Jan Andries Van Franeker

Wageningen University & Research | WUR · Wageningen Marine Research, Den Helder

A sample of 145 stomachs from fulmars hunted 100 km offshore east Greenland 64° 30′ N in early June 2015 was analysed for abundance of plastic litter. Overall, 86% of the stomachs contained plastics with an average of 13.5 particles, and 0.14 g per stomach. A proportion of 42% of the stomachs exceeded the level of 0.1 g plastic, whereas the interna...

Allometric relationships between body properties of animals are useful for a wide variety of purposes, such as estimation of biomass, growth, population structure, bioenergetic modelling and carbon flux studies. This study summarizes allometric relationships of zooplankton and nekton species that play major roles in polar marine food webs. Measurem...

The annual report on plastics in fulmars, collected along the Dutch coasts, has been published, adding new data from the year 2020. The amount of plastics decreases and, therefore, follows the trend observed in recent years.

A rigorous synthesis of the sea-ice ecosystem and linked ecosystem services highlights that the sea-ice ecosystem supports all 4 ecosystem service categories, that sea-ice ecosystems meet the criteria for ecologically or biologically significant marine areas, that global emissions driving climate change are directly linked to the demise of sea-ice...

Van Franeker, J.A.; & Camphuysen, C.J. 1984. Report on Fulmarus glacialis expedition II. Jan Mayen, June-August 1983.. Verslagen en Technische Gegevens No.39: 1-34. (Instituut voor Taxonomische Zoölogie, Universiteit van Amsterdam, Amsterdam). https://repository.naturalis.nl/pub/506333. This is an English language report on avifaunal observations m...

This report provides seabird survey data for Bear Island in the summer of 1980, when authors worked on the island in relation to a study of Northern Fulmars. There has been no formal journal publication, there is only this report by the Institute for Taxonomic Zoology (Zoological Museum) of the University of Amsterdam.

Survival of larval Antarctic krill ( Euphausia superba ) during winter is largely dependent upon the presence of sea ice as it provides an important source of food and shelter. We hypothesized that sea ice provides additional benefits because it hosts fewer competitors and provides reduced predation risk for krill larvae than the water column. To t...

Monitoring plastic in stomachs of beached northern fulmars for OSPAR’s Ecological Quality Objectives (EcoQOs) has been incorporated into the European Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD). This paper aims to provide the appropriate tools to interpret the monitoring results. MSFD requires a data-derived threshold value (Fulmar-TV) representing...

Although ingestion of plastic by tubenosed seabirds has been documented regularly, identification of the polymer composition of these plastics has rarely been described. Polymer assessment may assist in identifying sources and may indicate risks from additives occurring in specific types of polymers. Using known test materials, two identification m...

De noordse stormvogel foerageert op zee en eet daarbij zwerfvuil op, zoals plastic. Maaginhouden van stormvogels laten zien dat de milieukwaliteit van de Noordzee wat zwerfvuil betreft langzaam vooruitgaat maar nog niet op orde is.

For this study, the transfer of plastic additives to stomach oil of northern fulmars (Fulmarus glacialis) has been investigated. Procellariiform seabirds retain oily components of their prey in theirs stomach as a means to store energy. A marine litter-derived microplastic reference mixture and separately a marine litter-derived polystyrene sample...

This review quantifies plastic interaction in marine biota. Firstly, entanglement and ingestion records for all marine birds, mammals, turtles, fish, and invertebrate species, are summarized from 747 studies. Marine debris affected 914 species through entanglement and/or ingestion. Ingestion was recorded for 701 species, entanglement was documented...

This study combines published datasets with unpublished data on plastic ingestion in several North Sea fish species. The combined dataset of 4389 individuals from 15 species allows the analysis of spatial distribution and temporal variability of plastic uptake in fish. Airborne fibre contamination was observed to be the main contributor to fibres e...

The risk of marine organisms ingesting plastics has become a growing concern due to hazard chemicals in plastics. To identify compounds to which seabirds potentially have substantial exposure, 194 plastics fragments and pellets ingested by seabirds, i.e., northern fulmars from the Faroe Islands, and laysan albatross and black-footed albatross from...

Marine plastic pollution is an environmental contaminant of significant concern. There is a lack of consistency in sample collection and processing that continues to impede meta-analyses and largescale comparisons across time and space. This is true for most taxa, including seabirds, which are the most studied megafauna group with regards to plasti...

