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Oligotrophic catchments with short spatey streams, upland lakes and peaty soils characterise northwest European Atlantic coastal regions. These catchments are important biodiversity refuges, particularly for sensitive diadromous fish populations but are subject to changes in land use and land management practices associated with afforestation, agriculture and rural development. Quantification of the degree of catchment degradation resulting from such anthropogenic impacts is often limited by a lack of long-term baseline data in what are generally relatively isolated, poorly studied catchments. This research uses a combination of palaeolimnological (radiometrically-dated variations in sedimentary geochemical elements, pollen, diatoms and remains of cladocera), census, and instrumental data, along with hindcast estimates to quantify environmental changes and their aquatic impacts since the late 19th century. The most likely drivers of any change are also identified. Results confirm an aquatic biotic response (phyto- and zooplankton) to soil erosion and nutrient enrichment associated with the onset of commercial conifer afforestation, effects that were subsequently enhanced as a result of increased overgrazing in the catchment and, possibly, climate warming. The implications for the health of aquatic resources in the catchment are discussed Environmental Protection Agency in Ireland (ILLUMINATE 2005-W-MS-40, P.McGinnity was supported by the Beaufort Marine Research Award in Fish Population Genetics funded by the Irish Government under the Sea Change Programme.

The SmartBay NIAP fund was made available in 2012 through Dublin City University over a two year period to enable researchers to access the SmartBay Ireland National Test and Demonstration Facility in Galway Bay. Research proposals were invited for funding under a number of activity types that are in line with the objectives of the SmartBay PRTLI Cycle 5 programme. This fund provided small awards (typically €2-25K) to research teams through a national competitive process, which was open to all higher education institutions on the island of Ireland. There were both open and biannual calls. The SmartBay NIAP fund was established to enable researchers in academia and industry to access the SmartBay Ireland national test and demonstration infrastructure. Proposals to access the infrastructure were brief and required information on the researcher(s), a description of the proposed research and its potential impact to the research team arising from the access to SmartBay Ireland. Marine Institute

The report is organized into nine chapters. Chapter one provides the introduction to the report. Chapter two presents alternative approaches to agribusiness development and chapter three discusses the role of agribusiness incubators. Chapter four discusses the challenges of agribusiness incubators and chapter five presents a typology of agribusiness incubators. Chapter six elaborates on the evolution of incubators over time. Chapter seven presents the analysis of impact and cost-benefits. Chapter eight summarizes good practices and lessons learned. Chapter nine presents the recommendations.

A quantitative sampling was made on the non-cultivated molluscs of the soft bottom macrofauna in the bay of Marennes-Oleron. A stratified random sampling, including an optimal allocation strategy. provided adequate data to estimate abundance and biomass (total weight. dry weight and ash-free-dry weight) of each molluscan species. The main stratification factors were respectively the bathymetric levels. the different types of sediment and the differences between natural, oyster-free mud flats and cultivated areas. A Smith Mc-Intyre grab was used to sample the subtidal, shallow areas and the tidal flats as well. The total number of sampling stations was 370. The final estimation of the total weight of benthic molluscs was 14,400 ± 3,000 tons (at 95 % confidence limits). The main trophic competitors for oysters were : Cerastoderma edule (4,500 ± 2,200 tons), Mytilus edulis (2,600 ±. 2,000 tons), Crepidula fornicata (1,800 ±. 900 tons), Solen marginatus (800 ±. 600 tons) and Macoma balthica (800 ± 400 tons). La stratégie d'échantillonnage retenue pour l'estimation des stocks de mollusques benthiques non cultivés du bassin de Marennes-Oléron consiste en un type d'échantillonnage aléatoire stratifié, après allocation optimale de l'effort d'échantillonnage au sein des strates. L'engin de prélèvement, une benne Smith Mc-Intyre, a été utilisée sur l'ensemble de la zone soit 180 km. Les principaux stratificateurs sont la bathymétrie, les types biosédimentaires et la présence ou l'absence de culture d'huîtres. Un ensemble de 370 stations a été effectué. Le stock global de mollusques non cultivés est évalué en biomasse fraîche à 14 400 ± 3 000 tonnes (au seuil d'erreur de 5 %). Les principales espèces compétitrices sur le plan trophique des huîtres sont : Cerastoderma edule (4 500 ± 2 000 tonnes), Mytilus edulis (2 600 ±. 2 000 tonnes), Crepidula fornicata (1 800 ± 900 tonnes), Solen marginatus (800 ± 600 tonnes) et Macoma balthica (800 ±. 400 tonnes).

The boreal Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) is entering the Arctic in response to rising water temperatures, likely increasing predation pressure on the endemic key species Polar cod (Boreogadus saida). In this thesis, I investigated the whole-animal performance of both fish species after long-term acclimation to future ocean acidification and warming conditions in order to estimate their future competitive strength. More precisely, I focused on aerobic performance such as baseline and maximum metabolism, as well as energetic investment into growth and swimming as indicators for fitness capacity under future ocean conditions. While G. morhua was thriving under conditions projected for the year 2100, the competitive strength of B. saida likely decreases. F.i., the growth performance of B. saida decreased at temperatures above 6 degree Celsius and the swimming performance was impaired under elevated PCO2 levels, potentially resulting in a higher vulnerability to predation and reduced foraging success.

To contextualise opportunities for CEO’s and decisionmakers, this thesis aims to explore the Foreign Direct Investment opportunities for renewable energy in Southeast Asia through an in depth analysis of ASEAN countries’ potential. Three countries (Vietnam, Thailand, and Indonesia) with subsequent renewable energy technologies (wind, solar and hydropower) are assessed on investment potential through quantitative ranking and qualitative expert interview insights to provide nuance on challenges, opportunities, and potential. This thesis concludes that currently solar power in Thailand presents the most attractive investment opportunity, with wind power in Vietnam and hydropower in Indonesia requiring local policy transformations and stabilisation to de-risk investments.

Data and scripts used for the paper 'A global census of the significance of giant mesopelagic protists to the biogeochemical cycles of carbon and silicon' authored by: Manon Laget, Laetitia Drago, Thelma Panaïotis, Rainer Kiko, Lars Stemmann, Andreas Rogge, Natalia Llopis-Monferrer, Aude Leynaert, Jean-Olivier Irisson, Tristan Biard

verf. und eingereicht von Andreas Helmut Melcher Zsfassung in dt. Sprache Wien, Univ. für Bodenkultur, Diss., 2009 OeBB

How much do poor rural households rely on environmental extraction from natural ecosystems? And how does climate variability impact their livelihoods? This paper sheds light on these two questions with household income data from the Poverty and Environment Network pantropical data set, combined with climate data for the past three decades. The study finds that extraction of wild resources (from natural forests, bushlands, fallows, etc.) provides on average as much income (about 27 percent) as crops across the smallholder sample. The cross-section data on past reactions to household self-perceived economic shocks and observed production reactions to climate anomalies can, respectively, provide hints about livelihood vulnerability to current climate variability, which is likely to worsen with climate change. Forest extraction did not figure among the most favored response strategies to households’ self-perceived economic shocks, but households undertake subtle substitutions in sector production in response to weather anomalies that accentuate suboptimal climatic conditions for cropping. By relying more on forest extraction and wages, households compensate quite successfully for declining crop incomes. This paints a cautiously optimistic picture about fairly flexible rural livelihood reactions to current climate variability, and featuring forests as potentially important in household coping strategies.