecurity and where a large proportion of the population is reliant on the coast for their livelihoods. But the WIO region is also pioneering a regional ocean governance strategy and is a hub of research, capacity development and science-to-policy engagement. This conference provided a platform to share best practices from the WIO region with other marine regions and learn from experiences from other parts of the world. Further, the conference offered a space for on-going processes to receive input from stakeholders and advance work, such as for the regional ocean governance strategy for the WIO that is being developed through an extensive collaborative process and under the auspices of the Nairobi Convention Secretariat. And, at a time where it can feel like international relationships are breaking down, and nations are looking inwards more than out, it was encouraging to gather over 180 people in Dar es Salaam and be hosted by both the United Republic of Tanzania and Republic of Seychelles to look at ways to work together towards a common goal of improved ocean governance at national, regional, and global levels. The conference programme of the Marine Regions Forum 2023 was developed together with partners from the WIO region and experts engaging in the region and built on a yearlong process of engagement and consultation. The coordinating team facilitated the overall co-design and co-delivery of the Marine Regions Forum conference. The shaping of the programme, fine-tuning of content, the selection of speakers and other contributors, and the moderation of sessions and discussions at the conference were a collaborative effort of the team, its partners, and the co-chairs of topical strands and sessions. This is reflected in the key messages of the Marine Regions Forum 2023 which have been compiled by the coordinating team from summary notes of plenaries and workshop sessions and developed jointly with the co-chairs. Although the four topical strands dealt with a broad range of issues, there were commonalities that spread across the discussions. These are summarised below as key messages that emerged and stood out from the three days of the conference.

Description: The Marine Regions Forum 2023 was held under the headline “Navigating Ocean Sustainability in the Western Indian Ocean and Beyond”, placing a focus on the Western Indian Ocean ( WIO) region and its challenges, and featuring many of the region’s ocean actors and experts. It provided an opportunity to reconnect in-person after the COVID -19 pandemic in a biodiversity-rich area that is particularly vulnerable to climate change, food insecurity and where a large proportion of the population is reliant on the coast for their livelihoods. But the WIO region is also pioneering a regional ocean governance strategy and is a hub of research, capacity development and science-to-policy engagement. This conference provided a platform to share best practices from the WIO region with other marine regions and learn from experiences from other parts of the world. Further, the conference offered a space for on-going processes to receive input from stakeholders and advance work, such as for the regional ocean governance strategy for the WIO that is being developed through an extensive collaborative process and under the auspices of the Nairobi Convention Secretariat. And, at a time where it can feel like international relationships are breaking down, and nations are looking inwards more than out, it was encouraging to gather over 180 people in Dar es Salaam and be hosted by both the United Republic of Tanzania and Republic of Seychelles to look at ways to work together towards a common goal of improved ocean governance at national, regional, and global levels. The conference programme of the Marine Regions Forum 2023 was developed together with partners from the WIO region and experts engaging in the region and built on a yearlong process of engagement and consultation. The coordinating team facilitated the overall co-design and co-delivery of the Marine Regions Forum conference. The shaping of the programme, fine-tuning of content, the selection of speakers and other contributors, and the moderation of sessions and discussions at the conference were a collaborative effort of the team, its partners, and the co-chairs of topical strands and sessions. This is reflected in the key messages of the Marine Regions Forum 2023 which have been compiled by the coordinating team from summary notes of plenaries and workshop sessions and developed jointly with the co-chairs. Although the four topical strands dealt with a broad range of issues, there were commonalities that spread across the discussions. These are summarised below as key messages that emerged and stood out from the three days of the conference.

Description: Welche Rolle spielen Akteure in Energiewende-Konflikten? Inwiefern müssen spezifische Akteurskonstellationen beachtet werden, um Konfliktlösungsstrategien zu finden? Welche Einstellungen, Interessenlagen und Gerechtigkeitsvorstellungen bei Stakeholdern und in der Bevölkerung spielen hierbei eine zu berücksichtigende Rolle. Die Studienergebnisse einer im Rahmen des DEMOKON-Forschungsprojektes durchgeführten deutschlandweiten vergleichenden Fallanalyse weisen darauf hin, dass Konfliktfälle in der Energiewende trotz vordergründiger Parallelen höchst unterschiedlich gelagert sind und die Präferenzen von Akteuren in jedem Einzelfall berücksichtigt und abgewogen werden müssen. Es hat sich gezeigt: Sowohl die Anerkennungs-, Prozess- als auch Verteilungsgerechtigkeit sind hierbei außerordentlich bedeutsam. Vertreter:innen betroffener Kommunen sollten aktiv mit Konflikten umgehen und Strategien entwickeln; eine passive Rolle ist nicht erfolgversprechend. Grundsätzlich gilt: Je mehr Beteiligung gewährt wird und Akteure sich in den Entscheidungsfindungsprozess einbringen können, desto besser ist es. Dies ist in vielen Anwendungsfällen der Energiewende jedoch schwer möglich, polarisierte Pro- und Contra-Lager sind eher die Regel als die Ausnahme. Wichtig ist daher die vermittelnde Rolle von neutralen Akteuren, die in polarisierten Konfliktfällen mediativ wirken können. Lokale Charakteristika sollten in den Diskursen angemessen widergespiegelt sein (z.B. ein von Windkraft betroffener Wald). Lokale Identitäten fußen häufig auf Ortsverbundenheiten und Heimatgefühle, auf deren Verletzung lokale Gemeinschaften empfindlich reagieren. Entsprechend sind (hoch)sensible Umgangsweisen mit den betroffenen Standorten und Schutzgütern erforderlich. Sie sollten bestenfalls neben Einbezug und Gehör sowie finanzieller Beteiligung (Bürgerenergie) auch Kompensation und andere Benefits für die Allgemeinheit bieten (z.B. Investitionen in öffentliche Einrichtungen und Infrastrukturen, lokale Stromtarife, Vergünstigungen), um möglichen Beeinträchtigungen, Benachteiligungen und Ungleichheiten entgegenzuwirken.

Description: What role do various actors play within conflicts relating to the energy transition? To what extent do specific constellations of actors need to be considered in order to identify adequate conflict resolution strategies? Which views, interests and notions of justice held by stakeholders and the wider public need to be taken into account? The findings of a nationwide comparative case analysis conducted as part of the DEMOKON research project indicate that, while some superficial similarities exist, the spectrum of conflicts relating to the German energy transition is highly diverse and actors’ preferences should be considered and carefully weighed in each individual case. This research shows that recognition, procedural, and distributive justice all play an important role here. Representatives of affected communities must actively engage with conflicts and develop strategies as passivity is unlikely to deliver positive outcomes. The more opportunities for participation that are available and the more that stakeholders are able to engage with the decision-making processes, the better the outcome. However, this is not easily achieved in many cases; the polarization of supporters and opponents is the rule rather than the exception. Neutral actors with the ability to mediate in polarized conflicts are an important asset. Local characteristics should be carefully considered in discourse (e.g., a forest affected by a wind power project). Local identities are often based on a sense of place and a sense of home. Local communities can respond sensitively when these values are disregarded. Highly sensitive approaches are needed to address conflicts arising in connection with affected sites and prized assets. At best, these should provide compensation and other benefits to the community (e.g. investment in public facilities and infrastructure, local electricity tariffs, concessions) along with opportunities for participation and consultation as well as financial participation (community energy / ownership) in order to mitigate possible adverse effects, disadvantages, and inequalities.

Description: Die geplante Verordnung der Europäischen Union (EU) über forstwirtschaftliche Risikowaren verlangt von Unternehmen, die in den oder aus dem EU-Markt verkaufen, die Bereitstellung von Geolokalisierungsdaten der Produktionsgebiete. Zur Umsetzung der obligatorischen Sorgfaltspflicht schreiben die Regulierungsbehörden die Nutzung von EU-Datenerfassungs- und Analyseinstrumenten wie dem Raumfahrtprogramm der Union (EGNOS/Galileo und Copernicus) und der EU-Beobachtungsstelle vor. Darüber hinaus empfiehlt der Gesetzentwurf, auf bestehenden öffentlich oder privat verfügbaren Datenquellen und Überwachungsinitiativen aufzubauen. In dieser Arbeit werden digitale Transparenzinitiativen in Brasilien untersucht, um den Beitrag der digitalen Technologien zur Rückverfolgung der sozio-ökologischen Herkunft von Produkten zu verstehen. Als Rohstoffproduzent und Heimat des größten Regenwaldes der Welt bietet der brasilianische Fall Lehren für die Umsetzung der EU-Abholzungsverordnung und bietet gleichzeitig die Möglichkeit, über das Potenzial des Technologie- und Wissenstransfers aus dem globalen Süden nachzudenken. Darüber hinaus können staatliche und nichtstaatliche Akteure durch die Nutzung vorhandener Datensätze und digitaler Artefakte wie in Brasilien digitale Innovationen fördern, den Wert für die Gesellschaft steigern und Wege für eine verstärkte transnationale Zusammenarbeit eröffnen. Die Fallstudie zeigt, dass es mehrere hochwertige offene Datenquellen und digitale Plattformen gibt. Das Haupthindernis für die Umgestaltung des brasilianischen agroindustriellen Komplexes liegt eher in der Verwirklichung institutioneller als technologischer Innovationen. Insbesondere müssen die brasilianische Regierung und die Agrarindustrie von rückwärtsgewandten Narrativen und Handlungen Abstand nehmen, einschließlich des Datenmissbrauchs und der Instrumentalisierung von Maßnahmen im Zusammenhang mit digitalen Technologien, die mit der aktuellen globalen Klimakrise unvereinbar sind. Während Unternehmen, Behörden und die Zivilgesellschaft sich darauf verlassen können sollten, dass die brasilianischen digitalen Initiativen die Einhaltung der Abholzungsvorschriften überprüfen, muss die EU einen kooperativeren Ansatz verfolgen, um Brasilien bei der Bewältigung seiner dringenden politisch-institutionellen Herausforderungen zu unterstützen.

