Pont Evksinskiy – 2021 : materials of XII All-Russian scientific and applied conference for young scientists on the water systems problems, dedicated to the 150 th anniversary of the Sevastopol Biological Station ‒ A. O. Kovalevsky Institute of Biology of the Southern Seas of RAS, Sevastopol, 20–24 September, 2021

The book includes materials of young scientists from Russia and the Republic of Abkhazia, revealing various aspects of modern marine and freshwater biology. Abstracts highlight the results of scientific research in the field of population dynamics and genetic differentiation of aquatic organisms, the features of their life cycle. The book present works on the influence of abiotic and anthropogenic environmental factors on the physiological status of aquaculture species. A number of works describes the capabilities of modern research methods applied in marine and freshwater biological studies, such as metabarcoding, "frame" and "rake method" for detecting beach debris, NGS sequencing, and satellite monitoring. In addition, the book reveals the features of the functioning of coastal ecosystems. The book is valuable for young scientists in the field of marine and freshwater biology, water ecology, biotechnology, aquaculture, marine ecology and zoology

Müsilaj (Deniz Salyası) Araştırmaları Üzerine Bir Analiz

Müsilaj (deniz salyası) hemen hemen tüm bitkilerin ve bazı mikroorganizmaların ürettiği kalın, yapışkan bir maddedir (Mecozzi vd., 2005). Biyolojik ve kimyasal birçok koşulun bir araya gelmesiyle oluşmaktadır. Bitkilerde su ve gıdanın depolanması, tohumların çimlenmesi ve zar kalınlaşması benzeri işlemlerde çeşitli roller üstlenir (Danovaro vd., 2009). Son dönemde Marmara Denizi’nde yaşanan durumla ülkemizin gündemine oturan deniz salyasının oluşumunda çok farklı sebepler gündeme gelse de üç temel etmenden bahsetmek mümkündür: Deniz sıcaklıklarının ortalama sıcaklıkların üzerine çıkması, denizlerdeki kirlilik oranının artması ve denizin durağan olması (Keleş vd., 2020). Bahsi geçen bu üç durumun gerçekleşmesi durumunda bazı plankton türlerinin hızla çoğalmaya başlamasıyla deniz salyasının artış gösterdiği bilinmektedir. Bu çalışmada deniz salyası üzerine yapılan bilimsel araştırmaların genel özellikleri üzerine odaklanılmıştır. Çalışmada deniz salyasına yönelik araştırmaların disiplinler arası yapısı veriye dayalı bir analizle gözler önüne serilmiştir. İş birliği örüntüsünün yüksek olduğu bu çalışmalarda Zoology, Plant Sciences, Oceanography, Marine & Freshwater Biology, Limnology, Fisheries, Environmental Sciences ve Ecology disiplinlerinin ortaklaşa çalışmalar yürüttüğü gözlemlenirken, İtalya, Fransa, Çin, Hırvatistan ve ABD yayın sayısı bakımından dikkat çeken ülkeler arasında yer almıştır. Coğrafi alan olarak kuzey Adriyatik denizi üzerine yapılan çalışmaların sıklığı dikkat çekerken, Univ Bologna, Univ Gottingen, Univ Melbourne, Univ Genoa ve İstanbul Üniversitesi kurumsal olarak yayın sayıları dikkat çeken üniversiteler arasında yer almıştır.

Biogeocaching – a scavenger hunt for the treasures of biology around Lake Lunz

<p>Climate change and decreasing biodiversity are currently hot topics in the media. Freshwaters in the alpine region are good indicators of climate change and, hence, perfect examples for illustrating these threats. Here, we want to share our idea for a Geocaching path (similar to the popular treasure hunt game) that is used to educate the public about the biology of freshwaters. We want to educate the visitors about the natural environment and the consequences of climate change and decreasing biodiversity for our aquatic ecosystems and livelihoods. In particular, we want to show the approaches of scientists to understand and predict these threats and, furthermore, how our society can find solutions to protect aquatic ecosystems.</p><p>Lake Lunz is a very popular place for tourists. Visitors enjoy walks around the lake as well as swimming. Close by is also one of the oldest lake research stations (WasserCluster Lunz – Biologische Station), where scientists from all over the world are currently conducting on aquatic ecosystems. The project received funding from the EGU Public Engagement Grant in 2019. The GPS coordinates for the Geocache (a small treasure box) will be hidden in the answers to several questions about freshwater biology that will lead the participants around the lake, a search we termed “Biogeocaching”. The answers can be found on different informational signs that will be set up around the lake and at the experimental sites and research facilities of WasserCluster Lunz. After finishing the path, the participants will have learned about ecology of alpine lakes and the research activities at WasserCluster Lunz.</p><p>We think that geocaching as a treasure hunt is a playful way for people of all ages to discover nature. The combination of an outdoor recreational activity with information about freshwaters, climate change, and decreasing biodiversity –Biogeocaching - will sensitize the public to and raise awareness of these hot topics in the field of Earth Sciences. We hope to encourage other researchers and research institutes to develop something similar on their topic and research.</p>

Developing issue-based teaching materials to improve student learning outcomes in Freshwater Biology course

One of Freshwater Biology course problems is that the students were unable to understand the environmental phenomena around them. The aim of this study was to develop issue-based teaching materials in Freshwater Biology course to improve the students’ understanding about the environmental phenomena through their learning outcomes. This research and development used three phases of the 4D model developed by Thiagarajan, namely define, design, and development. The development results were validated by content and media experts. The design used for pilot test, which was conducted among 20 students, was one group pretest-posttest design; meanwhile the data analysis technique used was independent t-test. It can be concluded that the teaching materials developed was valid with the average validation score as high as 79.83%. In addition, there was significant improvement (sig. 0.000) of student learning outcomes after attending the course which implementing the issue-based teaching materials developed. Thus, the implementation of issue-based teaching materials is recommended in Freshwater Biology course due to its potential in improving students’ learning outcomes.

The history of freshwater research in the Philippines with notes on its origins in the University of Santo Tomas and present-day contributions

The study of freshwater ecosystems in the country has long had the reputation of being fragmentary and inconsistent, especially when compared to its marine counterparts. Other scientists have in fact noted that many studies that have been conducted on Philippine freshwaters have not gone beyond the “age of exploration”, which resulted to it being poorly represented in the scientific literature. This scenario has been consistent for both lotic and lentic habitats, even for those considered as major river and lake ecosystems, including those found in key biodiversity or known protected areas. This has gone on for decades in spite of the obvious need for invigorated and scientifically-driven approaches to study and manage freshwater ecosystems throughout the country, especially since freshwater ecosystems, including its flora and fauna, are under increasing threat from both natural and man-made environmental stressors, including intensive aquaculture, leading to eutrophication, the introduction of non-native species, as well as climate change. This is further aggravated by the low number of experts in various fields of basic and applied freshwater biology including taxonomists, limnologists, restoration ecologists etc. to deal with various problems and challenges in the Philippine setting. This paper presents the background, history and origins of freshwater biology research in the Philippines and the contributions of the University of Santo Tomas from 2002 to present.