This page has only limited features, please log in for full access.
Engineering education is critical for sustainability, given the key role that engineers have in shaping the development of our society. Yet, engineering studies have traditionally not been driven by sustainability-related knowledge and skills, but focused more on general computational skills and technical problem-solving. This has also been the case in our case study, which focuses on recent water and environmental engineering graduates in Finland. We studied the role that sustainable development has had in their education and early career through an extensive questionnaire and semi-structured interviews. The analysis was done in two ways: indirectly by comparing how well the key working life knowledge and skills recognized by the respondents correspond with sustainability-related skills, and directly by studying the graduates’ views towards the sustainable development and their possibilities to advance it in their work. The results show that although sustainability was not at the core of respondents’ studies, their key competencies correspond well with sustainability-related working life skills. The respondents also see that sustainable development has a central role in water and environmental engineering, although it is typically more visible at a strategic rather than a practical level. However, the results also indicate that several early-career engineers have deficient knowledge of sustainable development, and are therefore lacking the ability to fully connect the principles of sustainable development into their own expertise. Overall, the findings suggest that water and environmental engineers with their wide set of competencies have the potential to take on a larger role in building a more sustainable society. To ensure this, engineering education should emphasize the connection between the field and sustainable development and clearly link engineers’ core competencies with the skills required to promote sustainability.
Anu Vehmaa; Meeri Karvinen; Marko Keskinen. Building a More Sustainable Society? A Case Study on the Role of Sustainable Development in the Education and Early Career of Water and Environmental Engineers. Sustainability 2018, 10, 2605 .
AMA StyleAnu Vehmaa, Meeri Karvinen, Marko Keskinen. Building a More Sustainable Society? A Case Study on the Role of Sustainable Development in the Education and Early Career of Water and Environmental Engineers. Sustainability. 2018; 10 (8):2605.
Chicago/Turabian StyleAnu Vehmaa; Meeri Karvinen; Marko Keskinen. 2018. "Building a More Sustainable Society? A Case Study on the Role of Sustainable Development in the Education and Early Career of Water and Environmental Engineers." Sustainability 10, no. 8: 2605.
To reconstruct changes in zooplankton communities in response to past anthropogenic perturbations, one possibility is to use the sedimentary records. We analyzed the sediments at a coastal site in the Northern Baltic Sea to relate changes in the zooplankton community to anthropogenic eutrophication and the invasion of a predatory cladoceran, Cercopagis pengoi. We sampled 30‐cm laminated sediment cores and dated the sediment layers back to the 1950s. From each 1‐cm layer, we measured eutrophication indicators (δ13C, δ15N, TC, TN, TP) and identified and counted zooplankton resting eggs (cladoceran, calanoid copepod, rotifer). In addition, we estimated the abundance of the cladoceran Bosmina (Eubosmina) maritima by counting subfossils (carapaces, headshields, and ephippia) and estimated the experienced stress as the relationship between sexual and asexual reproduction. Using redundancy and variance partitioning analyses, we found ∼ 16% of the variation in the zooplankton community to be explained by eutrophication, and 24% of the variation in B. (E.) maritima abundance and reproduction mode to be explained by eutrophication and the introduction of the alien predator. Our results show a long‐term shift from calanoid copepods and predatory cladocerans toward small‐sized zooplankton species, like rotifers. Furthermore, the results indicate that the invasion of C. pengoi induced a short‐term increase in sexual reproduction in B. (E.) maritima. The results indicate that anthropogenic eutrophication since the 1950s has altered the zooplankton community toward smaller species, while the invasion of the predatory cladoceran had only a transitory influence on the community during its expansion phase.
Anu Vehmaa; Tarja Katajisto; Ulrika Candolin. Long‐term changes in a zooplankton community revealed by the sediment archive. Limnology and Oceanography 2018, 63, 2126 -2139.
AMA StyleAnu Vehmaa, Tarja Katajisto, Ulrika Candolin. Long‐term changes in a zooplankton community revealed by the sediment archive. Limnology and Oceanography. 2018; 63 (5):2126-2139.
Chicago/Turabian StyleAnu Vehmaa; Tarja Katajisto; Ulrika Candolin. 2018. "Long‐term changes in a zooplankton community revealed by the sediment archive." Limnology and Oceanography 63, no. 5: 2126-2139.