Description: The upcoming European Union (EU) forest-risk commodities regulation requires companies selling to or from the EU market to provide the geolocation data of production areas. To implement the mandatory due diligence requirements, regulators prescribe using EU data collection and analysis tools such as the Union’s Space programme (EGNOS/Galileo and Copernicus) and the EU Observatory. Furthermore, the draft law recommends building on existing publicly or privately available data sources and monitoring initiatives. This paper examines digital transparency initiatives in Brazil to understand digital technologies’ contribution to tracing products’ socio-environmental origin. As a commodity powerhouse and home to the world’s largest rainforest, the Brazilian case offers lessons for implementing the EU Deforestation Regulation while presenting a chance to reflect on the potential of technology and knowledge transfer from the Global South. Moreover, by building on existing datasets and digital artifacts as those in Brazil, state and non-state actors may foster digital innovation, increase value to society, and open paths for enhanced transnational collaboration. The case study shows several high-quality open data sources and digital platforms exist. The major obstacle to transforming the Brazilian agro-industrial complex lies in realising institutional rather than technological innovations. Specifically, the Brazilian government and agribusiness must abandon retrograde narratives and actions, including data misuse and the instrumentalization of policies related to digital technologies, which are incompatible with the current global climate crisis. While operators, authorities, and civil society should rely on Brazilian digital initiatives to conduct non-deforestation compliance checks, the EU must adopt a more collaborative approach to help Brazil address its pressing political-institutional challenges.

Description: France was one of the European frontrunners in formulating policies to develop hydrogen for decarbonisation, publishing its first hydrogen plan in 2018, followed by a larger, €9-billion plan in 2020, hot on the heels of plans released by the European Commission and Germany. The French strategy for hydrogen deployment focuses in particular on applications where hydrogen is key for deep decarbonisation, including refineries and the chemical industry as well as steel production, and the mobility sector. The country aims to have a head start on European and world competitors thanks to large electricity resources from the existing nuclear fleet and by building new nuclear capacity. Additionally, it relies on several existing innovation hubs specialised in hydrogen, as well as the support of many local governments involved in hydrogen development and a relatively structured hydrogen industry. The French strategy for hydrogen does not include ambitions at the international level beyond scientific and technological cooperation within the European Union. The political priority is to develop a domestic industry sized to meet national demand, which is seen as a more secure sourcing strategy than relying on imports. This comes in contrast with the positions of France’s neighbours, notably Spain, Portugal and Germany, which are pushing to enable cross-border trade of hydrogen as early as possible. This situation has generated political tensions within the European Union and in particular in the Franco-German relationship.

Description: Poland is the third largest producer of hydrogen in the EU, with around 1.3 million tonnes produced every year. This grey hydrogen is generated almost exclusively from steam methane reforming and utilised mainly by the chemical, petrochemical, steel and food sectors. The emergence of low-carbon hydrogen technologies has captured a significant interest by various Polish stakeholders, including both oil and gas sector incumbents, renewable energy promoters and local governments. In 2021, the Polish Hydrogen Strategy until 2030 with an outlook until 2040 was published as the first official government strategy affecting low-carbon hydrogen development. The document presents an optimistic and ambitious approach to hydrogen potential, with a focus on domestic production and use in multiple sectors. This is despite the fact that production of low-carbon hydrogen in Poland could face significant challenges, such as a relatively low availability of clean electricity, reliance on natural gas imports and limited experience with CCS. Issues regarding the global hydrogen market and international trade are largely omitted. This paper analyses the possible background of this fact, as well as the factors affecting the future Polish approach to the European and global hydrogen market. Although Poland would not be a frontrunner in these developments, we believe that it could become a pragmatic participant. In fact, we note that Polish companies, including state-owned enterprises, have already launched some relevant cooperative initiatives at European level.

Description: This report provides a comprehensive review of China’s emerging hydrogen economy with a particular focus on policy and regulation, both at the national and sub-national level. China’s promotion of the hydrogen sector is emblematic of its broader efforts to promote greenhouse gas reductions, while pursuing ambitious industrial development goals and promoting energy security. To date, industrial policy goals have clearly taken center stage, with a particular focus on fuel cell vehicles. For now, China is pursuing a diversified strategy in support of hydrogen supply, which includes all different types of hydrogen production, including coal-based hydrogen. Nevertheless, policy documents increasingly emphasize the potential of renewable hydrogen as a vehicle for stabilizing an electricity system based on variable renewable energy as well as broader decarbonization efforts. They also increasingly highlight the need to transition to an exclusively renewable hydrogen supply in the future. In a number of cases, local-level strategies have come out more strongly in support of renewable hydrogen than current central government policies. Local-level policy has also played a key role in the promotion of fuel cell vehicles. Policies for hydrogen-based decarbonization of industry are only at a nascent stage. Similarly, China’s ambitions to promote hydrogen storage and transport remain at a relatively early stage of development with an important emphasis on the promotion of innovation and acquisition of technological know-how. Finally, both China’s hydrogen strategy and the engagement of its energy SOEs do not appear to be strongly motivated by considerations of geopolitics at this stage. To be sure, Chinese officials are considering increasing opportunities for investment in hydrogen projects around the world. In this vein, the national hydrogen development plan considers the importance of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) for promoting hydrogen-related standards and investments. Beyond these geoeconomic considerations, the role of hydrogen as a future energy commodity and its geopolitical implications do not figure prominently in Chinese policy efforts. Indeed, due to China’s relative abundance of renewable energy resources, it is does not exhibit major vulnerabilities related to the future provision of hydrogen. Conversely, hydrogen could even offer an opportunity to reduce its energy dependence in the future. This and other efforts to shape global hydrogen trade do not seem to be a significant driver of its policy efforts, however.

Description: Die nordfranzösische Kleinstadt Loos-en-Gohelle mauserte sich nach dem Kohleausstieg 1986 von einer ehemaligen Bergbauhochburg zur Modellkommune für Nachhaltigkeit. Weniger bekannt ist die Bedeutung von kulturpolitischen Maßnahmen in diesem Strukturwandel: Während in anderen Kommunen des Nordfranzösischen Kohlereviers die Kulturpolitik eingesetzt wurde, um das Image der Region zu verändern, zielte Loos-en-Gohelle darauf ab, die lokale Bevölkerung in den sozial-ökologischen Transformationsprozess mit einzubinden. Partizipative Kulturarbeit wurde somit zum Instrument der Emanzipation. Jedoch scheinen die Möglichkeiten einer Mobilisierung der Bevölkerung in den letzten Jahren an einem Wendepunkt angelangt zu sein. Loos-en-Gohelle steht vor der Herausforderung, neue Formen der kulturellen Teilhabe aufzubauen, um zu verhindern, dass die Dynamik nachlässt.

Description: Following the end of coal production in 1986, the small town of Loos-en-Gohelle in northern France transformed itself from a former mining stronghold into a model municipality for sustainability. This article highlights the importance of cultural policy measures in this structural change: while in other municipalities in the northern French coalfield, cultural policy was used to change the image of the region, Loos-en-Gohelle aimed to involve the local population in the socio-ecological transformation process. Participatory cultural work thus became an instrument of emancipation. However, the possibilities for mobilising the population appear to have reached a turning point in recent years. Loos-en-Gohelle is faced with the challenge of developing new forms of cultural participation in order to prevent the momentum from slowing down.

Description: Italy presents, potentially, some important comparative advantages in the emerging clean hydrogen economy. However, unlike other large EU countries, Italy has not yet issued a comprehensive strategy on hydrogen nor has it developed a coherent hydrogen diplomacy. It was only with the National Recovery and Resilience Plan, launched in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis, that Italy upgraded its measures for promoting green hydrogen and related activities. The main players in the Italian hydrogen landscape are national industrial actors, especially state-owned energy companies. This leading role can be an important asset to overcome the problems related to an industrial system otherwise composed of small and medium companies, which can find it difficult to compete with hydrogen frontrunners. Externally, Italy has supported all the European and multilateral initiatives on hydrogen, although in the EU the country is a policy-taker rather than a policy-shaper. The main focus of the Italian international approach is linked to the hydrogen hub concept, which targets the MENA region and is also supported by its national energy companies. This concept has received a further push after the beginning of the war in Ukraine. However, its practical realization is very problematic because of domestic and external challenges.

Description: The European Union has identified clean hydrogen as essential to its climate targets, technology leadership and energy security in the decarbonizing world. The bloc is developing a comprehensive regulatory framework for a hydrogen economy, complete with supply-side policies and binding demand-side targets. In addition to boosting domestic production, the EU is planning to import large volumes of hydrogen and derivatives from third countries. Hydrogen is thus beginning to play a more prominent role in the EU’s bilateral partnerships. The EU is also actively participating in multilateral hydrogen governance with the goal of creating a functioning international hydrogen market featuring strong sustainability standards. At the same time, aligning the diverging interests of Member States and various hydrogen stakeholders has been a challenge. As the global hydrogen race accelerates, the bloc has struggled to keep up with powerful players like the United States, which are offering massive subsidies to the hydrogen industry. This discussion paper examines the domestic and external dimensions of the EU's hydrogen vision, situating it within the bloc's wider climate and energy policy and recent geopolitical developments. It discusses key policies, regulations, and funding schemes for hydrogen in the EU, highlighting existing points of contention and the interplay between the EU and Member State level. It then goes on to analyze the EU's evolving international engagement on hydrogen and the challenges of fostering mutually beneficial green industrial partnerships that go beyond securing hydrogen supplies. It remains to be seen whether the EU succeeds in drawing on its early mover advantage and potential synergies to remain an attractive investment destination and build resilient clean hydrogen supply chains.

