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Ecosystem
Research in the Wadden Sea Area
9th International Scientific
Wadden Sea Symposium
Norderney, Gemany
November, 5 -8, 1996
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OBJECTIVE
The first objective of the 9th International Scientific Wadden
Sea Symposium "Ecosystem Research in the Wadden Sea Area"was
to present results from actual interdisciplinary research as
a step to a more holistic aapproach to the Wadden Sea. Just as
the previous symposia in Esbjerg in 1993, the second objective
was to provide a forum for exchange of knowledge and for discussions
between scientists, administrators, decision makers and politicians
from governmental as well as governmental organisations.
On the basis of the presentations and related discussions, the
symposium participants formulated a number of recommendations
to the Ministers, responsible for the protection of the Wadden
Sea.
PROGRAM
The Program of the 9th International
Scientific Wadden Sea Symposium "Ecosystem Research in the
Wadden Sea Area" covered 6 sub-themes:
PROCEEDINGS
The proceedings are
published in:
Senckenberg maritima, Vol. 29 (1/6), 1 - 214, Frankfurt a.M.,
1998.
FURTHER INFORMATION
Dr. Hubert Farke
The National Park Administration of the Lower Saxony Wadden Sea
Virchowstrasse 1
D - 26382 Wilhelmshaven
Tel: +49 (0) 4421 911 282
Fax: +49 (0) 4421 911 280
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Program:
Ecosystem Research in the Wadden Sea Area
9th International Scientific
Wadden Sea Symposium
Norderney, Gemany
November, 5 -8, 1996
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SYMPOSIUM PROGRAM
TUESDAY 05.11.96
09.00 - 09.30 Welcome addresses
09.30 - 10.00 Richardson, K.: 10 years of North Sea and
Wadden Sea protection: Evaluation and perspectives
10.00 - 10.30 Thorwarth, A.: Protection of the Wadden
Sea from the perspective of the public
10.30 - 11.00 Coffee break
SESSION 1: EUTROPHICATION
11.00 - 11.15 Lutter, S. Kaiser, J..: Do we have the right
strategies to combat eutrophication in the Wadden Sea? - A critical
review of current policies
11.15 - 11.35 Essink, K., J.J. Beukema, Michaelis, H.:
Long-term development of biomass of intertidal macrozoobenthos
as indicator of differential eutrophication in the Wadden Sea?
11.35 - 11.55 Beukema, J., Cadée, G.C.:
What can we learn from two large scale experiments in the Dutch
Wadden Sea?
11.55 - 12.15 Brockmann, U., Hesse, K.: Interannual variability
of seasonal nutrient gradients in the German Wadden Sea
12.15 - 12.35 Rahmel, J., Petri, K., Rackemann, M.: Eutrophication
of the Wadden Sea - Results from the project "Ecosystem
Research in the Wadden Sea of Lower Saxony"
12.35 - 14.00 Lunch
14.00 - 14.20 Scholten, M.: Toxic inhibition of copepod
grazing: A substantial factor in the incidence of eutrophication
problems
14.20 - 14.40 Ketner-Oostra, R., van der Loo, H.:
Is lichen-rich dry dune grassland (Violo- Corynephoretum dunense)
on the verge of disaò from the West Frisian Islands through
aerial eutrophication?
14.40 - 15.00 van Wijnen, H. van Hooff, E., Hazekamp,
A., Bakker, J.: On the role of eutrophication on nitrogen
compartmentation and mineralization in a productivity gradient
on the coastal barrier island of Schiermonnikoog (The Netherlands)
15.00 - 15.20 Coffee break
SESSION 2: MONITORING
15.20 - 15.40 Knust, R., Gautier, M., Ulleweit, J.: Monitoring
the fish community in the Wadden Sea
15.40 - 16.00 Südbeck, P., Rasmussen, L. M., Fleet,
D.M., Reineking, B., van Roomen, M., Rösner, H.-U., Vogel,
R.L.: Making ministerial decisions operating: Trilateral
bird monitoring
16.00 - 16.20 Liebezeit, G., Behrends, B., Gehm, G., Drebel,
D., Kraul, Th.: Nutrient variability in the Lower Saxonian
Wadden Sea
16.20 - 16.40 Powys, R., McLaren, P., Steyaert, F.: Sediment
transport studies in the tidal basin of the Dutch Wadden See
16.40 - 17.10 Coffee break
17.10 - 17.30 Pfeifer, D., Bäumer, H.-P., Dekker, R.,
Schleier, U.: Statistical tools for monitoring benthic communities
17.30 - 17.50 Hakvort, H, Heinike, Riethmüller, Witte:
Optical remote sensing of benthic biomass - a method to estimate
tidal flats erodibility
17.50 - 18.10 Swertz, O., Laane, R., Bakker, J.F., Kramer,
K.J.M.: An international monitoring strategy for water quality
in the Wadden Sea
19.30 Poster session
WEDNESDAY 06.11.96
SESSION 3: EXCHANGE PROCESSES
08.50 - 09.00 Gätje, C.: SWAP - ecosystem research
in the Schleswig-Holstein Wadden Sea. An introduction
09.00 - 09.20 Kappernberg, J., Fanger, H.-U., Müller,
A.: Currents and suspended matter in the Sylt-Rømø-Bight
09.20 - 09.40 Köster, R., Bayerl, K., Higelke, B.:
Sediments and suspended matter in the Sylt-Rømø
tidal area
09.40 - 10.10 Coffee break
10.10 - 10.30 Asmus, R. Asmus, H.: Material exchange
and the food web of Sylt-Rømø-Bight
10.30 - 10.50 Müller, A., Fast, T., Wilhelm, A.:
Modelling of the ecosystem Sylt-Rømø- Bight
10.50 - 11.10 Reise, K.: Status and future in the ecology
of the Lister tidal basin between the islands of Sylt and Rømø
11.10 - 11.30 Gerlach, A., Exo, K.-M.: Transport
of bioelements in the Wadden Sea area by birds
11.30 - 13.00 Lunch
13.00 - 17.00 Excursions / Workshop Black Spots
18.00 - 19.00 Cansfield-Smith, T.: The 25 year strategic
plan for the Great Barrier Reef world heritage - a model for
strategic planing in the Wadden Sea area?
