Deliverables BALDER Summer School (BSS) The BALTDER Summer Schools is a series of one-week self-contained programs of intensive study on various aspects of the functioning of marine and coastal environments, including primary production and system productivity, ecotoxicology of pollutant contaminants, physiology and biodiversity in estuarine and coastal organisms. The courses are given by European experts who have considerable experience in marine biology and ecology. The Summer School includes undergraduate units of study from degree programs and is open to students, young researchers and coastal managers from eastern and western European countries to facilitate research and educational cross-border links at a pan-European scale. By relating most current and important European issues in marine sector to common public concerns such as humans health, economic importance and sustainable management of coastal regions, direct links are underlined between scientific knowledge on the functioning of marine systems and its socio-economic relevance. Thus, the topics might be of potential interests to local authorities, managers and people responsible for development of human activities in coastal areas (e.g. shipping, fishery and tourism). Culture Collection of Baltic Algae CCBA Culture Collection of Baltic Algae (CCBA) at the Institute of Oceanography, University of Gdañsk was created in the 1980s and has been recently developed within the BALTDER project. Curator: Dr. Adam Lata³a, e-mail address: oceal@univ.gda.pl. Now CCBA holdings are mainly Baltic cyanobacteria, green algae and diatoms, although there are representatives of the other algal groups, like flagellates. The all strains were isolated from the coastal waters of the Southern Baltic and identified by A. Lata³a. They are mainly used by national institutions for scientific (Lata³a 1991, Lata³a et al. 1991, Lata³a & Surosz 1998, 1999, Lata³a & Misiewicz 2000) and educational purposes. The list of strains identified to species level with microscopic images is presented on the web site, at Institute of Oceanography homepage http://www.ocean.univ.gda.pl/CCBA.html. Besides currently using strains numbers in parentheses were presented symbols previously used in publications. CCBA has been gradually developed and now it contains about forty original Baltic algal strains. Future plans include purification of existing strains to axenic state and collaboration with other collections and taxonomic experts to verify the taxonomy of new isolates. Moreover, the algal test organisms recommended by International Organization for Standardization (ISO) or European Committee for Standardization (CEN) are cultured and supplied for research and analysis of biological water quality. The effect of such main factors as salinity, temperature and irradiance on the growth of some strains isolated from the Baltic Sea has been characterized by factorial experiment approach. The CCBA includes strains of green algae (Chlorella vulgaris, Scenedesmus armatus var. subalternans, Scenedesmus acuminatus, Oocystis submarina, Oocystis parva, Monoraphidium contortum, Monoraphidium griffithii, Stichococcus bacillaris, Monoraphidium convolutum, diatoms (Cyclotella meneghiniana, Skeletonema costatum, Amphora coffeaeformis, Haslea spicula, Nitzschia thermaloides, Skeletonema costatum), cyanobacteria (Phormidium amphibium, Nodularia spumigena. Establishing close and effective co-operation with local authorities and other institutions responsible for water quality and environmental health Due to activities of WP3 participants, such as seminars and workshops with the contribution of environmental officers and people from sanitary inspections, schools and trainings, brochures, posters, TV programs, interviews, press releases, close and effective cooperation with environmental protection agencies and local authorities was establish. We think that the activities increased public awareness of the potential threat associated with toxic algal blooms in drinking and recreation waters. They also helped to realised that these blooms are formed as a consequence of anthropogenic impact on the environment. As a result, some local authorities (e.g. in Kartuzy, Kashubian Lake District) have undertaken actions aimed at the improvement of water quality in lakes used for recreation. It was decided that at the Institute of Oceanography the Regional Toxic Cyanobacteria Centre should be established. The overall aim of the Centre is to integrate and coordinate research projects and monitor programmes, disseminate knowledge on possible causes and consequences of toxic cyanobacteria development, organize trainings. Ecohydrodynamic model of the Baltic Sea The ecohydrodynamic model was developed at the Institute of Oceanography University of Gdansk (IOUG). It contains two essential parts - hydrodynamic the M3D_UG and ecosystem part the ProDeMo. Model works as pre-operational one at the southern Baltic area and the Gulf of Gdansk as well as the Pomeranian Bay. The results are available on the web site http://model.ocean.univ.gda.pl/indexeng.html . The model was developed at the advanced level and established in internet during BALTDER project. The model cooperates on line with server at Interdisciplinary Computer Modelling Centre Warsaw University to get meteorological weather forecast in digital form to evaluate 60 hours forecasts (updated every 4 hours) for physical, chemical and biological parameters of the sea. The forecasts deliver the surface current fields, the temperature and salinity sea water. Moreover, the model forecasting fields of the nutrients: nitrates, ammonia, phosphates, silicates, total nitrogen and total phosphorus, also dissolved oxygen and phytoplankton biomass. Establishing close co-operation with outstanding centers in EU in the field of ecology and ecophysiology of marine invertebrates In the course of the project a closer cooperation with EU and NAS countries has been established. It was done through following activities of WP6 participants: - Training young scientists in advanced ecological, ecophysiological and ecotoxicological laboratories and during various courses; - Contribution of WP6 members to different events e. g. conferences, seminars, workshops; - Joint scientific papers on ecology and ecophysiology of marine invertebrates; - Conference co-organizing; The experience gained during the project let us to increase activity of our scientists and to improve the standard of our research work. Establishing close cooperation with other EU laboratories working in the field of toxic cyanobacteria In the course of the project a closer co-operation with EU laboratories carrying out research on cyanobacteria and cyanotoxins has been established. It was mainly through such activities as: - Conferences, seminars and workshops organized by BALTDER; - Contribution of WP3 members to different events organized by foreign institutions (e.g. ICSE working group meetings); - Visits to other EU laboratories, training of young researchers in Helsinki, Berlin, Oldenburg and Dundee; - Contribution of foreign researchers to our national projects and papers on toxic cyanobacteria. Special efforts were made to strengthen contacts with the Baltic countries, with some success in the case of Finland, Germany, Latvia and Sweden. During the project we aimed at building our capacity to be a reliable partner in the future contacts. The experience gained through the above mentioned events helped us to increase the standard of our research work. Establishing educational center for public, students and researchers on ecology and ecophysiology of marine invertebrates In the course of the project BALTDER educational center for students, scientists and public on ecology and ecophysiology of marine invertebrates was established. Following activities were done: - 17 scientific lectures for UE experts organized by BALTDER - 2 practical courses ?Marine Biology and Ecology for foreigner students organized for Denmarks International Study Program. The research carried out within the BALTDER WP6 was presented to the public during I, II and III Baltic Festival of Science were following activities were carried out: - Ecological competition for secondary school boys and girls Advertise the Baltic fauna and a training course for winners on cruise at the r/v Oceanograf-2. - An educational trail in the Natural Reserve Kępa Redłowska for grammar-school boys and girls. - A stand Do you know what organisms live in the Baltic Sea? with alive organisms and painting competition was also displayed. About 3000 people, mainly children with parents visited our stand. Two educational calendars as well as leaflets were printed. An educational trail in the Natural Reserve Kępa Redłowska is prepared which is available at the Internet website http://www.keparedlowska.nmzg.pl. Searching for OpenAIRE data... There was an error trying to search data from OpenAIRE No results available