Description: South Africa and Namibia are seeking to become leaders in green hydrogen production. Leveraging world-class renewable energy resources, both nations are working to scale their green hydrogen production capabilities. However, given their very different starting points, they also face different opportunities and challenges. In particular, South Africa hopes to develop its green hydrogen industry through green ammonia exports and applications in hard-to-abate industries, namely steel, chemicals, and aviation fuel. It also seeks to leverage its reserves of so-called platinum grade metals to position the country as a produce of protone-exchange membrane (PEM) electrolyzers, which rely on this rare metal. Namibia has mainly focused on the development of green ammonia exports, though policy documents have also identified potential opportunities for the production of green steel and aviation fuels. Given green hydrogen’s technological complexity and the countries' export-oriented ambitions, both countries must cooperate with foreign actors to facilitate technology sharing, financial flows, and technical assistance. To this end, international partnerships are playing a pivotal role in the development of both countries’ green hydrogen industries.

Description: Technologies for Carbon Capture, Usage and Storage (CCUS) and Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR) only represent climate solutions in as much as they go hand in hand with deep emissions reductions. The (future) availability of CCUS and CDR technologies does not mean we can delay or avoid phasing out fossil fuels if we are to have a chance of limiting global warming to 1.5°C or even 2°C. Likewise, the expansion of renewable energy technologies will be nowhere near adequate for meeting agreed-upon climate targets unless fossil fuels are simultaneously ramped down. Up until now, renewables have been largely in addition to, rather than substituting for fossil fuels. Achieving our climate and broader sustainable development goals will require transformations that go beyond energy systems and reevaluate the structures and institutions behind our patterns of consumption, mobility, and food production, among others.

Description: The blue mussel (Mytilus species complex) is an important ecosystem engineer, and salinity can be a major abiotic driver of mussel functioning in coastal ecosystems. However, little is known about the interactive effects of abiotic drivers and trematode infection. This study investigated the combined effects of salinity and Himasthla elongata and Renicola roscovita metacercarial infections on the filtration capacity, growth, and condition of M. edulis from the Baltic Sea. In a laboratory experiment, groups of infected and uninfected mussels were exposed to a wide range of salinities (6−30, in steps of 3) for 1 mo. Shell growth was found to be positively correlated with salinity and optimal at 18−24 at the end of the experiment, imposed by constraints in shell calcification under lower salinities. Mussel shell growth was not affected by H. elongata infection. While salinity had only a minor effect on tissue dry weight, infected mussels had a significantly lower tissue dry weight than uninfected mussels. Most interestingly, the combination of salinity and trematode infections negatively affected the mussels’ condition indices at lower salinity levels (6 and 9), suggesting that trematode infections are more detrimental to mussels when combined with freshening. A significant positive effect of salinity on mussel filtration was found, with an initial optimum at salinity 18 shifting to 18−24 by the end of the experiment. These findings indicate that salinity and parasite infections act as synergistic stressors for mussels, and enhance the understanding of potential future ecosystem shifts under climate change-induced freshening in coastal waters.

Description: In the deep sea, benthic communities largely depend on organic material from the overlying water column for food. The remains of organisms on the seafloor (food falls) create areas of organic enrichment that attract scavengers. The scavenging rates and communities of food falls of medium-sized squid, fish and jellyfish (1-100 cm) are poorly known. To test our hypothesis that scavenging responses are specific for different food falls, we deployed camera landers baited with squid, jellyfish and fish for 9 to 25 h at 1360 to 1440 m in the southern Norwegian Sea. Image analysis of 8 deployments showed rapid food fall consumption (20.3 +/- 1.4 [SD] to 31.6 +/- 3.7 g h(-1)) by an amphipod-dominated scavenging community that was significantly different between the food fall types. Fish and squid carcasses were mostly attended by amphipods of the genus Eurythenes. Smaller unidentified amphipods dominated the jellyfish experiments together with brittle stars (cf. Ophiocten gracilis) and decapod shrimps (cf. Bythocaris spp.); the latter only occurred on jellyfish carcasses. The removal time for jellyfish (similar to 17 h) was almost twice as long as that for squid and fish (9-10 h). The maximum scavenger abundance was significantly higher on fish carcasses than on jellyfish and squid. The times at which abundances peaked were similar for jellyfish and fish (after 8-9 h) but significantly sooner for squid (3.00 +/- 0.35 h). Our results, although based on a small number of experiments, demonstrate differences in scavenging responses between food fall species, suggesting tight coupling between the diversity and ecology of benthic scavenging communities in the Norwegian Sea.

Description: In this work, we focused on the functional characterization of unicellular eukaryotic assemblages that had previously been taxonomically characterized by 18S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing in a eutrophic coastal site with marked plankton blooms. Biological traits of different functional groups were assigned to the retrieved operational taxonomic units (OTUs). The traits included size, trophic strategy, the presence of spines, mucilage production, colony formation, motility, spore formation, and potential harmfulness. Functional diversity indices were calculated and compared to analogous taxonomic diversity indices, indicating a strong positive coupling of richness and dominance and a negative coupling of evenness, even at a low taxonomic resolution (at the family/genus/species level). Biological trait trade-offs and co-occurrences of specific traits were evident during the succession of plankton blooms. The trophic strategy dominating in the assemblages frequently alternated between autotrophy, mixotrophy, and a few recorded cases of parasitism. Given that there was no indication of nutrient limitation, we suggest that biotic pressures force marine eukaryotes to exploit narrow niches by adopting specific strategies/traits that favour their survival. These traits act by increasing resource acquisition potential and via predator avoidance. This leads to a unique succession of blooms in the system, characterized by adaptations of the bloom taxa that are a direct response to the preceding assemblage.

Description: Recent advancements in telemetry have redefined our ability to quantify the fine-scale movements of aquatic animals and derive a mechanistic understanding of movement behaviours. The VEMCO Positioning System (VPS) is a fine-scale commercial positioning system used to generate highly accurate semi-continuous animal tracks. To date, VPS has been used to study 86 species, spanning 25 taxonomic orders. It has provided fine-scale movement data for critical life stages, from tracking day-old turtle hatchlings on their first foray into the sea to adult fish returning to natal rivers to spawn. These high-resolution tracking data have improved our understanding of the movements of species across environmental gradients within rivers, estuaries and oceans, including species of conservation concern and commercial value. Existing VPS applications range from quantifying spatio-temporal aspects of animal space use and key aspects of ecology, such as rate of movement and resource use, to higher-order processes such as interactions among individuals and species. Analytical approaches have seen a move towards techniques that incorporate error frameworks such as autocorrelated kernel density estimators for home range calculations. VPS technology has the potential to bridge gaps in our fundamental understanding of fine-scale ecological and physiological processes for single and multi-species studies under natural conditions. Through a systematic review of the VPS literature, we focus on 4 principle topics: the diversity of species studied, current ecological and ecophysiological applications and data analysis techniques, and we highlight future frontiers of exploration.

Description: Strong anisotropy of seismic velocity in the Earth’scrust poses serious challenges for seismic imaging. Where in situ seismic properties are not available the anisotropy can be determined from velocity analysis of surface and borehole seismic profiles. This is well established for dense, long-offset reflection seismic data. However, it is unknown how applicable this approach is for sparse seismic reflection data with low fold and short offsets in anisotropic metamorphic rocks. Here we show that anisotropy parameters can be determined from a sparse 3D data set at the COSC-1 borehole site in the Swedish Caledonides and that the results agree well with the seismic anisotropy parameters determined from seismic laboratory measurements on core samples. Applying these anisotropy parameters during 3D seismic imaging improves the seismic image of the high amplitude reflections especially in the vicinity of the lower part of the borehole. Strong reflections in the resulting seismic data show good correlation with the borehole-derived lithology. Our results aid the interpretation and extrapolation of the seismic stratigraphy of the Lower Seve Nappe in Jämtland and other parts in the Caledonides.

Description: Juvenile sea turtles can disperse thousands of kilometers from nesting beaches to oceanic development habitats, aided by ocean currents. In the North Atlantic, turtles dispersing from American beaches risk being advected out of warm nursery grounds in the North Atlantic Gyre into lethally cold Northern European waters (e.g. around the United Kingdom). We used an ocean model simulation to compare simulated numbers of turtles that were advected to cold waters around the UK with observed numbers of turtles reported in the same area over ~5 decades. Rates of virtual turtles predicted to encounter lethal temperatures (≤10 and 15°C, mean 19% ± 2.7) and reach the UK were consistently low (median 0.83%, lower quartile 0.67%, upper quartile 1.02%), whereas there was high inter-annual variability in the numbers of dead or critically ill turtles reported in the UK. Generalized additive models suggest inter-annual variability in the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) index to be a good indicator of annual numbers of turtle strandings reported in the UK. We demonstrate that NAO variability drives variability in the dispersion scenarios of juvenile turtles from key nesting regions into the North Atlantic. Coastal effects, such as the number of storms and mean sea surface temperatures in the UK were significant but weak predictors, with a weak effect on turtle strandings. Further understanding how changing environmental conditions such as NAO variability and storms affect the fate of juvenile turtles is vital for understanding the distribution and population dynamics of sea turtles.

