This study aims to investigate and disentangle the impact of land use and climate variability on the Baltic Sea coastal zone from a millennial perspective. To assess the environmental status of the coastal zone we make use of siliceous microfossils (mainly diatoms), stable nitrogen and carbon isotopes, organic carbon accumulation rates, and lithological changes analyzed in a sediment core collected in Gamlebyviken, Swedish east coast, dated to cover the last 3000 years. Changes in land use and vegetation cover are modelled using pollen stratigraphical data to obtain the percentage coverage of coniferous woodland (Pinus and Picea), deciduous woodland, wetland (Cyperaceae), grassland (including Juniperus) and cropland (cereals) while changes in climatic conditions are assessed through well-documented climatic periods that have occurred in the Baltic Sea region. The reconstructed regional vegetation cover shows that already 3000 years ago, humans used the landscape for both animal husbandry (grasslands) and farming (cropland), but the impact on the Baltic coastal waters was minor. The diatom accumulation rates were quite high (similar to 3100-2600 cal yr BP) containing taxa indicative of high nutrient conditions/upwelling, and stable carbon isotopes show that the carbon was produced in the basin but did not result in elevated organic carbon accumulation rates. A gradual change to less marine conditions in Gamlebyviken from about 2500 to 1400 cal yr BP can be attributed to the ongoing land uplift which resulted in a more enclosed embayment with only a narrow inlet area today. The Medieval Climate Anomaly (1000-700 cal yr BP/950-1250 CE) is a time where extensive eutrophication is registered in the open Baltic Sea, but afforestation is recorded between 1000 and 500 cal yr BP and attributed to the expansion of spruce favored by land-use reorganization with a transition from a one-course rotation system to the three-course rotation system fully established in southern Sweden in the 13th century, and only minor environmental change is recorded in the coastal zone. The Little Ice Age is documented in our data between 400 and 250 cal yr BP/1550-1700 CE as a decrease in regional cropland (cereals) cover, possibly indicating years of poor crop harvest, and changes in the Baltic coastal zone are evidenced as low carbon and diatom accumulation rates, increase in benthic diatom taxa (low turbidity), and high abundance in diatom taxa associated with sea ice indicating a cold climate. The most significant changes occurred from about 100 cal yr BP/1850 CE up to present, with a maximum regional cover of grassland and cropland (ca. 35%) at the expense of deciduous woodland, and major changes indicative of a highly eutrophic environment recorded in the coastal zone. Organic carbon accumulation rates peaked in 1968 CE at approximately 134 g C m(2) yr(-1) before subsequently declining to present-day values of 53 g C m(2) yr(-1), mirroring a similar trend observed in diatom accumulation rates. The high organic carbon accumulation rate shows that deep unvegetated accumulation bottoms in the coastal Baltic Sea serve as carbon sinks and are worth exploring for their potential in mitigating climate change. Variation partitioning shows that 26% of the variance in the diatom assemblages is associated with land use changes. The variables grassland, cropland, and stable nitrogen isotopes are accordingly strong predictors of environmental change in the Baltic coastal zone as reflected by the diatom assemblages.

PREMISE: Understanding the adaptive capacities of species over long timescales lies in examining the revived recent and millennia old resting spores buried in sediments. We show for the first time the revival, viability and germination rate of resting spores of the diatom Chaetoceros deposited in sub-seafloor sediments from three ages (recent: 0-80 years; ancient: ~1250 (Medieval Climate Anomaly) and ~6600 (Holocene Thermal Maximum) calendar year before present.

METHODS: Recent and ancient Chaetoceros spores were revived to examine their viability and germination rate. Light and scanning electron microscopy and Sanger sequencing was done to identify the species.

KEY RESULTS: We show that ~6600 cal. year BP old Chaetoceros resting spores are still viable and the vegetative reproduction in recent and ancient resting spores vary. The time taken to germinate is three hours to 2-3 days in both recent and ancient spores, but the germination rate of the spores decreased with increasing age. The germination rate of the recent spores was ~41% while that of the ancient spores were ~31% and ~12% for the ~1250 and ~6600 cal. year BP old resting spores. Based on the morphology of the germinated vegetative cells we identified the species as Chaetoceros muelleri var. subsalsum. Sanger sequences of nuclear and chloroplast markers identified the species as Chaetoceros muelleri.

CONCLUSIONS: We identify a unique model system, Chaetoceros muelleri var. subsalsum and show that recent and ancient resting spores of the species buried in sediments in the Baltic Sea can be revived and used for long-term evolutionary studies.

