Key publications
de Bakker D, van Duyl FC, Perry CT, Meesters EH (In Press). Extreme spatial heterogeneity in carbonate accretion potential on a Caribbean fringing reef linked to local human disturbance gradients. Global Change Biology
Webb AE, de Bakker DM, Soetaert K, da Costa T, van Heuven SMAC, van Duyl FC, Reichart G-J, de Nooijer LJ (2021). Quantifying functional consequences of habitat degradation on a Caribbean coral reef.
BIOGEOSCIENCES,
18(24), 6501-6516.
Author URL.
de Bakker DM, Webb AE, van den Bogaart LA, van Heuven SMAC, Meesters EH, van Duyl FC (2018). Quantification of chemical and mechanical bioerosion rates of six Caribbean excavating sponge species found on the coral reefs of Curacao.
PLOS ONE,
13(5).
Author URL.
de Bakker DM, van Duyl FC, Bak RPM, Nugues MM, Nieuwland G, Meesters EH (2017). 40 Years of benthic community change on the Caribbean reefs of Curacao and Bonaire: the rise of slimy cyanobacterial mats.
CORAL REEFS,
36(2), 355-367.
Author URL.
De Bakker DM, Meesters EH, Bak RPM, Nieuwland G, Van Duyl FC (2016). Long-term Shifts in Coral Communities on Shallow to Deep Reef Slopes of Curacao and Bonaire: Are There Any Winners?.
FRONTIERS IN MARINE SCIENCE,
3 Author URL.
Publications by year
In Press
de Bakker D, van Duyl FC, Perry CT, Meesters EH (In Press). Extreme spatial heterogeneity in carbonate accretion potential on a Caribbean fringing reef linked to local human disturbance gradients. Global Change Biology
2022
Morris J, Enochs I, Webb A, de Bakker D, Soderberg N, Kolodziej G, Manzello D (2022). The influences of diurnal variability and ocean acidification on the bioerosion rates of two reef-dwelling Caribbean sponges.
Glob Chang Biol,
28(23), 7126-7138.
Abstract:
The influences of diurnal variability and ocean acidification on the bioerosion rates of two reef-dwelling Caribbean sponges.
Ocean acidification (OA) is expected to modify the structure and function of coral reef ecosystems by reducing calcification, increasing bioerosion, and altering the physiology of many marine organisms. Much of our understanding of these relationships is based on experiments with static OA treatments, although evidence suggests that the magnitude of diurnal fluctuations in carbonate chemistry may modulate the calcification response to OA. These light-mediated swings in seawater pH are projected to become more extreme with OA, yet their impact on bioerosion remains unknown. We evaluated the influence of diurnal carbonate chemistry variability on the bioerosion rates of two Caribbean sponges: the zooxanthellate Cliona varians and azooxanthellate Cliothosa delitrix. Replicate fragments from multiple colonies of each species were exposed to four precisely controlled pH treatments: contemporary static (8.05 ± 0.00; mean pH ± diurnal pH oscillation), contemporary variable (8.05 ± 0.10), future OA static (7.80 ± 0.00), and future OA variable (7.80 ± 0.10). Significantly enhanced bioerosion rates, determined using buoyant weight measurements, were observed under more variable conditions in both the contemporary and future OA scenarios for C. varians, whereas the same effect was only apparent under contemporary pH conditions for C. delitrix. These results indicate that variable carbonate chemistry has a stimulating influence on sponge bioerosion, and we hypothesize that bioerosion rates evolve non-linearly as a function of pCO2 resulting in different magnitudes and directions of rate enhancement/reduction between day and night, even with an equal fluctuation around the mean. This response appeared to be intensified by photosymbionts, evident by the consistently higher percent increase in bioerosion rates for photosynthetic C. varians across all treatments. These findings further suggest that more variable natural ecosystems may presently experience elevated sponge bioerosion rates and that the heightened impact of OA enhanced bioerosion on reef habitat could occur sooner than prior predictions.
Abstract.
Author URL.
2021
Achlatis M, van der Zande RM, Webb AE, de Bakker DM, de Nooijer LJ, de Goeij JM (2021). Photosynthetically stimulated bioerosion in symbiotic sponges: the role of glycerol and oxygen.
CORAL REEFS,
40(3), 881-891.
Author URL.
Webb AE, de Bakker DM, Soetaert K, da Costa T, van Heuven SMAC, van Duyl FC, Reichart G-J, de Nooijer LJ (2021). Quantifying functional consequences of habitat degradation on a Caribbean coral reef.
BIOGEOSCIENCES,
18(24), 6501-6516.
Author URL.
Webb AE, Engelen AH, Bouwmeester J, van Dijk I, Geerken E, Lattaud J, Engelen D, de Bakker BS, de Bakker DM (2021). Synchronized broadcast spawning by six invertebrates (Echinodermata and Mollusca) in the north-western Red Sea.
MARINE BIOLOGY,
168(5).
Author URL.