Description: The Global Ocean Data Analysis Project (GLODAP) is a synthesis effort providing regular compilations of surface-to-bottom ocean biogeochemical bottle data, with an emphasis on seawater inorganic carbon chemistry and related variables determined through chemical analysis of seawater samples. GLODAPv2.2022 is an update of the previous version, GLODAPv2.2021 (Lauvset et al., 2021). The major changes are as follows: data from 96 new cruises were added, data coverage was extended until 2021, and for the first time we performed secondary quality control on all sulphur hexafluoride (SF6) data. In addition, a number of changes were made to data included in GLODAPv2.2021. These changes affect specifically the SF6 data, which are now subjected to secondary quality control, and carbon data measured onboard the RV Knorr in the Indian Ocean in 1994–1995 which are now adjusted using CRM measurements made at the time. GLODAPv2.2022 includes measurements from almost 1.4 million water samples from the global oceans collected on 1085 cruises. The data for the now 13 GLODAP core variables (salinity, oxygen, nitrate, silicate, phosphate, dissolved inorganic carbon, total alkalinity, pH, CFC-11, CFC-12, CFC-113, CCl4, and SF6) have undergone extensive quality control with a focus on systematic evaluation of bias. The data are available in two formats: (i) as submitted by the data originator but converted to World Ocean Circulation Experiment (WOCE) exchange format and (ii) as a merged data product with adjustments applied to minimize bias. For the present annual update, adjustments for the 96 new cruises were derived by comparing those data with the data from the 989 quality controlled cruises in the GLODAPv2.2021 data product using crossover analysis. SF6 data from all cruises were evaluated by comparison with CFC-12 data measured on the same cruises. For nutrients and ocean carbon dioxide (CO2) chemistry comparisons to estimates based on empirical algorithms provided additional context for adjustment decisions. The adjustments that we applied are intended to remove potential biases from errors related to measurement, calibration, and data handling practices without removing known or likely time trends or variations in the variables evaluated. The compiled and adjusted data product is believed to be consistent to better than 0.005 in salinity, 1 % in oxygen, 2 % in nitrate, 2 % in silicate, 2 % in phosphate, 4 μmol kg-1 in dissolved inorganic carbon, 4 μmol kg-1 in total alkalinity, 0.01–0.02 in pH (depending on region), and 5 % in the halogenated transient tracers. The other variables included in the compilation, such as isotopic tracers and discrete CO2 fugacity (fCO2), were not subjected to bias comparison or adjustments.

Description: Mothers impact the survival and performance of their offspring through the resources they provision, and the degree of maternal investment in an individual offspring can be broadly estimated by egg size for organisms that lack parental care. Animals may also actively maintain symbiotic partnerships with microorganisms through the germ line, but whether microbes are a fundamental component of maternal provisioning is an untested hypothesis in evolutionary symbiosis. We present a preliminary test of this by comparing the egg-associated microbiota of ten sea urchin species with ecological factors known to influence egg size. We found that the microbiota associated with sea urchin eggs had a phylogenetic signal in both composition and richness, which varied between years but not between individuals or within a clutch. Moreover, we found a negative correlation between microbiome richness and taxonomic dominance, and that community diversity covaried with egg size and energetic content but not with pelagic larval duration or latitude. These data suggest that there are multiple parallels between the ecological factors that govern changes in egg size and microbiome composition and diversity, implying that microbial symbionts may be another constituent potentially provided by the mother.

Description: The southern boundary of the Cayman Trough in the Caribbean is marked by the Swan Islands transform fault (SITF), which also represents the ocean-continent transition of the Honduras continental margin. This is one of the few places globally where a transform continental margin is currently active. The CAYSEIS experiment acquired an ∼165-km-long seismic refraction and gravity profile (P01) running across this transform margin, and along the ridge-axis of the Mid-Cayman Spreading Centre (MCSC) to the north. This profile reveals not only the crustal structure of an actively evolving transform continental margin, that juxtaposes Mesozoic-age continental crust to the south against zero-age ultraslow spread oceanic crust to the north, but also the nature of the crust and uppermost mantle beneath the ridge-transform intersection (RTI). The traveltimes of arrivals recorded by ocean-bottom seismographs (OBSs) deployed along-profile have been inverse and forward modelled, in combination with gravity modelling, to reveal an ∼25-km-thick continental crust that has been continuously thinned over a distance of ∼65 km to ∼10 km adjacent to the SITF, where it is juxtaposed against ∼3-4-km-thick oceanic crust. This thinning is primarily accommodated within the lower crust. Since Moho reflections are only sparsely observed, and, even then, only by a few OBSs located on the continental margin, the 7.5 km s-1 velocity contour is used as a proxy to locate the crust-mantle boundary along-profile. Along the MCSC, the crust-mantle boundary appears to be a transition zone, at least at the seismic wavelengths used for CAYSEIS data acquisition. Although the traveltime inversion only directly constrains the upper crust at the SITF, gravity modelling suggests that it is underlain by a higher density (〉3000 kg m-3) region spanning the width (∼15 km) of its bathymetric expression, that may reflect a broad region of metasomatism, mantle hydration or melt-depleted lithospheric mantle. At the MCSC ridge-axis to the north, the oceanic crust appears to be forming in zones, where each zone is defined by the volume of its magma supply. The ridge tip adjacent to the SITF is currently in a magma rich phase of accretion. However, there is no evidence for melt leakage into the transform zone. The width and crustal structure of the SITF suggests its motion is currently predominantly orthogonal to spreading. Comparison to CAYSEIS Profile P04, located to the west and running across-margin and through 10 Ma MCSC oceanic crust, suggests that, at about this time, motion along the SITF had a left-lateral transtensional component, that accounts for its apparently broad seabed appearance westwards.

Description: Diatoms often dominate phytoplankton in temperate, polar and upwelling regions. Decreases in silicate availability or silicon to nitrogen (Si:N) ratios may induce silicon limitation in diatoms and lower their proportion within phytoplankton communities. The effects of such changes on the nutritional quality of phytoplankton are not well understood. To examine how changing Si:N ratios affect plankton nutritional value, we applied a range of Si:N ratios on a natural plankton community and manipulated grazing pressure to assess top-down effects of copepod selective grazing. Diatom proportion in phytoplankton increased with increasing Si:N ratios and so did phytoplankton nutritional quality in terms of major fatty acid concentrations, such as polyunsaturated fatty acids, docosahexaenoic (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic (EPA) acids. However, stoichiometric quality (carbon to nitrogen and carbon to phosphorus ratios), DHA:EPA and omega 3:6 (omega 3:omega 6) ratios declined with increasing Si:N ratios, suggesting that proportions between essential compounds in copepod diet may be more favorable in lowered Si:N ratios. Copepods had a negative effect on DHA contents, DHA:EPA and omega 3:omega 6 ratios, indicating possible selective grazing on more nutritious plankton. Our findings show that declining silicate concentrations can affect stoichiometric and biochemical quality of phytoplankton, which copepods can also moderate by selective grazing.

Description: Temperature and dehydration stress are two major co-occurring environmental stressors threatening the physiology, biochemistry, and ecology of insects. As such, understanding adaptive responses to desiccation stress is critical for predicting climate change impacts, particularly its influence on insect invasions. Here, we assessed water balance and desiccation resistance of the invasive Tuta absoluta (Meyrick, 1917) (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae), and infer how eco-physiology shapes its niche. We measured basal body water and lipid content, water loss rates (WLRs), and desiccation resistance in larvae (second to fourth instars) and adults. Body -water, -lipid, and WLRs significantly varied across life stages. Second instars recorded the lowest while fourth instars exhibited the highest body water and lipid content. Adult body water and lipid content were higher than second and third instars and lower than fourth instars while proportion of body water and lipid contents were highest in adults and second larval instars respectively. Water loss rates were significantly highest in fourth-instar larvae compared to other life stages, but differences among stages were less apparent at longer exposure durations (48 h). Desiccation resistance assays showed that second instars had greatest mortality while fourth-instar larvae and adults were the most desiccation tolerant. Our results show that T. absoluta fourth-instar larvae and adults are the most resilient developmental stages and potentially contribute most to the invasion success of the pest in arid environments. Incorporation of these species-specific eco-physiological traits in predictive models can help refine invasive species potential spread under changing climates.

Description: The fishery for Northern Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) off Newfoundland and Labrador, Eastern Canada, presents the most spectacular case of an exploited stock crashed in a few decades by an industrial bottom trawl fishery under a seemingly sophisticated management regime after half a millennium of sustainable fishing. The fishery, which had generated annual catches of 100000 to 200000 tonnes from the beginning of the 16th century to the 1950s, peaked in 1968 at 810000 tonnes, followed by a devastating collapse and closure 24 years later. Since then, stock recovery may have been hindered by premature openings, with vessels targeting the remains of the cod population. Previous research paid little attention towards using multicentury time series to inform sustainable catches and recovery plans. Here, we show that a simple stock assessment model can be used to model the cod population trajectory for the entire period from 1508 to 2019 for which catch estimates are available. The model suggests that if fishing effort and mortality had been stabilized in the 1980s, precautionary annual yields of about 200000 tonnes could have been sustained. Our analysis demonstrates the value of incorporating prior knowledge to counteract shifting baseline effects on reference points and contemporary perceptions of historical stock status.

Description: A large-volume mesocosm-based nutrient perturbation experiment was conducted off the island of Hawai‘I, USA, to investigate the response of surface ocean phytoplankton communities to nutrient addition of macronutrients, trace metals, and vitamins and to assess the feasibility of using mesocosms in the open ocean. Three free-drifting mesocosms (~60 m3) were deployed: one mesocosm served as a control (no nutrient amendments), a second (termed +P) was amended with nitrate (N), silicate (Si), phosphate (P) and a trace metal + vitamin mixture, and a third (termed -P) was amended with N, Si, and a trace metal + vitamin mixture but no P. These mesocosms were unreplicated due to logistical constraints and hence differences between treatments are qualitative. After 6 d, the largest response of the phytoplankton community was observed in the +P mesocosm where chlorophyll a (chl a) and 14C-based primary production were 2–3× greater than the -P mesocosm and 4–6× greater than the control. Comparison between mesocosm and ‘microcosm’ incubations (20 l) revealed differences in the magnitude and timing of production and marked differences in community structure with a reduced response of diatoms in microcosm treatments. Notably, we also observed pronounced declines in Prochlorococcus populations in all treatments: although these were greater in microcosms (up to 99%). Overall, this study confirmed the feasibility of deploying free-drifting mesocosms in the open ocean as a potentially powerful tool to investigate ecological impacts of nutrient perturbations and constitutes a valuable first step towards scaling plankton manipulation experiments.

