sewage

Abstract.

Much research is being conducted on environmental issues but more knowledge does not necessarily lead to more decisions that take into account such knowledge. A low research uptake can therefore be a threat to ecosystems. An example is research going on about coral reefs and pollution in Curaçao. Coral reefs are vibrant ecosystems and provide many services. They support the economy and protect the coasts. However, they are declining as many hazards threaten them such as sewage that pours out into the sea. Scientific research is being conducted on that topic, but a major issue is the insufficient uptake of research by the policy sphere and the civil society to adopt environmental friendly decisions and behaviours. This master thesis is embedded in the SEALINK project, which aims at understanding how pollution such as sewage impacts the coral reef in Curaçao, and more precisely to its work package on research uptake strategies. This thesis first identifies in the literature the conditions under which research uptake is optimal. Literature highlights three criteria that knowledge should meet in order to have an optimal research uptake: legitimacy, credibility and salience. The salience of the scientific knowledge produced on sewage pollution and its impact on the reef is the focus of this thesis as the legitimacy and credibility of the knowledge produced on sewage are assumed to be met already. Salience refers to the relevance of the knowledge produced for the users of science, such as policy makers. A lack of salience can be the cause of differences in timerames, in the vocabulary used between the scientist and users of knowledge, for instance. The stakeholders that affect sewage in Curaçao, such as the ministry in charge of sewage management, companies that pick up sewage, the tourism industry, or fishermen, were then listed to be interviewed. Interviews of these stakeholders were conducted to explore the behaviours undermining salience of the knowledge produced on the topic at hand. The results show that this knowledge lacks salience because of an operational misfit between the demand for, and supply of knowledge. Recommendations to the local actors and to future researchers on solutions to create more salient knowledge and therefore to have optimal research uptake to protect the reef better, are proposed under the form of science-policy interfaces with an emphasis on knowledge co-production as the main approach to improve the science and practice relationship.  

A B S T R A C T
Coral-associated invertebrates contribute much to the biodiversity of Caribbean coral reefs. Although the nature
of their symbiotic relation is usually not fully understood, they can cause damage to their hosts, especially when
they occur in high densities. The abundance of seven groups of coral-associated invertebrates was investigated on
reefs along the leeward side of Curaçao, southern Caribbean. In particular, coral barnacles (Pyrgomatidae),
boring mussels (Mytilidae: Leiosolenus spp.), gall crabs (Cryptochiridae), and Christmas tree worms (Serpulidae:
Spirobranchus spp.) were recorded together with their host corals by means of a photo survey at four depths (5,
10, 15, 20 m) and across seven sites with high and five sites with low eutrophication values (based on δ15N
isotope data). Feather duster worms (Sabellidae: Anamobaea), coral blennies (Chaenopsidae: Acanthemblemaria),
and worm snails (Vermetidae: Petaloconchus) were insufficiently abundant for thorough quantitative analyses.
The results show a decrease in the number of barnacles and Christmas tree worms per host over depth, which
could be related to the availability of their host corals. Sites with high δ15N values show a higher abundance of
barnacles and Christmas tree worms per host than sites with low values. This indicates that eutrophication could
be favourable for these filter feeding organisms but when their densities become too high, they tend to overgrow
their hosts and may become a threat to them.