Update on the OSPAR and EU-Marine Strategy Directive monitoring of plastic particles in stomachs of Northern Fulmars in Denmark up to 2017. Currently, in Denmark, 54% of beached fulmars exceed the threshold of 0.1 gram (sample of 13 fulmars 2013-2017: all birds contained some plastic, on average 25 particles per stomach, weighing 0.16 gram). Over t...

Studies investigating the effects of plastic litter on marine biota have almost exclusively utilised pristine plastic materials that are homogeneous in polymer type, size, shape and chemical composition. This is particularly the case for microplastics (<5 mm), where collecting sufficient quantities from the marine environment for use in laboratory...

Understanding the energy flux through food webs is important for estimating the capacity of marine ecosystems to support stocks of living resources. The energy density of species involved in trophic energy transfer has been measured in a large number of small studies, scattered over a 40-year publication record. Here, we reviewed energy density rec...

How the abundant pelagic life of the Southern Ocean survives winter darkness, when the sea is covered by pack ice and phytoplankton production is nearly zero, is poorly understood. Ice-associated ("sympagic") microalgae could serve as a high-quality carbon source during winter, but their significance in the food web is so far unquantified. To bette...

One of the recently recognised stressors in Arctic ecosystems concerns plastic litter. In this study, juvenile polar cod (Boreogadus saida) were investigated for the presence of plastics in their stomachs. Polar cod is considered a key species in the Arctic ecosystem. The fish were collected both directly from underneath the sea ice in the Eurasian...

Marine plastic debris, including microplastics <5 mm, contain additives as well as hydrophobic chemicals sorbed from surrounding seawater. A volunteer-based global monitoring programme entitled International Pellet Watch (IPW) is utilizing the sorptive nature of plastics, more specifically of beached polyethylene (PE) pellets, in order to measure p...

this file version holds the online supplement in the same pdf file

Dutch Language paper in the journal Sula of the Dutch Seabird Group, explaining the history and current status of monitoring plastics in stomachs of fulmars. This is now a policy tool in OSPAR's EcoQO's (Ecological Quality Objectives) and in the EU Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) as an indicator for 'Good Environmental Status'. The appro...

Stomach contents of harbour porpoises (Phocoena phocoena) collected in the Netherlands between 2003 and 2013 were inspected for the presence of plastic and other man-made litter. In 654 stomach samples the frequency of occurrence of plastic litter was 7% with less than 0.5% additional presence of nonsynthetic man-made litter. However, we show that...

De noordse stormvogel foerageert op zee en eet daarbij zwerfvuil op, zoals plastic. Maaginhouden van stormvogels laten zien dat de milieukwaliteit van de Noordzee wat zwerfvuil betreft nog niet op orde is.

Awareness of the threat of environmental contaminants to marine mammals is widespread. High concentration of certain compounds in the tissues of these animals has been associated with organ anomalies, impaired reproduction, and immune function and, as a consequence of the latter, with the occurrence of large die-offs among seal and cetacean species...

Antarctic krill Euphausia superba is an ecological key species in the Southern Ocean and a major fisheries resource. The winter survival of age class 0 (AC0) krill is susceptible to changes in the sea-ice environment due to their association with sea ice and their need to feed during their first winter. However, our understanding of their overwinte...

Antarctic krill Euphausia superba (" krill ") constitute a fundamental food source for Antarctic seabirds and mammals, and a globally important fisheries resource. The future resilience of krill to climate change depends critically on the winter survival of young krill. To survive periods of extremely low production by pelagic algae during winter,...

In their recent paper, Savoca and collaborators (2016) showed that plastic debris in the ocean may acquire a dimethyl sulfide (DMS) signature from biofouling developing on their surface. According to them, DMS emission may represent an olfactory trap for foraging seabirds, which explains patterns of plastic ingestion among procellariiform seabirds....

Over de afgelopen paar jaar is een significant afnemende trend waarneembaar in het zwerfvuil van ballonresten op de Nederlandse stranden. Die gegevens zijn een steun in de rug van allen die zich inspannen om ballonnen afval te voorkomen. Maar ook is duidelijk dat hun werk nog lang niet klaar is, want schoon zijn de stranden nog lang niet. Jan Andri...