Description: The trophic ecology of mixotrophic, zooxanthellate jellyfishes potentially spans a wide spectrum between autotrophy and heterotrophy. However, their degree of trophic plasticity along this spectrum is not well known. To better characterize their trophic ecology, we sampled the zooxanthellate medusa Mastigias papua in contrasting environments and sizes in Palau (Micronesia). We characterized their trophic ecology using isotopic (bulk δ13C and δ15N), elemental (C:N ratios), and fatty acid compositions. The different trophic indicators were correlated or anti-correlated as expected (Pearson’s correlation coefficient, rP 〉 0.5 or 〈 -0.5 in 91.1% of cases, p 〈 0.05), indicating good agreement. The sampled M. papua were ordered in a trophic spectrum between autotrophy and heterotrophy (supported by decreasing δ13C, C:N, proportion of neutral lipid fatty acids (NLFA:TLFA), n-3:n-6 and increasing δ15N, eicosapentaenoic acid to docosahexaenoic acid ratio (EPA:DHA)). This trophic spectrum was mostly driven by sampling location with little influence of medusa size. Moreover, previous observations have shown that in a given location, the trophic ecology of M. papua can change over time. Thus, the positions on the trophic spectrum of the populations sampled here are not fixed, suggesting high trophic plasticity in M. papua. The heterotrophic end of the trophic spectrum was occupied by non-symbiotic M. papua, whereas the literature indicates that the autotrophic end of the spectrum corresponds to dominant autotrophy, where more than 100% of the carbon requirement is obtained by photosynthesis. Such high trophic plasticity has critical implications for the trophic ecology and blooming ability of zooxanthellate jellyfishes

Description: The Asian shore crab Hemigrapsus takanoi, native to the northwest Pacific Ocean, was recently discovered in Kiel Fjord (southwestern Baltic Sea). In laboratory experiments, we tested the salinity tolerance of H. takanoi across 8 levels (0 to 35) and across 3 life history stages (larvae, juveniles and adults) to assess its potential to invade the brackish Baltic Sea. Larval development at different salinities was monitored from hatching to the megalopa stage, while survival and feeding of juveniles and adults were assessed over 17 d. Larvae of H. takanoi were able to complete their development to megalopa at salinities 〉= 20 and the time needed after hatch to reach this stage did not differ between salinities of 20, 25, 30 and 35. At a salinity of 15, larvae still reached the last zoea stage (zoea V), but development to the megalopa stage was not completed. All juveniles and adults survived at salinities from 5 to 35. Feeding rates of juveniles increased with increasing salinity across the entire salinity range. However, feeding rates of adults reached their maximum between salinities of 15 and 35. Our results indicate that both juveniles and adults of H. takanoi are euryhaline and can tolerate a wide range of salinities, at least for the time period tested (2 wk). However, larval development was impaired at salinities lower than 20, which may prevent the spread of H. takanoi into the Baltic Proper.

Description: The freshwater sponge Ephydatia muelleri and its Chlorella-like algal partner is an emerging model for studying animal: algal endosymbiosis. The sponge host is a tractable laboratory organism, and the symbiotic algae are easily cultured. We took advantage of these traits to interrogate questions about mechanisms that govern the establishment of durable intracellular partnerships between hosts and symbionts in facultative symbioses. We modified a classical experimental approach to discern the phagocytotic mechanisms that might be co-opted to permit persistent infections, and identified genes differentially expressed in sponges early in the establishment of endosymbiosis. We exposed algal-free E. muelleri to live native algal symbionts and potential food items (bacteria and native heat-killed algae), and performed RNA-Seq to compare patterns of gene expression among treatments. We found a relatively small but interesting suite of genes that are differentially expressed in the host exposed to live algal symbionts, and a larger number of genes triggered by host exposure to heat-killed algae. The upregulated genes in sponges exposed to live algal symbionts were mostly involved in endocytosis, ion transport, metabolic processes, vesicle-mediated transport, and oxidation–reduction. One of the host genes, an ATP-Binding Cassette transporter that is downregulated in response to live algal symbionts, was further evaluated for its possible role in the establishment of the symbiosis. We discuss the gene expression profiles associated with host responses to living algal cells in the context of conditions necessary for long-term residency within host cells by phototrophic symbionts as well as the genetic responses to sponge phagocytosis and immune-driven pathways.

Description: Marine sponges play a major ecological role in recycling resources on coral reef ecosystems. The cycling of resources may largely depend on the stability of the host-microbiome interactions and their susceptibility to altered environmental conditions. Given the current coral to algal phase shift on coral reefs, we investigated whether the sponge-associated bacterial communities of four sponge species, with either high or low microbial abundances (HMA and LMA), remain stable at two reefs sites with different coral to algae cover ratios. Additionally, we assessed the bacterial community composition of two of these sponge species before and after a reciprocal transplantation experiment between the sites. An overall stable bacterial community composition was maintained across the two sites in all sponge species, with a high degree of host-specificity. Furthermore, the core bacterial communities of the sponges remained stable also after a 21-day transplantation period, although a minor shift was observed in less abundant taxa (〈 1%). Our findings support the conclusion that host identity and HMA-LMA status are stronger traits in shaping bacterial community composition than habitat. Nevertheless, long-term microbial monitoring of sponges along with benthic biomass and water quality assessments are needed for identifying ecosystem tolerance ranges and tipping points in ongoing coral reef phase shifts.

Description: Understanding the underlying ecological factors that affect the distribution patterns of organisms is vital for their conservation. Cephalopods such as giant warty squids Moroteuthopsis longimana are important in the diets of marine predators, including grey-headed albatrosses Thalassarche chrysostoma, yet our understanding of their habitat and trophic ecology remains limited. We investigated the habitat and trophic niche utilised by M. longimana through the delta C-13 and delta N-15 profiles captured in their beaks. M. longimana beaks were collected around grey-headed albatross nests at the Prince Edward Islands during 2004 and 2013 (n = 40 beaks). The results showed distinctly Antarctic distributions (delta C-13 = -24.0 +/- 1.0 parts per thousand, mean +/- SD) for M. longimana, consistent with albatrosses foraging at the Southwest Indian Ridge, as opposed to broader foraging zones utilised by albatrosses from Iles Crozet and Iles Kerguelen. Slightly lower delta N-15 values (5.4 +/- 0.7 parts per thousand) were found compared to other islands in the Indian Sector of the Southern Ocean, which may indicate more crustaceans in the squid diets. Sequential sampling along the lateral walls of individual beaks (n = 4) revealed ontogenetic shifts in delta C-13 and delta N-15 values, but individual variation in these shifts requires further investigation.

Description: The maximum sustainable yield (MSY) concept is widely considered to be outdated and misleading. In response, fisheries scientists have developed models that often diverge radically from the first operational version of the concept. We show that the original MSY concept was deeply rooted in ecology and that going back to that version would be beneficial for fisheries, not least because the various substitutes have not served us well.

Description: Food webs are central entities mediating processes and external pressures in marine ecosystems. They are essential to understand and predict ecosystem dynamics and provision of ecosystem services. Paradoxically, utilization of food web knowledge in marine environmental conservation and resource management is limited. To better understand the use of knowledge and barriers to incorporation in management, we assess its application related to the management of eutrophication, chemical contamination, fish stocks, and non-indigenous species. We focus on the Baltic, a severely impacted, but also intensely studied and actively managed semi-enclosed sea. Our assessment shows food web processes playing a central role in all four areas, but application varies strongly, from formalized integration in management decisions, to support in selecting indicators and setting threshold values, to informal knowledge explaining ecosystem dynamics and management performance. Barriers for integration are complexity of involved ecological processes and that management frameworks are not designed to handle such information. We provide a categorization of the multi-faceted uses of food web knowledge and benefits of future incorporation in management, especially moving towards ecosystem-based approaches as guiding principle in present marine policies and directives. We close with perspectives on research needs to support this move considering global and regional change.

Description: The maraena whitefish Coregonus maraena is a threatened anadromous species in the North Sea, which in the past was decimated to near extinction. Since the late 1980s, several re-establishment programs have been implemented in rivers draining into the North Sea, but the scientific basis for sustainable conservation measures is often lacking, since little is known about the biology of this species. In this study, otolith microchemistry of fish ranging from 24.6 to 58.4 cm in total length (median 31.3 cm, SD 8.4 cm) was used to characterize the migration behavior of a reintroduced population of maraena whitefish from the River Elbe, Germany. Our analyses revealed the presence of 3 different migration patterns: (1) one-time migration into high-salinity habitat (North Sea) within the first year of life (29.6%), (2) multiple migrations between lowland high-salinity habitats starting in the first year of life (14.8%) and (3) permanent residency within low-salinity habitats, a pattern displayed by the majority (55.6%) of sampled individuals. Not only do these results reveal differential migration behavior, but they also indicate that permanent river residency is common in the River Elbe population of C. maraena. The role of the Elbe as both a feeding and a spawning habitat should thus be considered more explicitly in current conservation measures to support recovery of this species.

