news 2018

Natural climate buffers feeling effects of higher temperatures, UAntwerp biologists find. Ecosystems like forests sequester large amounts of carbon dioxide and therefore help to slow down global warming. These ecosystems are, however, increasingly becoming the victims of rising temperatures, according to new research led by the University of Antwerp.

On 1 December, a team of glaciologists and climate researchers from ULB , UCLouvain and the University of Colorado will head for the Antarctic. On the agenda is the second field campaign for the Mass2Ant project being coordinated by UCLouvain , which also includes partners from the IRM (the Royal Meteorological Institute of Belgium) and Delft University of Technology.

Researchers of Ghent University are teaching Ghanaian cocoa farmers how to produce better and more cocoa beans in a sustainable way. With a share of 20% of the premium cocoa beans on the international market, Ghana plays a significant role in the global cocoa production. However, the last couple of years Ghana has suffered low productivity rate and limited profit margins in its cocoa production.

Cobalt mining comes at a great cost to public health in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. New research reveals that children are particularly vulnerable: their urine and blood samples contain high concentrations of cobalt and other metals. In past years, the demand for cobalt has been on the increase due to its many applications.

Introduction: Dutch and Flemish researchers studied the colonisation by coastal vegetation Coastal vegetation interacts with water flow and the transport of sand and sediment: this interaction plays a key role in the rise of characteristic landscape forms in coastal habitats. Scientists from the University of Utrecht, the Netherlands Institute for Sea Research and University of Antwerp ( Global Change Ecology Centre , Research Group Ecosystem Management ) provide more insight in this interaction in their new paper that appeared recently.

Introduction: The evolution of Earth's first animals more than 500 million years ago caused global warming, new research from UAntwerp and other universities shows. Some 520-540 million years ago, animal life evolved in the ocean and began breaking down organic material on the seafloor, leading to more carbon dioxide and less oxygen in the atmosphere.

Introduction: A large and international team of ecologists reports in the renowned journal Nature that urbanization is driving body-size shifts in animal communities. Three authors of the Global Change Ecology Centre , Erik Matthysen , Lisa Baardsen and Thierry Backeljau (all belonging to the research group Evolutionary Ecology ), contributed to the study.

Introduction: UAntwerp and partners analysed the multiple impacts of energy efficiency in the European Horizon 2020-project COMBI. Saving energy not only improves the climate but also has positive impacts on air pollution, health, and ecosystems. Resource consumption, the economy and energy security also add benefits.

Introduction: Biodiversity decline and climate warming are two important challenges for mankind. New research shows the possibility to address both problems at the same time, in the tropical rain forest. That is the core message a team of Belgian scientists brought along, back from an expedition in the rain forest of the DR Congo.

A study conducted by a team of international researchers, including Krishna Das from the Laboratory of Biological Oceanology ( FOCUS Research Unit), presents new data on the level of mercury in seven distinct populations of European seabass ( Dicentrarchus labrax ), an edible species whose flesh is highly appreciated by gourmets.

Introduction: International team researches frost damage because of warming climate. At first glance, one might think that plants have a reduced chance to suffer frost damage, as Earth warms. But appearances can be deceiving, as a new study shows, to which UAntwerp researchers Ivan Janssens and Yongshuo Fu contributed.