Direct multiplex PCR-NALFIA to inform marine conservation: Use of an innovative diagnostic tool for the detection of Ostrea edulis larvae

2021 ◽  
Vol 34 ◽  
pp. 23
Author(s):  
Andreas Benkens ◽  
Claudia Buchholz ◽  
Bernadette Pogoda ◽  
Carsten Georg Harms
Keyword(s):  
North Sea ◽  
Marine Conservation ◽  
Lateral Flow ◽  
Ecosystem Functions ◽  
Morphological Identification ◽  
Ostrea Edulis ◽  
Marine Research ◽  
The North ◽  
Mitochondrial Cytochrome B ◽  
The North Sea

The European oyster Ostrea edulis played a key role in the North Sea by providing several ecosystem functions and services. Today, O. edulis is classified as severely degraded or functionally extinct in Europe. Marine conservation is focusing on biogenic reef restoration, namely the restoration of O. edulis in Natura 2000 sites of the North Sea. The identification of oyster larvae related to natural spatfalls of restored reefs and monitoring of larval drift is a key aspect of marine protected area management. Morphological identification and distinction from other abundant bivalve larvae using microscopy is difficult. Existing molecular biological methods are expensive and bound to stationary laboratory equipment, or are inadequate in the visualization. In this study, we identified nucleic acid lateral flow immunoassay (NALFIA), a well-established tool in human pathogen diagnostics, as an efficient approach for point-of-care (POC) testing in marine monitoring. Based on the genetic sequence of the mitochondrial cytochrome b of O. edulis, forward and reverse primers were developed. The reverse primer was labelled with fluorescent dye FITC, forward primer with biotin. Reaction on the lateral flow stripe could be realized with a single O. edulis larva in direct PCR with multiplex primers in a portable PCR-cycler. The established NALFIA system can distinguish O. edulis larvae from Crassostrea gigas and Mytilus edulis larvae, respectively. This method offers new approaches in POC testing in marine research and monitoring. It gives quick and clear results, is inexpensive, and could be easily adapted to other species of interest.

scholarly journals Offshore Wind Farms as Potential Locations for Flat Oyster (Ostrea edulis) Restoration in the Dutch North Sea

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (11) ◽  
pp. 3942 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pauline Kamermans ◽  
Brenda Walles ◽  
Marloes Kraan ◽  
Luca van Duren ◽  
Frank Kleissen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
North Sea ◽  
Renewable Energy Sources ◽  
Wind Farms ◽  
Offshore Wind ◽  
Ecosystem Functions ◽  
Ostrea Edulis ◽  
The North ◽  
The North Sea ◽  
Flat Oyster ◽  
Oyster Restoration

The “Dutch Energy Agreement” motivates governments and industries to invest in renewable energy sources, of which offshore wind energy is one of the solutions to meet the agreed target of 16% of the total energy budget from renewable resources by 2023. An option for the multi-use of wind farms is nature-inclusive building, in which the design and construction of wind farms make use of the potential for co-design with oyster bed restoration. This can support the government’s ambitions, for the Dutch North Sea, to achieve biodiversity goals, restore ecosystem functions, and enhance ecosystem services, including future seafood production. For the recovery of flat oyster (Ostrea edulis) beds, knowledge is required about the conditions under which active restoration of this species in the North Sea can be successfully implemented. This paper gives a framework and presents results to determine suitability of wind farms for flat oyster restoration, and provides recommendations for pilot studies. Our analysis showed that a number of wind farms in the Dutch section of the North Sea are suitable locations for development of flat oyster beds. Combining oyster restoration and oyster culture, as a protein source, is a viable option worth investigating.

scholarly journals OSPAR Ecological Quality Objectives: the utility of health indicators for the North Sea

2008 ◽  
Vol 65 (8) ◽  
pp. 1392-1397 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Heslenfeld ◽  
E. Lisette Enserink
Keyword(s):  
North Sea ◽  
Health Indicators ◽  
Ecosystem Approach ◽  
Current Status ◽  
Test Case ◽  
Ecological Quality ◽  
Marine Research ◽  
The North ◽  
History Of ◽  
The North Sea

Abstract Heslenfeld, P., and Enserink, E. L. 2008. OSPAR Ecological Quality Objectives: the utility of health indicators for the North Sea. – ICES Journal of Marine Science, 65: 1392–1397. Committed to the ecosystem approach to management, OSPAR has accumulated 15 years of experience in developing a conceptual framework for ecological indicators and objectives, and in applying the framework to the North Sea as a test case. These Ecological Quality Objectives (EcoQOs) have become a model for the implementation of the new European Marine Strategy Framework Directive. We describe the history of EcoQO development, its current status, and future needs. We also present our positive and negative experiences in developing the approach, and conclude that regional sea conventions and marine research institutes in Europe should join forces to accelerate the development of ecosystem indicators and objectives, using existing concepts.