Description: Understanding the behavioural ecology of endangered taxa can inform conservation strategies. The activity budgets of the loggerhead turtle Caretta caretta are still poorly understood because many tracking methods show only horizontal displacement and ignore dives and associated behaviours. However, time-depth recorders have enabled researchers to identify flat, U-shaped dives (or type 1a dives) and these are conventionally labelled as resting dives on the seabed because they involve no vertical displacement of the animal. Video- and acceleration-based studies have demonstrated this is not always true. Focusing on sea turtles nesting on the Cabo Verde archipelago, we describe a new metric derived from magnetometer data, absolute angular velocity, that integrates indices of angular rotation in the horizontal plane to infer activity. Using this metric, we evaluated the variation in putative resting behaviours during the bottom phase of type 1a dives for 5 individuals over 13 to 17 d at sea during a single inter-nesting interval (over 75 turtle d in total). We defined absolute resting within the bottom phase of type 1a dives as periods with no discernible acceleration or angular movement. Whilst absolute resting constituted a significant proportion of each turtle’s time budget for this 1a dive type, turtles allocated 16−38% of their bottom time to activity, with many dives being episodic, comprised of intermittent bouts of rest and rotational activity. This implies that previously considered resting behaviours are complex and need to be accounted for in energy budgets, particularly since energy budgets may impact conservation strategies. © The authors 2021. Open Access under Creative Commons by Attribution Licence. Use, distribution and reproduction are unrestricted. Authors and original publication must be credited

Description: Cape anchovy Engraulis encrasicolus is an ecologically and economically important pelagic fish species occurring along the coast of South Africa. A recent eastward shift in Cape anchovy distribution indicates that environmental conditions are becoming more favorable for the species on the east coast. This shift is particularly important in the sheltered Algoa Bay region, a nursery area for fish larvae. However, the relatively low productivity of the Agulhas Current Large Marine Ecosystem on the eastern coast of South Africa may result in an anchovy population in poorer nutritional condition and with slower growth rates than the west coast population. Using otolith and nucleic acid analyses, the growth rates of anchovy larvae from the western and southeastern coasts of South Africa were compared. The otolith analysis results indicated that, at any given age, individual growth rates for anchovy larvae were higher on the southeast coast than on the west coast. The RNA:DNA values also indicated that instantaneous growth rates of anchovy larvae were higher in Algoa Bay than on the west coast. At the time of sampling, chlorophyll and zooplankton productivity were higher at sampling sites in Algoa Bay than sites on the west coast, potentially due to favorable oceanographic features in the bay. As such, the results suggest that Algoa Bay is a suitable and potentially favorable nursery area for the early stages of anchovy, highlighting the importance of separate management of the southeast coast region in a changing world.

Description: A mesocosm approach was used to investigate the effects of ocean acidification (OA) on a natural plankton community in coastal waters off Norway by manipulating CO2 partial pressure ( pCO2). Eight enclosures were deployed in the Raunefjord near Bergen. Treatment levels were ambient (~320 µatm) and elevated pCO2 (~2000 µatm), each in 4 replicate enclosures. The experiment lasted for 53 d in May-June 2015. To assess impacts of OA on the plankton community, phytoplankton and protozooplankton biomass and total seston fatty acid content were analyzed. In both treatments, the plankton community was dominated by the dinoflagellate Ceratium longipes. In the elevated pCO2 treatment, however, biomass of this species as well as that of other dinoflagellates was strongly negatively affected. At the end of the experiment, total dinoflagellate biomass was 4-fold higher in the control group than under elevated pCO2 conditions. In a size comparison of C. longipes, cell size in the high pCO2 treatment was significantly larger. The ratio of polyunsaturated fatty acids to saturated fatty acids of seston decreased at high pCO2. In particular, the concentration of docosahexaenoic acid (C 22:6n3c), essential for development and reproduction of metazoans, was less than half at high pCO2 compared to ambient pCO2. Thus, elevated pCO2 led to a deterioration in the quality and quantity of food in a natural plankton community, with potential consequences for the transfer of matter and energy to higher trophic levels

Description: Many coastal oceans experience not only increased loads of nutrients but also changes in the stoichiometry of nutrient supply. Excess supply of nitrogen and stable or decreased supply of silicon lower silicon to nitrogen (Si:N) ratios, which may decrease diatom proportion in phytoplankton. To examine how Si:N ratios affect plankton community composition and food web structure, we performed a mesocosm experiment where we manipulated Si:N ratios and copepod abundance in a Baltic Sea plankton community. In high Si:N treatments, diatoms dominated. Some of them were likely spared from grazing unexpectedly resulting in higher diatom biomass under high copepod grazing. With declining Si:N ratios, dinoflagellates became more abundant under low and picoplankton under high copepod grazing. This altered plankton food web structure: under high Si:N ratios, edible diatoms were directly accessible food for copepods, while under low Si:N ratios, microzooplankton and phago-mixotrophs (mixoplankton) were a more important food source for mesograzers. The response of copepods to changes in the phytoplankton community was complex and copepod density-dependent. We suggest that declining Si:N ratios favor microzoo- and mixoplankton leading to increased complexity of planktonic food webs. Consequences on higher trophic levels will, however, likely be moderated by edibility, nutritional value or toxicity of dominant phytoplankton species.

Description: Quantification and attribution of the food web changes associated with the invasion of non-indigenous species in the marine realm often remain a challenge. One of the pelagic non-indigenous species of concern in the recent history of aquatic bioinvasions is the predatory cladoceran Cercopagis pengoi, which invaded the Baltic Sea in the early 1990s. While several studies have reported immediate declines in abundances of its potential prey, the long-term effects of C. pengoi on the food webs remain to be examined. Based on the long-term time series (1968–2018) in the Gulf of Riga (Baltic Sea), we found significant declines in abundance of the cladoceran Pleopis spp. and copepod Eurytemora affinis by 90 and 80%, respectively, are associated with the invasion of C. pengoi as well as significant alterations in seasonal abundance patterns of Pleopis spp., E. affinis and cladoceran Bosmina spp. The invasion of the non-indigenous predator has led to the changed prey abundance–temperature relationships. Special caution was taken in data preprocessing, to minimize the likelihood that observed changes in the zooplankton prey could be associated with factors other than the invasion of C. pengoi, such as temperature and storminess.

Description: The copepod Acartia tonsa is a key component of a wide range of marine ecosystems, linking energy transfer from phytoplankton to higher trophic levels, and has a central role in productivity and biogeochemistry. The interaction of end-of-century global warming and ocean acidification scenarios with testing moderate temperature effects on a seminatural copepod community is needed to understand future community functioning. Here, we deployed a mesocosm experimental set-up with a full factorial design using two temperatures (13°C and 19°C) crossed with a pCO2 gradient ranging from ambient (550 μatm) to 3000 μatm. We used the natural bacteria, phyto- and microzooplankton species composition and biomass of the Kiel Bight and tested the response of A. tonsa development, carbon growth, mortality, size and condition. The tested traits were differently affected by the interaction of temperature and acidification. Ocean acidification increased development, carbon growth, size and mortality under the warming scenario of 19°C. At 13°C mortality rates decreased, while carbon growth, size and condition increased with acidification. We conclude from our experimental approach that a single species shows a variety of responses depending on the focal functional trait. Trait-specific mesozooplankton responses need to be further investigated and compared between geographical regions, seasons and taxonomic groups.

Description: We investigated trace element stoichiometries of the nitrogen-fixing marine cyanobacterium Crocosphaera subtropica ATCC51142 under steady-state growth conditions. We utilized exponentially fed batch cultures and varied iron (Fe) concentrations to establish nutrient limitation in C. subtropica growing at a constant growth rate (0.11 d -1 ). No statistical difference in cell density, chlorophyll a , particulate organic carbon (C), nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) were observed between consecutive days after Day 14, and cultures were assumed to be at steady state with respect to growth for the remaining 11 d of the experiment. Cultures were limited by P in the highest Fe treatment (41 nmol l -1 ) and by Fe in the 2 lower-concentration Fe treatments (1 and 5 nmol l -1 ). Cell size and in vivo fluorescence changed throughout the experiment in the 1 nmol l -1 Fe treatment, suggesting ongoing acclimation of C. subtropica to our lowest Fe supply. Nevertheless, Fe:C ratios were not significantly different between the Fe treatments, and we calculated an average (±SD) Fe:C ratio of 32 ± 14 µmol mol -1 for growth at 0.11 d -1 . Steady-state P-limited cells had lower P quotas, whilst Fe-limited cells had higher manganese (Mn) and cobalt (Co) quotas. We attribute the increase in Mn and Co quotas at low Fe to a competitive effect resulting from changes in the supply ratio of trace elements. Such an effect has implications for variability in elemental stoichiometry in marine phytoplankton, and potential consequences for trace metal uptake and cycling in marine systems.

Description: Dinoflagellates possess many cellular characteristics with unresolved evolutionary histories. These include nuclei with greatly expanded genomes and chromatin packaged using histone-like proteins and dinoflagellate-viral nucleoproteins instead of histones, highly reduced mitochondrial genomes with extensive RNA editing, a mix of photosynthetic and cryptic secondary plastids, and tertiary plastids. Resolving the evolutionary origin of these traits requires understanding their ancestral states and early intermediates. Several early-branching dinoflagellate lineages are good candidates for such reconstruction, however these cells tend to be delicate and environmentally sparse, complicating such analyses. Here, we employ transcriptome sequencing from manually isolated and microscopically documented cells to resolve the placement of two cells of one such genus, Abedinium, collected by remotely operated vehicle in deep waters off the coast of Monterey Bay, CA. One cell corresponds to the only described species, Abedinium dasypus, whereas the second cell is distinct and formally described as Abedinium folium, sp. nov. Abedinium has classically been assigned to the early-branching dinoflagellate subgroup Noctilucales, which is weakly supported by phylogenetic analyses of small subunit ribosomal RNA, the single characterized gene from any member of the order. However, an analysis based on 221 proteins from the transcriptome places Abedinium as a distinct lineage, separate from and basal to Noctilucales and the rest of the core dinoflagellates. The transcriptome also contains evidence of a cryptic plastid functioning in the biosynthesis of isoprenoids, iron–sulfur clusters, and heme, a mitochondrial genome with all three expected protein-coding genes (cob, cox1, and cox3), and the presence of some but not all dinoflagellate-specific chromatin packaging proteins.