In recent years a significant reduction in the quantity of litter from balloons found on Dutch beaches can be documented. Such data represent a welcome support to all those that make efforts to reduce such waste. However, it is also evident that the job is not done, because the beaches are not nearly clean yet!

Plastic pollution has become one of the largest environmental challenges we currently face. The United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) has listed it as a critical problem, comparable to climate change, demonstrating both the scale and degree of the environmental problem. Mortalities due to entanglement in plastic fishing nets and bags have been...

In studies of plastic ingestion by marine wildlife, visual separation of plastic particles from gastrointestinal tracts or their dietary content can be challenging. Earlier studies have used solutions to dissolve organic materials leaving synthetic particles unaffected. However, insufficient tests have been conducted to ensure that different catego...

Climate change-related alterations of Antarctic sea-ice habitats will significantly impact the interaction of ice-associated organisms with the environment, with repercussions on ecosystem functioning. The nature of this interaction is poorly understood, particularly during the critical period of winter–spring transition. To investigate the role of...

Polar cod (Boreogadus saida) is an important food source for top predators and the most abundant fish underneath the Arctic pack ice. The diet of polar cod was investigated using fish caught directly underneath the sea ice, in order to look at the use of food sources that are provided by the sea-ice habitat. The diet was compared between polar cod...

Afval in de zee is een bekend probleem. Vanuit Wageningen Marine Research wordt sinds 1982 onderzoek gedaan naar het kleine drijvende materiaal in en rond de Noordzee door middel van onderzoek van maaginhouden van noordse stormvogels (van Franeker, 2009). dit dier pikt namelijk als 'voedsel' allerlei kleine voorwerpen, waaronder plastic, van het ze...

This is a printable abstract of the online European and OSPAR policy document presenting data and trends in plastic ingestion by Northern Fulmars as a monitor for the OSPAR Ecological Quality Objectives and the Good Environmental Status in the EU Marine Framework Strategy Directive. OSPAR Intermediate Assessment Portal (OAP) Online Document: https:...

Plastic soep is een van de grootste problemen in het oppervlaktewater. Dat verschijnsel is niet nieuw; in 1997 werd al melding gemaakt van grote hoeveelheden plastic afval in het zeewater. Voor een langlopend onderzoek naar de trends in de kwaliteit van het zeewater wordt gebruikgemaakt van de maaginhoud van aangespoelde Noordse Stormvogels. Doel v...

Northern fulmars are seabirds which feed exclusively at sea, and as such, they are useful indicators of ocean health. Marine plastic pollution is an ever-increasing and global issue that affects the northern fulmar as they are frequently found to have ingested plastic. In this report we investigate whether the amount of ingested plastic affects the...

Monitoring data for plastic ingestion by fulmars beached on the Dutch coast show slow but significant decline in plastic mass in their stomachs over the period 2006-2015. The current situation however, with 53% of birds having more than 0.1g plastic in the stomach, is still far off the policy target made by North Sea governments of reducing that pe...

The condition and survival of Antarctic krill (Euphausia superba) strongly depends on sea ice conditions during winter. How krill utilize sea ice depends on several factors such as region and developmental stage. A comprehensive understanding of sea ice habitat use by krill, however, remains largely unknown. The aim of this study was to improve the...

The marginal sea ice zone (MIZ) is a very dynamic and active area. In addition, the MIZ is biologically important due to an intense spring primary production bloom, which is an important carbon source for the marine food web. Here we present data collected in the Antarctic MIZ during a ship-based expedition to the Eastern Weddell Sea. The work aims...

Marine plastic litter has become a major threat to wildlife. Marine animals are highly susceptible to entanglement and ingestion of debris at sea. Governments all around the world are being urged to monitor litter sources and inputs, and to mitigate the impacts of marine litter, which is primarily composed of plastics. European policies, such as Os...

Despite its geographic isolation from large population centres, the Azores archipelago (north-eastern Atlantic) is not immune to thegrowing environmental threat of marine litter.Recent research developments suggest that many organisms are directly affected by this issue that should be addressed by consistent monitoring efforts. The goal of this stu...

Many wildlife studies use chemical analyses to explore spatio-temporal variation in diet, migratory patterns and contaminant exposure. Intrinsic markers are particularly valuable for studying non-breeding marine predators, when direct methods of investigation are rarely feasible. However, any inferences regarding foraging ecology are dependent upon...