Webb AE, Engelen AH, Bouwmeester J, van Dijk I, Geerken E, Lattaud J, Engelen D, de Bakker BS, de Bakker DM (2021). Synchronized broadcast spawning by six invertebrates (Echinodermata and Mollusca) in the north-western Red Sea (vol 168, 56, 2021).
MARINE BIOLOGY,
168(6).
Author URL.
2019
De Bakker DM (2019). 40 years of change on the coral reefs of Curac̀§ao and Bonaire.
Abstract:
40 years of change on the coral reefs of Curac̀§ao and Bonaire
Tropical coral reefs are among the most species-rich and productive ecosystems on earth. They cover only 0.1-0.5% of the ocean floor, but provide a home to almost a third of all fish species and other marine biota. Just like with tropical rainforests, the terrestrial counterpart of these reefs, 3-dimensional complexity underlies this unique biodiversity. On coral reefs, such structural complexity is mainly provided by scleractinian corals. In the interest of growth and protection, these organisms deposit large amounts of limestone, which provides the rigid foundation for the reef. In this way, corals facilitate complex ecosystem functioning and offer shelter and substratum to an exceptional diversity of species. In addition, millions of people depend on these coral reefs, for goods and services such as nourishment (fishing), coastal protection, tourism and recreation. In spite of this, coral reefs are at present under substantial pressure as a consequence of increased human activities. Large-scale global processes such as climate change have a severe impact on these delicate systems, while at the same time a variety of stressors including overfishing, coastal development and pollution substantially reduce reef resilience on a local scale. In this thesis I describe various aspects of the ecological degradation that coral reefs in the Caribbean have undergone since the early 1970s, as a result of factors associated with continuous human population growth (eg pollution, overfishing, climate change). The focus of the presented work lies on the coral reefs surrounding Curaçao and Bonaire (southern Caribbean).
Abstract.
Bart MC, de Vet SJ, de Bakker DM, Alexander BE, van Oevelen D, van Loon EE, van Loon JJWA, de Goeij JM (2019). Spiculous skeleton formation in the freshwater sponge Ephydatia fluviatilis under hypergravity conditions.
PEERJ,
6 Author URL.
2018
van Heuven SMAC, Webb AE, de Bakker DM, Meesters E, van Duyl FC, Reichart G-J, de Nooijer LJ (2018). In-situ incubation of a coral patch for community-scale assessment of metabolic and chemical processes on a reef slope.
PEERJ,
6 Author URL.
de Bakker DM, Webb AE, van den Bogaart LA, van Heuven SMAC, Meesters EH, van Duyl FC (2018). Quantification of chemical and mechanical bioerosion rates of six Caribbean excavating sponge species found on the coral reefs of Curacao.
PLOS ONE,
13(5).
Author URL.
Kenny NJ, de Goeij JM, de Bakker DM, Whalen CG, Berezikov E, Riesgo A (2018). Towards the identification of ancestrally shared regenerative mechanisms across the Metazoa: a Transcriptomic case study in the Demosponge Halisarca caerulea.
MARINE GENOMICS,
37, 135-147.
Author URL.
2017
de Bakker DM, van Duyl FC, Bak RPM, Nugues MM, Nieuwland G, Meesters EH (2017). 40 Years of benthic community change on the Caribbean reefs of Curacao and Bonaire: the rise of slimy cyanobacterial mats.
CORAL REEFS,
36(2), 355-367.
Author URL.
Webb AE, van Heuven SMAC, de Bakker DM, van Duyl FC, Reichart G-J, de Nooijer LJ (2017). Combined Effects of Experimental Acidification and Eutrophication on Reef Sponge Bioerosion Rates.
FRONTIERS IN MARINE SCIENCE,
4 Author URL.
De Bakker DM, Meesters EH, Bak RPM, Nieuwland G, Van Duyl FC (2017). Long-term Shifts in Coral Communities on Shallow to Deep Reef Slopes of Curacao and Bonaire: Are There Any Winners? (vol 3, 247, 2016).
FRONTIERS IN MARINE SCIENCE,
4 Author URL.
2016
De Bakker DM, Meesters EH, Bak RPM, Nieuwland G, Van Duyl FC (2016). Long-term Shifts in Coral Communities on Shallow to Deep Reef Slopes of Curacao and Bonaire: Are There Any Winners?.
FRONTIERS IN MARINE SCIENCE,
3 Author URL.
de Bakker DM, Meesters EHWG, van Bleijswijk JDL, Luttikhuizen PC, Breeuwer HJAJ, Becking LE (2016). Population Genetic Structure, Abundance, and Health Status of Two Dominant Benthic Species in the Saba Bank National Park, Caribbean Netherlands: Montastraea cavernosa and Xestospongia muta.
PLOS ONE,
11(5).
Author URL.
2015
de Bakker DM, Wilkinson M, Jensen B (2015). Extreme variation in the atrial septation of caecilians (Amphibia: Gymnophiona).
JOURNAL OF ANATOMY,
226(1), 1-12.
Author URL.