Description: The Law of the Sea as well as regional and national laws and agreements require exploited populations or stocks to be managed so that they can produce maximum sustainable yields. However, exploitation level and stock status are unknown for most stocks because the data required for full stock assessments are missing. This study presents a new method (AMSY) that estimates relative population size when no catch data are available using time-series of catch-per-unit-effort or other relative abundance indices as the main input. AMSY predictions for relative stock size were not significantly different from the “true” values when compared with simulated data. Also, they were not significantly different from relative stock size estimated by data-rich models in 88% of the comparisons within 140 real stocks. Application of AMSY to 38 data-poor stocks showed the suitability of the method and led to the first assessments for 23 species. Given the lack of catch data as input, AMSY estimates of exploitation come with wide margins of uncertainty which may not be suitable for management. However, AMSY seems to be well suited for estimating productivity as well as relative stock size and may, therefore, aid in the management of data-poor stocks.

Description: This review article aims to provide an overview and insight into the most relevant aspects of wind energy development and current state-of-the-art. The industry is in a very mature stage, so it seems to be the right time to take stock of the relevant areas of wind energy use for power generation. For this review, the authors considered the essential aspects of the development of wind energy technology: research, modeling, and prediction of wind speed as an energy source, the technology development of the plants divided into the mechanical and electrical systems and the plant control, and finally the optimal plant operation including the maintenance strategies. The focus is on the development in Europe, with a partial focus on Germany. The authors are employees of the Fraunhofer Institutes, Institute for Energy Economics and Energy Systems Technology and Institute for Wind Energy Systems, who have contributed to the development of this technology for decades.

Description: Heinrich events are among the dominant modes of glacial climate variability. During these events, massive iceberg armadas were released by the Laurentide Ice Sheet, sailed across the Atlantic, and caused large-scale climate changes. We study these events in a fully coupled complex ice sheet–climate model with synchronous coupling between ice sheets and oceans. The ice discharges occur as internal variability of the model with a recurrence period of 5kyr, an event duration of 1–1.5kyr, and a peak discharge rate of about 50mSv, roughly consistent with reconstructions. The climate response shows a two-stage behavior, with freshwater release effects dominating the surge phase and ice-sheet elevation effects dominating in the post-surge phase. As a direct response to the freshwater discharge during the surge phase, the deepwater formation in the North Atlantic decreases and the North Atlantic deepwater cell weakens by 3.5Sv. With the reduced oceanic heat transport, the surface temperatures across the North Atlantic decrease, and the associated reduction in evaporation causes a drying in Europe. The ice discharge lowers the surface elevation in the Hudson Bay area and thus leads to increased precipitation and accelerated ice sheet regrowth in the post-surge phase. Furthermore, the jet stream widens to the north and becomes more zonal. This contributes to a weakening of the subpolar gyre, and a continued cooling over Europe even after the ice discharge. This two-stage behavior can explain previously contradicting model results and understandings of Heinrich Events.

Description: Diurnal vertical migration (DVM) is a widespread phenomenon in the upper ocean, but it remains unclear to what degree it also involves passively transported micro- and meso-zooplankton. These organisms are difficult to monitor by in situ sensing and observations from discrete samples are often inconclusive. Prime examples of such ambiguity are planktonic foraminifera, where contradictory evidence for DVM continues to cast doubt on the stability of species vertical habitats, which introduces uncertainties in geochemical proxy interpretation. To provide a robust answer, we carried out highly replicated randomised sampling with 41 vertically resolved plankton net hauls taken within 26 hours in a confined area of 400 km2 in the tropical North Atlantic, where DVM in larger plankton occurs. Manual enumeration of planktonic foraminifera cell density consistently reveals the highest total cell concentrations in the surface mixed layer (top 50 m) and analysis of cell density in seven individual species representing different shell sizes, life strategies and presumed depth habitats reveals consistent vertical habitats not changing over the 26 hours sampling period. These observations robustly reject the existence of DVM in planktonic foraminifera in a setting where DVM occurs in other organisms.

Description: Sponges are one of the most dominant organisms in marine ecosystems. One reason for their success is their association with microorganisms that are besides the host itself responsible for the chemical defence. Sponge abundances have been increasing on coral reefs in the Western Indian Ocean (WIO) and are predicted to increase further with rising anthropogenic impacts on coral reefs. However, there is a paucity of information on chemical ecology of sponges from the WIO and their prokaryotic community composition. We used a combination of Illumina sequencing and a predictive metagenomic analysis to (i) assess the prokaryotic community composition of sponges from Zanzibar, (ii) predict the presence of KEGG metabolic pathways responsible for bioactive compound production and (iii) relate their presence to the degree of observed chemical defence in their respective sponge host. We found that sponges from Zanzibar host diverse prokaryotic communities that are host species-specific. Sponge-species and respective specimens that showed strong chemical defences in previous studies were also predicted to be highly enriched in various pathways responsible for secondary metabolite production. Hence, the combined sequencing and predictive metagenomic approach proved to be a useful indicator for the metabolic potential of sponge holobionts

Description: Transparent exopolymer particles (TEP) are polysaccharide-rich microgels that are prevalent in the marine environment and have important roles in the aggregation of organic matter and carbon export from the euphotic zone. TEP are readily colonized by bacteria and utilized by specialized taxa, such as Alteromonadaceae. However, bacterial community composition specifically attached to natural TEP remains largely unknown. In this study, we isolated individual TEP from Plymouth Sound (UK) and performed DNA sequencing of the TEP-attached bacterial communities. We also sampled the cognate bulk seawater total bacterial communities for comparison. The bacterial communities associated with individual TEP showed distinct differences compared to the total bulk bacterioplankton communities, with Alteromonadaceae significantly more abundant on TEP. The TEP-associated Alteromonadaceae consisted of two operational taxonomic units that were closely related to Marinobacter and Glaciecola, both previously associated with biogenic aggregates and microgel-rich habitats. This study provides novel insight into marine bacterial–microgel interactions.

Description: In fisheries, vulnerability assessments - also commonly known as ecological risk assessments (ERAs) -have been an increasingly popular alternative to stock assessments to evaluate the vulnerability of non-target species in resource- and data-limited settings. The widely-used productivity-susceptibility analysis (PSA) requires detailed species-specific biological information and fishery susceptibility for a large number of parameters to produce a relative vulnerability score. The two major disadvantages of PSA are that each species is assessed against an arbitrary reference point, and PSA cannot quantify cumulative impacts of multiple fisheries. This paper introduces an Ecological Assessment of the Sustainable Impacts of Fisheries (EASI-Fish), a flexible approach that quantifies the cumulative impacts of fisheries on data-limited bycatch species, demonstrated in eastern Pacific Ocean (EPO) tuna fisheries. The method first estimates fishing mortality (F) based on the 'volumetric overlap' of each fishery with the distribution of each species. F is then used in length-structured per-recruit models to assess population vulnerability status using conventional biological reference points. Model results were validated by comparison with stock assessments for bigeye and yellowfin tunas in the EPO for 2016. Application of the model to 24 species of epipelagic and mesopelagic teleosts, sharks, rays, sea turtles and cetaceans and identification of the most vulnerable species is demonstrated. With increasing demands on fisheries to demonstrate ecological sustainability, EASI-Fish allows fishery managers to more confidently identify vulnerable species to which resources can be directed to either implement mitigation measures or collect further data for more formal stock assessment.

Description: Oxygen (O2) deficiency and nutrient concentrations in marine systems are impacting organisms from microbes to higher trophic levels. In coastal and enclosed seas, O2 deficiency is often related to eutrophication and high degradation rates of organic matter. To investigate the impact of O2 concentration on bacterial growth and the turnover of organic matter, we conducted multifactorial batch experiments with natural microbial communities of the central Baltic Sea. Water was collected from suboxic (〈5 µmol L -1) depths in the Gotland Basin during June 2015. Samples were kept for four days under fully oxygenated and low O2 conditions (mean: 34 µmol L-1 O2), with or without nutrient (ammonium, phosphate, nitrate) and labile carbon (glucose) amendments. We measured bacterial abundance, bacterial heterotrophic production, extracellular enzyme rates (leucine-aminopeptidase) and changes in dissolved and particulate organic carbon concentrations. Our results show that the bacterial turnover of organic matter was limited by nutrients under both oxic and low O2 conditions. In nutrient and glucose replete treatments, low O2 concentrations significantly reduced the net uptake of dissolved organic carbon and lead to higher accumulation of more labile dissolved organic matter. Our results therewith suggest that the combined effects of eutrophication and deoxygenation on heterotrophic bacterial activity may potentially favor the accumulation of dissolved organic carbon in the Baltic Sea.

