ECOSPHERE
banner
ecosphere-ua.bsky.social
ECOSPHERE
@ecosphere-ua.bsky.social
A research group at UAntwerp dedicated to conducting cutting-edge ecological research to come up with critical environmental management decisions 💧🍃🐟
This week, our colleague Sabiha Akter successfully defended her PhD entitled "Getting A Burn-Out: How Heatwave Impact Eutrophic Freshwater ecosystem".

Congratulations, Dr. Sabiha Akter 🎉
August 30, 2025 at 4:04 PM
🌱 How can we boost mangrove restoration success? 🌱

In the MESODROME tidal flume, our researchers Dr. Ken Schoutens and Dr. Ignace Pelckmans are exploring how planting density affects seedling stability under hydrodynamic stress... all while the recent warm weather set the perfect tropical mood ☀️
August 29, 2025 at 8:05 AM
💧Floods one year, drought the next: Flanders drains too much water. With 70,000 km of ditches, even one poorly placed can dry out a valley, emphasise Prof. Jan Staes and Dr. Dirk Vrebos.

Read the full article here (in Dutch):
Vlaanderen telt te veel grachten en die leggen het land onnodig droog
Vlaanderen telt veel grachten. Te veel, zeggen twee Antwerpse wetenschappers die het netwerk in kaart brachten. “Ze voeren het water af dat we tijdens droogte net nodig hebben. We moeten een groot deel ervan gewoon dempen.”
www.standaard.be
August 28, 2025 at 9:55 AM
🌍ECOSPHERE was proudly present at Society for Experimental Biology in Antwerp!

🔬Our #PhDs presented their innovative #research with poster and platform presentations.

🎉Special congratulations to Gudrun De Boeck for stepping in as the new President of the SEB!

@sebiology.bsky.social #UAntwerp
July 14, 2025 at 7:21 AM
Last week, our colleague Dorian Bas successfully defended her PhD entitled "Multiscale assessment of microphytobenthic biomass and functioning along an estuarine gradient using remote sensing".

Congratulations, Dr. Dorian Bas 🎉
June 30, 2025 at 10:37 AM
This week, our colleague Maede Gazor successfully defended her PhD entitled "Intertidal Areas as Accommodation Space for Suspended Sediments Case Study: Scheldt Estuary".

Congratulations, Dr. Maede Gazor 🎉
June 21, 2025 at 7:55 AM
🌍 In Damme (Belgium), our research group with Prof. Patrick Meire is using world-first sensors to study how landscapes retain water.
A promising step toward smarter drought management and climate resilience.
👉 (in Dutch) kw.be/nieuws/milie...
#Science #Drought #ClimateAction #Innovation
“Met sensoren die nergens anders ter wereld gebruikt worden”: vinden wetenschappers in Damme dé oplossing tegen droogte? - KW.be
Hoe kunnen we ons beter wapenen tegen langdurige droogte en plotse wateroverlast? Daar hopen wetenschappers Patrick Meire en Goedele Verreydt een antwoord op te vinden. Dat doen ze in Damme, met behul...
kw.be
June 20, 2025 at 5:34 AM
This week, our colleague @aprilopinion.bsky.social successfully defended her PhD entitled "Chronic stress-induced cardiac remodelling in salmonids and its influence on organismal performance".
Congratulations, Dr. April Grace Opinion 🎉
June 14, 2025 at 5:57 AM
🌊 Prof. Gudrun De Boeck spoke to VTM News about the urgent need for global action to protect our ocean. With the UN Oceans Conference in Nice nearing, she called for more countries to commit to marine protected areas.

💙 Let’s turn words into action, the ocean can’t wait.

📺 Interview (in Dutch) 👇
June 11, 2025 at 12:00 PM
🌊 Coral reefs may be more resilient to climate change than we thought, says Prof. De Boeck. But this is no reason for false confidence — without major CO₂ cuts, the risk remains high!

🔗Read the full interview in Dutch here: www.knack.be/nieuws/milie...
Koraalriffen blijken beter bestand tegen klimaatverandering: 'Uitstel, maar geen afstel' De KlimaatoptimistenKoraalriffen blijken beter bestand tegen klimaatverandering: ‘Uitstel, maar geen afstel’
Vorige maand publiceerde het wetenschappelijke tijdschrift Nature Communications een studie over de impact van klimaatverandering op koraalriffen. De Zijn koraalriffen toch veerkrachtiger dan gedacht ...
www.knack.be
June 6, 2025 at 6:56 AM
Happy World Environment Day! 🌍🌊🐟
#WorldEnvironmentDay #research #environment
June 5, 2025 at 12:49 PM
🌎 Prof. Jan Staes warns of rising water insecurity as extreme droughts and downpours alternate unpredictably. Nature-based solutions are key, but budget cuts threaten progress.

Read the full article here: www.brusselstimes.com/belgium/1593...
Belgium's water 'roulette': Extreme weather complicates water resilience
"Water has been taken for granted for very long in Europe."
www.brusselstimes.com
May 27, 2025 at 3:29 PM
🐟 In an interview on VRT's Nieuwe Feiten, Prof. Dr. Gudrun De Boeck discussed how overfishing is affecting herring populations, not only in terms of numbers but also their ability to remember.

🔊Listen to the interview here: www.vrt.be/vrtmax/luist...

#MarineScience #Overfishing #MarineEcosystems
May 27, 2025 at 3:15 PM
🌎 ECOSPHERE was at SETAC in Vienna, Austria!

🔬#PhD and #postdoctoral fellows presented their #research with platform and poster presentations!
May 16, 2025 at 8:48 AM
📢 PhD opportunity to study carbon sequestration and greenhouse gas balance across different types of tidal and non-tidal wetland restoration projects located in the Scheldt river basin.
May 14, 2025 at 6:48 AM
🦀 De Chinese wolhandkrab veroorzaakt nog steeds overlast in Vlaanderen. Om de impact op hobbyvissers beter te begrijpen, loopt er nu een enquête vanuit Universiteit Antwerpen. Ben jij hengelaar of ken je hangelaars? Help mee door de enquête in te vullen of te delen! 1/2
May 2, 2025 at 12:39 PM
🌊 84% of the world's reefs are experiencing coral bleaching.
Prof. Dr. Gudrun De Boeck explains the impact on ecosystems on VRT (Dutch) 🎥
More details in The Daily Guardian (English) 📰 dailyguardian.com.ph/global-coral...

#ClimateCrisis #CoralBleaching #MarineScience #VRT #Research
April 28, 2025 at 7:34 AM