Ocean acidification is challenging phenotypic plasticity of individuals and populations. Calanoid copepods (zooplankton) are shown to be fairly plastic against altered pH conditions, and laboratory studies indicate that transgenerational effects are one mechanism behind this plasticity. We studied phenotypic plasticity of the copepod Acartia sp. in the course of a pelagic, large-volume mesocosm study that was conducted to investigate ecosystem and biogeochemical responses to ocean acidification. We measured copepod egg production rate, egg-hatching success, adult female size and adult female antioxidant capacity (ORAC) as a function of acidification (fCO2 ∼ 365–1231 µatm) and as a function of quantity and quality of their diet. We used an egg transplant experiment to reveal whether transgenerational effects can alleviate the possible negative effects of ocean acidification on offspring development. We found significant negative effects of ocean acidification on adult female size. In addition, we found signs of a possible threshold at high fCO2, above which adaptive maternal effects cannot alleviate the negative effects of acidification on egg-hatching and nauplii development. We did not find support for the hypothesis that insufficient food quantity (total particulate carbon < 55 µm) or quality (C : N) weakens the transgenerational effects. However, females with high-ORAC-produced eggs with high hatching success. Overall, these results indicate that Acartia sp. could be affected by projected near-future CO2 levels.
Anu Vehmaa; Anna-Karin Almén; Andreas Brutemark; Allanah Paul; Ulf Riebesell; Sara Furuhagen; Jonna Engström-Öst. Ocean acidification challenges copepod phenotypic plasticity. Biogeosciences 2016, 13, 6171 -6182.
AMA StyleAnu Vehmaa, Anna-Karin Almén, Andreas Brutemark, Allanah Paul, Ulf Riebesell, Sara Furuhagen, Jonna Engström-Öst. Ocean acidification challenges copepod phenotypic plasticity. Biogeosciences. 2016; 13 (22):6171-6182.
Chicago/Turabian StyleAnu Vehmaa; Anna-Karin Almén; Andreas Brutemark; Allanah Paul; Ulf Riebesell; Sara Furuhagen; Jonna Engström-Öst. 2016. "Ocean acidification challenges copepod phenotypic plasticity." Biogeosciences 13, no. 22: 6171-6182.
Ocean acidification is caused by increasing amounts of carbon dioxide dissolving in the oceans leading to lower seawater pH. We studied the effects of lowered pH on the calanoid copepod Eurytemora affinis during a mesocosm experiment conducted in a coastal area of the Baltic Sea. We measured copepod reproductive success as a function of pH, chlorophyll a concentration, diatom and dinoflagellate biomass, carbon to nitrogen (C : N) ratio of suspended particulate organic matter, as well as copepod fatty acid composition. The laboratory-based experiment was repeated four times during 4 consecutive weeks, with water and copepods sampled from pelagic mesocosms enriched with different CO2 concentrations. In addition, oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC) of animals from the mesocosms was measured weekly to test whether the copepod's defence against oxidative stress was affected by pH. We found no effect of pH on offspring production. Phytoplankton biomass, as indicated by chlorophyll a concentration and dinoflagellate biomass, had a positive effect. The concentration of polyunsaturated fatty acids in the females was reflected in the eggs and had a positive effect on offspring production, whereas monounsaturated fatty acids of the females were reflected in their eggs but had no significant effect. ORAC was not affected by pH. From these experiments we conclude that E. affinis seems robust against direct exposure to ocean acidification on a physiological level, for the variables covered in the study. E. affinis may not have faced acute pH stress in the treatments as the species naturally face large pH fluctuations.
Anna-Karin Almén; Anu Vehmaa; Andreas Brutemark; Lennart Bach; Silke Lischka; Annegret Stuhr; Sara Furuhagen; Allanah Paul; J. Rafael Bermúdez; Ulf Riebesell; Jonna Engström-Öst. Negligible effects of ocean acidification on Eurytemora affinis (Copepoda) offspring production. Biogeosciences 2016, 13, 1037 -1048.
AMA StyleAnna-Karin Almén, Anu Vehmaa, Andreas Brutemark, Lennart Bach, Silke Lischka, Annegret Stuhr, Sara Furuhagen, Allanah Paul, J. Rafael Bermúdez, Ulf Riebesell, Jonna Engström-Öst. Negligible effects of ocean acidification on Eurytemora affinis (Copepoda) offspring production. Biogeosciences. 2016; 13 (4):1037-1048.
Chicago/Turabian StyleAnna-Karin Almén; Anu Vehmaa; Andreas Brutemark; Lennart Bach; Silke Lischka; Annegret Stuhr; Sara Furuhagen; Allanah Paul; J. Rafael Bermúdez; Ulf Riebesell; Jonna Engström-Öst. 2016. "Negligible effects of ocean acidification on Eurytemora affinis (Copepoda) offspring production." Biogeosciences 13, no. 4: 1037-1048.