Description: There is a recognized need for new methods with modest data requirements to provide preliminary estimates of stock status for data-limited stocks (e.g. Rudd and Thorson, 2018). Froese et al. (2018) provide such a method, which derives estimates of relative stock size from length frequency (LF) data of exploited stocks. They show that their length-based Bayesian biomass estimation method (LBB) can reproduce the “true” parameters used in simulated data and can approximate the relative stock size as estimated independently by more data-demanding methods in 34 real stocks. However, in a comment on LBB, Hordyk et al. (2019) claim (i) that the master equation of LBB is incomplete because it does not correct for the pile-up effect caused by aggregating length measurements into length classes or “bins”, (ii) that LBB is highly sensitive to equilibrium assumptions and wrongly uses maximum observed length (Lmax) for guidance in setting a prior for the estimation of asymptotic length (Linf), and (iii) that the default prior used by LBB for the ratio between natural mortality and somatic growth rate (M/K) of 1.5 (SD = 0.15) is inadequate for many exploited species. These comments are addressed below

Description: On 25 December 2016, a Mw 7.6 earthquake broke a portion of the Southern Chilean subduction zone south of Chiloé Island, located in the central part of the Mw 9.5 1960 Valdivia earthquake. This region is characterized by repeated earthquakes in 1960 and historical times with very sparse interseismic activity due to the subduction of a young (~15 Ma), and therefore hot, oceanic plate. We estimate the co-seismic slip distribution based on a kinematic finite fault source model, and through joint inversion of teleseismic body waves and strong motion data. The coseismic slip model yields a total seismic moment of 3.94×1020 Nm that occurred over ~30 s, with the rupture propagating mainly downdip, reaching a peak-slip of ~4.2 m. Regional moment tensor inversion of stronger aftershocks reveals thrust type faulting at depths of the plate interface. The fore- and aftershock seismicity is mostly related to the subduction interface with sparse seismicity in the overriding crust. The 2016 Chiloé event broke a region with increased locking and most likely broke an asperity of the 1960 earthquake. The updip limit of the main event, aftershocks, foreshocks and interseismic activity are spatially similar, located ~15 km offshore and parallel to Chiloé Islands west coast. The coseismic slip model of the 2016 Chiloé earthquake suggests a peak slip of 4.2 m that locally exceeds the 3.38 m slip deficit that has accumulated since 1960. Therefore, the 2016 Chiloé earthquake possibly released strain that has built up prior to the 1960 Valdivia earthquake.

Description: In the 1930s the wasting disease pathogen Labyrinthula zosterae is believed to have killed 90% of the temperate seagrass Zostera marina in the Atlantic Ocean. Despite the devastating impact of this disease the host–pathogen interaction is still poorly understood, and few field studies have investigated factors correlating with the prevalence and abundance of L. zosterae. This study measures wasting disease in natural populations of Z. marina, showing a strong correlation between the disease and both salinity and water depth. No infection was detected in Z. marina shoots from low salinity (13–25 PSU) meadows, whereas most shoots carried the disease in high salinity (25–29 PSU). Shallow (1 m) living Z. marina shoots were also more infected compared to shoots in deeper (5 m) meadows. In addition, infection and transplantation experiments showed that Z. marina shoots from low salinity meadows with low pathogen pressure were more susceptible to L. zosterae infection. The higher susceptibility could not be explained by lower content of inhibitory defense compounds in the shoots. Instead, extracts from all Z. marina shoots significantly reduced pathogen growth, suggesting that Z. marina contains inhibitory compounds that function as a constitutive defense. Overall, the results show that seagrass wasting disease is common in natural Z. marina populations in the study area and that it increases with salinity and decreases with depth. Our findings also suggest that low salinity areas can act as a refuge against seagrass wasting disease.

Description: We used a molecular phylogenetic approach to investigate species delimitation and diversification in the northeastern Atlantic and Mediterranean musseldrills of the Ocinebrina aciculata complex, based on molecular data from topotypical material of many of the nominal taxa. The complex is shown to consist of at least five species: Ocinebrina aciculata (Lamarck, 1822) from the Atlantic and western Mediterranean; O. cf. corallina (Scacchi, 1836) from the central Mediterranean Sea; O. reinai Bonomolo & Crocetta, 2012 from the Tyrrhenian Sea; O. corallinoides Pallary, 1912 from the Gulf of Gabès; and O. aegeensis n. sp. currently known from the Aegean Sea only. The new species is differentiated from the other taxa by very subtle morphological diagnostic features, although it is clearly identified by genetic distance and apomorphic DNA-sequence characters. The identity of Murex corallinus Scacchi, 1836 (type species of Ocinebrina Jousseaume, 1880) could not be defined with certainty, pending genetic comparison of specimens of the â €? large Tyrrhenian morphotype' (corresponding to the neotype, but not assayed herein) with the assayed â €? small morphotype'.

Description: The high biodiversity of coral reefs results in complex trophic webs where energy and nutrients are transferred between species through a multitude of pathways. Here, we hypothesize that reef sponges convert the dissolved organic matter released by benthic primary producers (e.g. corals) into particulate detritus that is transferred to sponge-associated detritivores via the sponge loop pathway. To test this hypothesis, we conducted stable isotope (13C and15N) tracer experiments to investigate the uptake and transfer of coral-derived organic matter from the sponges Mycale fistulifera and Negombata magnifica to 2 types of detritivores commonly associated with sponges: ophiuroids (Ophiothrix savignyi and Ophiocoma scolopendrina) and polychaetes (Polydorella smurovi). Findings revealed that the organic matter naturally released by the corals was indeed readily assimilated by both sponges and rapidly released again as sponge detritus. This detritus was subsequently consumed by the detritivores, demonstrating transfer of coral-derived organic matter from sponges to their associated fauna and confirming all steps of the sponge loop. Thus, sponges provide a trophic link between corals and higher trophic levels, thereby acting as key players within reef food webs.

Description: Marine sponges are early-branched metazoans known to harbor dense and diverse microbial communities. Yet the role of the so far uncultivable alphaproteobacterial lineages that populate these sessile invertebrates remains unclear. We applied a sequence composition-dependent binning approach to assemble one Rhodospirillaceae genome from the Spongia officinalis microbial metagenome and contrast its functional features with those of closely related sponge-associated and free-living genomes. Both symbiotic and free-living Rhodospirillaceae shared a suite of common features, possessing versatile carbon, nitrogen, sulfur and phosphorus metabolisms. Symbiotic genomes could be distinguished from their free-living counterparts by the lack of chemotaxis and motility traits, enrichment of genes required for the uptake and utilization of organic sulfur compounds—particularly taurine—, higher diversity and abundance of ABC transporters, and a distinct repertoire of genes involved in natural product biosynthesis, plasmid stability, cell detoxification and oxidative stress remediation. These sessile symbionts may more effectively contribute to host fitness via nutrient exchange, and also host detoxification and chemical defense. Considering the worldwide occurrence and high diversity of sponge-associated Rhodospirillaceae verified here using a tailored in silico approach, we suggest that these organisms are not only relevant to holobiont homeostasis but also to nutrient cycling in benthic ecosystems.

Description: Continental hyperextension during magma-poor rifting at the Deep Galicia Margin is characterised by a complex pattern of faulting, thin continental fault blocks, and the serpentinisation, with local exhumation, of mantle peridotites along the S-reflector, interpreted as a detachment surface. In order to understand fully the evolution of these features, it is important to image seismically the structure and to model the velocity structure to the greatest resolution possible. Travel-time tomography models have revealed the long-wavelength velocity structure of this hyperextended domain, but are often insufficient to match accurately the short-wavelength structure observed in reflection seismic imaging. Here we demonstrate the application of two-dimensional (2D) time-domain acoustic full-waveform inversion to deep water seismic data collected at the Deep Galicia Margin, in order to attain a high resolution velocity model of continental hyperextension. We have used several quality assurance procedures to assess the velocity model, including comparison of the observed and modelled waveforms, checkerboard tests, testing of parameter and inversion strategy, and comparison with the migrated reflection image. Our final model exhibits an increase in the resolution of subsurface velocities, with particular improvement observed in the westernmost continental fault blocks, with a clear rotation of the velocity field to match steeply dipping reflectors. Across the S-reflector there is a sharpening in the velocity contrast, with lower velocities beneath S indicative of preferential mantle serpentinisation. This study supports the hypothesis that normal faulting acts to hydrate the upper mantle peridotite, observed as a systematic decrease in seismic velocities, consistent with increased serpentinisation. Our results confirm the feasibility of applying the full-waveform inversion method to sparse, deep water crustal datasets.

Description: Overfishing and rapid environmental shifts pose severe challenges to the resilience and viability of marine fish populations. To develop and implement measures that enhance species’ adaptive potential to cope with those pressures while, at the same time, ensuring sustainable exploitation rates is part of the central goal of fisheries management. Here, we argue that a combination of biophysical modelling and population genomic assessments offer ideal management tools to define stocks, their physical connectivity and ultimately, their short-term adaptive potential. To date, biophysical modelling has often been confined to fisheries ecology whereas evolutionary hypotheses remain rarely considered. When identified, connectivity patterns are seldom explored to understand the evolution and distribution of adaptive genetic variation, a proxy for species’ evolutionary potential. Here, we describe a framework that expands on the conventional seascape genetics approach by using biophysical modelling and population genomics. The goals are to identify connectivity patterns and selective pressures, as well as putative adaptive variants directly responding to the selective pressures and, ultimately, link both to define testable hypotheses over species response to shifting ecological conditions and overexploitation.

Description: This study presents a new method (LBB) for the analysis of length frequency data from commercial catches. LBB works for species that grow throughout their lives, such as most commercially-important fish and invertebrates, and requires no input in addition to length frequency data. It estimates asymptotic length, length at first capture, relative natural mortality, and relative fishing mortality. Standard fisheries equations can then be used to approximate current exploited biomass relative to unexploited biomass. In addition, these parameters allow the estimation of length at first capture that would maximize catch and biomass for a given fishing effort, and estimation of a proxy for the relative biomass capable of producing maximum sustainable yields. Relative biomass estimates of LBB were not significantly different from the “true” values in simulated data and were similar to independent estimates from full stock assessments. LBB also presents a new indicator for assessing whether an observed size structure is indicative of a healthy stock. LBB results will obviously be misleading if the length frequency data do not represent the size composition of the exploited size range of the stock or if length frequencies resulting from the interplay of growth and mortality are masked by strong recruitment pulses.