19.15 Symposium dinner
THURSDAY 07.11.96
SESSION 4: RESILIENCE
08.30 - 08.50 Dittmann, S.: Mud under your feet and castles
in the air - the study of resilience in a tidal flat ecosystem
08.50 - 09.10 Zühlke, R., van Bernem, K.-H.: Biogenic
tube structures in soft substratum: Response of the macrobenthic
community and implications for small- scale distribution patterns
09.10 - 09.30 van Dokkum, H.P.: Recovery potential of
target ecosystems in the Wadden Sea
09.30 - 09.50 Vollmer, M.: The role of environmental science
based on the case study Europipe-project
09.50 - 10.20 Coffee break
SESSION 5: SHELLFISH FISHERIES
10.20 - 10.40 Michaelis, H., Herlyn, M., Hilgerloh, G., Petri,
G., Zens, M. : The mussel crisis of the Niedersachsen coast
10.40 - 11.00 Ens, B.J.: Predicting the effects of shellfish-fisheries
on shorebird populations
11.00 - 11.20 Smit, C.J., Kersten, M., Rappoldt, C.: Oystercatchers,
mussels and cockles: how food availability affects large scale
distribution patterns
11.20 - 11.40 Walter, U.: Seasonal and spatial distributions
of gulls and terns following shrimp trawlers and scavenging on
shrimp discards in the Wadden Sea
11.40 - 13.30 Lunch
SESSION 6: MANAGEMENT RELATED
RESEARCH
13.30 - 13.50 Kaiser, M.: Significance of ecosystem research
in the Wadden Sea for monitoring and management
13.50 - 13.10 Höpner, T., Kellner, I.: Ecological
targets in the Wadden Sea
14.10 - 14.30 Stock, M.: A draft national park plan for
the Wadden Sea of Schleswig-Holstein
14.30 - 15.00 Coffee break
15.00 - 15.20 Tomson, A. : Integrated management: Many
interests and still one goal?
15.20 - 15.40 Skou, H.M.: Socio-economical developments
and management aspects
15.40 - 16.00 van der Knijff; E.C. : Regional-economical
development and environmental protection in and around the Dutch
part of the Wadden Sea
16.00 - 16.20 Meijer, L. : Tourism: A matter of common
concern
WORKSHOPS
19.00 Workshops on:
- Eutrophication
- Monitoring
- Exchange processes
- Resilience
- Shellfish fisheries
- Management related research
FRIDAY 08.11.96
09.00 - 12.00 Plenary discussion of the workshop results and
adoption of the recommendations
12.00 Closing of the symposium
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Recommendations:
Ecosystem Research in the Wadden Sea Area
9th International Scientific
Wadden Sea Symposium
Norderney, Gemany
November, 5 -8, 1996
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Recommendations of the 9th International
Scientific Wadden Sea Symposium
The 9th International Scientific Wadden Sea Symposium was held
on Norderney (Germany) from 5 to 8 November 1996.
The Symposium was attended by about 200 scientists and representatives
from governmental and non governmental organizations.
The central theme of the Symposium was ecosystem research. Presentations
were given on the issues of Black Spots, Eutrophication, Monitoring,
Fisheries, Resilience, Exchange Processes and Management Related
Research.
On the basis of the presentations and related discussions, the
symposium participants formulated a number of recommendations
to the Ministers, responsible for the protection of the Wadden
Sea:
1. The participants underlined the need for the selection of
a representative set of tidal basins (including ebb deltas and
adjacent coastal areas of the barrier islands) in which no or
only little human activity is allowed. These areas should serve
as reference areas for monitoring and research, as already decided
at the 6th Trilateral Governmental Conference (Esbjerg 1991),
as guidance areas for research and monitoring and as core areas
for nature protection.
BLACK SPOTS
2. The Ministers are recommended to establish special national
Task Forces for unpredictable events (e.g. the occurrence of
large scale black spots) within one year. Each national Task
Force shall have clear connections to the other trilateral partner
forces. Such a Task Force will be able to react in time to evaluate
the actual situation. It should be responsible for preparing
a scientific program to document the ecological impact of sudden
events.