Ocean acidification is challenging phenotypic plasticity of individuals and populations. Calanoid copepods (zooplankton) are shown to be fairly plastic against altered pH conditions, and laboratory studies indicate that transgenerational effects are one mechanism behind this plasticity. We studied phenotypic plasticity of the copepod Acartia bifilosa in the course of a pelagic, large-volume mesocosm study that was conducted to investigate ecosystem and biogeochemical responses to ocean acidification. We measured copepod egg production rate, egg hatching success, adult female size and adult female antioxidant capacity (ORAC) as a function of acidification (fCO2 ~ 365–1231 μatm), and as a function of quantity and quality of their diet. We used an egg transplant experiment to reveal if transgenerational effects can alleviate the possible negative effects of ocean acidification on offspring development. We found significant negative effects of ocean acidification on adult female copepod size and egg hatching success. In addition, we found a threshold of fCO2 concentration (~ 1000 μatm), above which adaptive maternal effects cannot alleviate the negative effects of acidification on egg hatching and nauplii development. We did not find support for the hypothesis that insufficient food quantity (total particulate carbon ~ 55 μm) or quality (C : N) weakens the transgenerational effects. However, females with high ORAC produced eggs with high hatching success. Overall, these results indicate that A. bifilosa could be affected by projected near future CO2 levels.
A. Vehmaa; A.-K. Almén; A. Brutemark; A. Paul; U. Riebesell; S. Furuhagen; J. Engström-Öst. Ocean acidification challenges copepod reproductive plasticity. Biogeosciences Discussions 2015, 1 .
AMA StyleA. Vehmaa, A.-K. Almén, A. Brutemark, A. Paul, U. Riebesell, S. Furuhagen, J. Engström-Öst. Ocean acidification challenges copepod reproductive plasticity. Biogeosciences Discussions. 2015; ():1.
Chicago/Turabian StyleA. Vehmaa; A.-K. Almén; A. Brutemark; A. Paul; U. Riebesell; S. Furuhagen; J. Engström-Öst. 2015. "Ocean acidification challenges copepod reproductive plasticity." Biogeosciences Discussions , no. : 1.
Ocean acidification is caused by increasing amounts of carbon dioxide dissolving in the oceans leading to lower seawater pH. We studied the effects of lowered pH on the calanoid copepod Eurytemora affinis during a mesocosm experiment conducted in a coastal area of the Baltic Sea. We measured copepod reproductive success as a function of pH, chlorophyll a concentration, diatom and dinoflagellate biomass, carbon to nitrogen (C : N) ratio of suspended particulate organic matter, as well as copepod fatty acid composition. The laboratory-based experiment was repeated four times during four consecutive weeks, with water and copepods sampled from pelagic mesocosms enriched with different CO2 concentrations. In addition, oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC) of animals from the mesocosms was measured weekly to test whether the copepod's defence against oxidative stress was affected by pH. We found no effect of pH on offspring production. Phytoplankton biomass, as indicated by chlorophyll a concentration, had a strong positive effect. The concentration of polyunsaturated fatty acids in the females were reflected in the eggs and had a positive effect on offspring production, whereas monounsaturated fatty acids of the females were reflected in their eggs but had no significant effect. ORAC was not affected by pH. From these experiments we conclude that E. affinis seems robust against direct exposure to ocean acidification on a physiological level, for the variables covered in the study. E. affinis may not have faced acute pH stress in the treatments as the species naturally face large pH fluctuations.
A.-K. Almén; Anu Vehmaa; Andreas Brutemark; L. Bach; Silke Lischka; A. Stuhr; Sara Furuhagen; A J Paul; Rafael Bermudez; Ulf Riebesell; Jonna Engstromost. Negligible effects of ocean acidification on Eurytemora affinis (Copepoda) offspring production. Biogeosciences Discussions 2015, 1 .
AMA StyleA.-K. Almén, Anu Vehmaa, Andreas Brutemark, L. Bach, Silke Lischka, A. Stuhr, Sara Furuhagen, A J Paul, Rafael Bermudez, Ulf Riebesell, Jonna Engstromost. Negligible effects of ocean acidification on Eurytemora affinis (Copepoda) offspring production. Biogeosciences Discussions. 2015; ():1.
Chicago/Turabian StyleA.-K. Almén; Anu Vehmaa; Andreas Brutemark; L. Bach; Silke Lischka; A. Stuhr; Sara Furuhagen; A J Paul; Rafael Bermudez; Ulf Riebesell; Jonna Engstromost. 2015. "Negligible effects of ocean acidification on Eurytemora affinis (Copepoda) offspring production." Biogeosciences Discussions , no. : 1.