scholarly journals Recent findings of wild European flat oysters Ostrea edulis (Linnaeus, 1758) in Belgian and Dutch offshore waters: new perspectives for offshore oyster reef restoration in the southern North Sea

2018 ◽  
Vol 148 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Francis Kerckhof ◽  
Joop W.P. Coolen ◽  
Bob Rumes ◽  
Steven Degraer
Keyword(s):  
North Sea ◽  
Ostrea Edulis ◽  
Important Species ◽  
Reef Restoration ◽  
The North ◽  
Detection And Identification ◽  
The North Sea ◽  
Feasible Alternative ◽  
Flat Oyster ◽  
The 19Th Century

The European flat oyster, Ostrea edulis, is an emblematic and ecologically important species that was fished to virtual extinction in Belgian and Dutch waters in the 19th century. We report on recent findings of live specimens in Belgian and Dutch waters, an indication for the presence of O. edulis in these waters. Though small, these relict populations provide possibilities for natural recovery of O. edulis reefs in Belgian and Dutch waters, provided the oyster’s habitat requirements are restored (e.g., exclusion of bottom disturbance). We suggest investigating whether a natural, yet slow, recovery using fisheries closures and gravel bed restoration is a feasible alternative to the currently envisaged human-mediated re-introduction of O. edulis in the North Sea. We identify and address the challenge of O. edulis detection and identification as an important issue blurring the true presence and distribution of oysters.

scholarly journals Protecting the North Sea: Northern Danish waters.

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Oceana ◽  
Silvia Garcia ◽  
Allison L. Perry ◽  
Jorge Blanco ◽  
Cecilie Petersen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
North Sea ◽  
Marine Protected Areas ◽  
Marine Conservation ◽  
Human Pressure ◽  
The North ◽  
The Poor ◽  
Rich Diversity ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
The North Sea ◽  
Associated Species

The northern waters of the Danish North Sea encompass a wide range of depths, reaching down to 480 m in the region of the Skagerrak. The area is home to a rich diversity of seabed habitats and associated species, including those that are priorities for marine conservation at EU and international levels. As a result, eight marine protected areas (MPAs) have been designated with the aim of protecting habitats such as reefs, bubbling reefs, and sandbanks, as well as harbour porpoise. However, the poor condition of protected habitats within these areas indicates that current protection is insufficient, and recent assessments of the Danish MPA network have revealed key gaps in coverage in the North Sea that must be addressed, particularly in offshore areas. On the basis of its findings, Oceana recommends the designation or enlargement of MPAs to safeguard these valuable features in specific areas, and the formal protection of priority features that occur within existing MPAs but which are not currently protected by those sites. Critically, given the intensity of human pressure in the Danish North Sea, designated MPAs must be effectively managed if they are to achieve their intended conservation aims.

scholarly journals Identifying and addressing the anthropogenic drivers of global change in the North Sea: a systematic map protocol

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Fabien Moullec ◽  
Rémy Asselot ◽  
Dominik Auch ◽  
Alexandra M. Blöcker ◽  
Gregor Börner ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
North Sea ◽  
Life Support ◽  
Grey Literature ◽  
Marine Ecosystem ◽  
Marine Ecosystems ◽  
Systematic Map ◽  
Marine Research ◽  
The North ◽  
The North Sea ◽  
Anthropogenic Drivers

Abstract Background Anthropogenic pressures on marine ecosystems have increased over the last 75 years and are expected to intensify in the future with potentially dramatic cascading consequences for human societies. It is therefore crucial to rebuild marine life-support systems and aim for future healthy ecosystems. Nowadays, there is a reasonable understanding of the impacts of human pressure on marine ecosystems; but no studies have drawn an integrative retrospective analysis of the marine research on the topic. A systematic consolidation of the literature is therefore needed to clearly describe the scientific knowledge clusters and gaps as well as to promote a new era of integrative marine science and management. We focus on the five direct anthropogenic drivers of biodiversity loss defined by the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES): (1) climate change; (2) direct exploitation; (3) pollution; (4) biological invasions; and (5) sea-use change. Our systematic map’s regional focus lies on the North Sea, which is among the most impacted marine ecosystems around the globe. The goal of the present study is to produce the first comprehensive overview of how marine research on anthropogenic drivers in the North Sea has grown and changed over the past 75 years. Ultimately, this systematic map will highlight the most urgent challenges facing the North Sea research domain. Methods The search will be restricted to peer-reviewed articles, reviews, meta-analyses, book chapters, book reviews, proceeding papers and grey literature using the most relevant search engines for literature published between 1945 and 2020. All authors will participate in the adjustment of the search in order to consider all relevant studies analyzing the effect of the direct anthropogenic drivers on the North Sea marine ecosystem. The references will be screened for relevance according to a predefined set of eligibility/ineligibility criteria by a pool of six trained reviewers. At stage one, each abstract and title will be independently screened by two reviewers. At stage two, potentially relevant references will be screened in full text by two independent reviewers. Subsequently, we will extract a suite of descriptive meta-data and basic information of the relevant references using the SysRev platform. The systematic map database composed will provide the foundation for an interactive geographical evidence map. Moreover, we will summarize our findings with cross-validation plots, heat maps, descriptive statistics, and a publicly available narrative synthesis. The aim of our visualization tools is to ensure that our findings are easily understandable by a broad audience.