3. The Ministers are recommended to initiate, within the next
3 years, a trilateral research project to learn about the geographical,
geobiochemical, and hydrographical differences which led to the
apparent sensitivity of the East Frisian Wadden Sea. Such a project
should also include an inventory and analysis of historical events.
EUTROPHICATION
4. Continuing high inputs of nitrogen have caused a shift in
N/P ratio which may enhance blooms of nuisance and toxic algae
and algal growth. The latter causes an increased incidence of
black spots. Atmospheric nitrogen inputs also affect nutrient-poor
dune areas, thereby causing a reduction of biodiversity.
The Ministers, responsible for the protection of the Wadden Sea,
are therefore urged to intensify their efforts to reduce nitrogen
inputs to the Wadden Sea from all sources through reduction at
source.
The Ministers are furthermore recommended to make the necessary
resources for a trilateral evaluation of the effects of reduced
nutrient inputs available. On the basis of this evaluation, proposals
for a future strategy to reduce eutrophication will be developed.
5. There are indications that toxic substances negatively affect
the grazing on phytoplankton, which may result in increased and/or
longer blooms.
The Ministers are therefore requested to initiate the development
of a proposal for a trilateral research project (or other relevant
initiatives) into the effects of low level concentrations of
toxic substances on the functioning of zooplankton.
MONITORING
6. The implementation of the Trilateral Monitoring and Assessment
Program (TMAP) has made good progress. The program has been reviewed
and updated during expert workshops, has produced guidelines
and has implemented certain pilot projects. There are still some
issues that require further attention. The symposium therefore
recommends that the ministers decide upon an action plan for
the gradual implementation of the full TMAP during the period
1997-2000. This should include:
- safeguarding the continuation
of ongoing long-term monitoring and assessment programs;
- the introduction of new,
cost-effective, multipurpose monitoring techniques, such as aircraft
and satellite based remote sensing, shipborne video, radar and
sonar sensing and the testing of such techniques in trilateral
pilot projects;
- the installation of trilateral
expert groups as the working structure for monitoring and assessment;
- the extension of specimen
banking to the entire trilateral cooperation.
7. One of the major problems in the production of trilateral
reports, especially the Quality Status Report, is the data availability.
The Ministers are therefore recommended to come to a trilateral
'DATA AVAILABILITY AGREEMENT' in which all relevant national,
federal, regional and local institutions express their consent
and cooperation to make data available in time for the production
of trilateral reports.
RESILIENCE
8. Confronted with the disappearance and decline of key biotopes
in the Wadden Sea (oyster beds, Sabellaria reefs, mussel beds,
seagrass beds), it must be concluded that these can lose their
potential for recovery (resilience).
The Ministers are therefore recommended to
- make resilience of key biotopes
and processes a major topic of future conceptual research;
- include the concept of resilience
into impact evaluations of natural and man-induced disturbances.
EXCHANGE PROCESSES
9. In order to reach the ecotarget 'An increased area of geomorphologically
and biologically undisturbed tidal flats and subtidal areas',
the Ministers are recommended to stimulate the occurrence of
natural exchange processes by
- taking appropriate measures
to allow the natural reestablishment of seagrass beds and mussel
beds, because these biotopes play an important role in the transformation
of organic matter and the sedimentation of particles;
- taking appropriate measures
for establishing landward sedimentation basins, and improving
transition zones between fresh and seawater, and land and water;
- restricting the impact of
human activities (like sand extraction, gas extraction, civil
engineering, mussel and cockle fisheries) on natural exchange
processes.
SHELLFISH FISHERIES
10. In order to reach the goal of restoration and safeguarding
of key habitats in the Wadden Sea, the Ministers are recommended
- to restrict mussel fishery
to the subtidal areas;
- to close cockle fishery
in the Netherlands in areas with good prospects for development
of habitat types such as seagrass and intertidal mussel beds.
11. The symposium expresses its concern about the large amount
of discard from shrimp fisheries and its impact on the ecosystem,
and it recommends to the Ministers to stimulate the development
and introduction of techniques for the reduction of by-catch
and the effects of discards.
INTEGRATED COASTAL ZONE MANAGEMENT
12. The future of the Wadden Sea area requires a broader management
context compared to the present concept in terms of addressing
the impacts stemming from activities outside the area and hence
public participation and involvement in the decision making process.
The Ministers, responsible for the protection of the Wadden Sea,
are therefore recommended to develop an integrated coastal zone
management concept, which must identify and address the major
impacts in the Wadden Sea region.
The symposium participants emphasize that a precondition for
an integrated management concept is that the existing national
and international nature protection legislation and agreements
(Esbjerg and Leeuwarden Declarations) at least be maintained.
The following premises must apply to such a concept:
- socioeconomic, safety and
cultural aspects must be integrated with the ecological interests
in order to identify opportunities;
- the cooperation area must
be extended to adjacent mainland areas with close ecological
links to the Wadden Sea;
- the participation of all
interest groups (stakeholders) in the development of the concept
must be enhanced.
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