scholarly journals Ostrea edulis beds in the central North Sea: delineation, ecology, and restoration

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Floris P Bennema ◽  
Georg H Engelhard ◽  
Han Lindeboom
Keyword(s):  
North Sea ◽  
Cold Water ◽  
Feasibility Studies ◽  
Reproductive Rate ◽  
Ostrea Edulis ◽  
The North ◽  
Key Species ◽  
The North Sea ◽  
Flat Oyster ◽  
Central North Sea

Abstract Until the late 19th century, extensive beds of flat oyster Ostrea edulis populated the Central North Sea, which have vanished after intensive fisheries. At present, various initiatives are being carried out to investigate the potential to restore this former key species in the area. This historical ecological study contributes by delineating the former oyster bed area and through an assessment of its limits against known gradients in the North Sea. Extensive data from historical maps, texts, and ship-based surveys were used to synthesize our knowledge on the former beds. It was revealed that the area with oyster beds covered ∼6.2% of the total North Sea bottom, with a delineation that could partly be explained by hydrodynamic and temperature gradients. The position and extent of the area are notably different from the area that is used in recent feasibility studies on the restoration of North Sea oyster beds. The offshore oysters lived on muddy sand in relatively cold conditions, and there are several indications that their reproductive rate was low. The apparent disappearance of cold water adapted flat oysters will challenge restoration projects. This study provides indispensable information for the future restoration of flat oyster beds in the North Sea.

scholarly journals Coming and going – Historical distributions of the European oyster Ostrea edulis Linnaeus, 1758 and the introduced slipper limpet Crepidula fornicata Linnaeus, 1758 in the North Sea

PLoS ONE ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 14 (10) ◽  
pp. e0224249 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah Hayer ◽  
Andreas Bick ◽  
Angelika Brandt ◽  
Christine Ewers-Saucedo ◽  
Dieter Fiege ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
North Sea ◽  
Ostrea Edulis ◽  
Crepidula Fornicata ◽  
The North ◽  
The North Sea ◽  
Slipper Limpet

scholarly journals A reliable DNA barcode reference library for the identification of benthic invertebrates: essential for biomonitoring of the North Sea

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
Author(s):  
Magdalini Christodoulou ◽  
Berry van der Hoorn ◽  
Laure Van den Bulcke ◽  
Sofie Derycke ◽  
Annelies De Backer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
North Sea ◽  
High Throughput Sequencing ◽  
Dna Barcode ◽  
Morphological Identification ◽  
Indigenous Species ◽  
Reference Library ◽  
The North ◽  
Sampling Campaign ◽  
The North Sea ◽  
Cost Efficient

Benthic macroinvertebrates are key components in environmental impact assessments. Nevertheless, their use as bioindicators can be constrained by the time- and cost-consuming processes needed for their morphological identification. The recent advances in high-throughput sequencing, particularly DNA metabarcoding can provide an alternative to morphology-based approaches. The main limitation for DNA-based tools to be implemented in biomonitoring projects is the considerable investment needed to build high-quality and curated taxonomic reference DNA sequence libraries for species identification. To begin addressing this shortage, Interreg NSR project GEANS aim in developing a curated DNA reference library based on mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) for the North Sea macrobenthos that will serve as the backbone of all the molecular protocols. For the collection of the macroinvertebrates, a targeted sampling campaign is underway across the North Sea Region, while existing collections are being scanned. Macrobenthic specimens are being processed following a series of standardised work flows covering sampling, morphological identifications, molecular lab processing and data handling. GEANS' reference library, currently holds DNA barcodes for 3443 specimens collected from various areas of the North Sea. In total 11 phyla, 28 classes, 80 orders, 280 families, 428 genera and 586 species (37 non-indigenous species) are represented within the library. Species-level identification is taxonomically verified for over 90 % of the species, while genus-level identifications are verified for almost 100 % of the genera. GEANS reference library covers so far over 30 % of North Sea species and its constantly enriched. All specimens are photographed and together with the accompanying sequences, collection and taxonomic data are archived in a dedicate BOLD project. Voucher specimens and DNA extracts are archived at three different institutes in Germany (Senckenberg am Meer), the Netherlands (Naturalis) and Belgium (ILVO). Once available, this DNA-library will be based on taxonomically well-curated specimens and it will support the implementation of fast, cost-efficient and reliable DNA-based identifications and subsequently environmental health assessments in the North Sea.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document