A sediment record from the western Gotland Basin, northwestern Baltic Proper, covering the last 1200 years, was investigated for past changes in climate and the environment using diatoms as a proxy. The aim is to compare the environmental conditions reconstructed during Medieval times with settings occurring the last century under influence of environmental stressors like eutrophication and climate change. The study core records more marine conditions in the western Gotland Basin surface waters during the Medieval Climate Anomaly (MCA; 950–1250C.E.), with a salinity of at least 8 psu compared to the present 6.5 psu. The higher salinity together with a strong summer-autumn stratification caused by warmer climate resulted in extensive long-lasting diatom blooms of Pseudosolenia calcar-avis, effectively enhancing the vertical export of organic carbon to the sediment and contributing to benthic hypoxia. Accordingly, our data support that a warm and dry climate induced the extensive hypoxic areas in the open Baltic Sea during the MCA. During the Little ice Age (LIA; 1400–1700C.E.), the study core records oxic bottom water conditions, decreasing salinity and less primary production. This was succeeded during the 20th century, about 1940, by environmental changes caused by human-induced eutrophication. Impact of climate change is visible in the diatom composition data starting about 1975C.E. and becoming more pronounced 2000C.E., visible as an increase of taxa that thrived in stratified waters during autumn blooms typically due to climate warming.

Sediment cores from three sites along the east-coast of Sweden, north-western Baltic Proper, have been studied with respect to lithologies, geochemistry and diatom assemblages to trace and date early human impact with emphasis on nutrient discharge. The three sites Bråviken, Himmerfjärden and Ådfjärden, have been impacted to various degree during the last millennia by multiple stressors like excessive nutrient discharge and hazardous substances, leading to coastal hypoxia, eutrophication and pollution. These stressors are mainly caused by drivers in the drainage area as increased human population, changed land use and point sources as industries and a sewage treatment plant. Even though their detailed history differs, the results show similar general patterns for all three sites. We find no evidence in our data from the coastal zone supporting the hypothesis that the extensive areal distribution of hypoxia in the open Baltic Sea during the Medieval Climate Anomaly was caused by human impact. Timing of the onset of man-made eutrophication, as identified from d¹⁵N and changes in diatom composition, differs between the three sites, reflecting the site specific geography and local environmental histories of these areas. The onset of eutrophication dates to 1800 CE in Bråviken and Himmerfjärden areas, and to 1900 CE in the less urban area of Ådfjärden. We conclude that the recorded environmental changes during the last centuries are unique in a thousand year perspective.

Observations are fundamental in science as they has to include cognitive activities based on the perceived sensations. These activities have to be transformed to written or spoken language. In order to practice and visualize these processes we present a method based on Roland Barthes concepts studium and punctum. About 60 students aiming at becoming primary school teachers (years 4–6) were followed during a period of the first two years of their education. The results on all course examinations during these years (n=17) were compared to the quality of two reflective texts. One from the end of the first year on the impression of art works by David Hockney or Bill Viola, another of experiences from field sites used at the beginning of their studies. They wrote reflections on their experiences including observations and their personal and professional development during their teacher training. The texts where analysed by using the 4 R’s of Doll’s. Results of VARK tests assessing the learning style of the students from the beginning of their education were used. The choice of science courses can be shown to be correlated to different factors depending of the selection of these but there was no general pattern behind the choice of science. Training of observation in different contexts and reflections on these in relation to personal development seem to promote better professional understanding.

Most people are uncertain about how nutrients enter and are distributed in the body. They may be capable of naming the different parts of the digestive system on a torso but have vague ideas of the relation between these organs and the chemical processes they govern. Reasons for this are poor understanding of gas exchange, the role of the circulatory system, and that most processes are intracellular. In order to create a more holistic view of the biology and chemistry of digestion these subjects may be taught simultaneously and integrated. Here practical exercises and lectures about digestion and nutrients for pre-service primary school teachers are presented. The practical work included food preparation in order to investigate the change of the properties of the macromolecules of nutrients. A simple drawing of a body was used in order to visualize the routes of nutrients and the role of gas exchange in digestion. An evolutionary perspective on digestion was used in order to explain the ancient origin of most chemical processes in the digestive system and in the whole body. The material produced by the students at their final examinations was used for assessing their use and understanding of concepts, the quality based on Doll’s 4R’s and the degree of holistic understanding of the digestive system. The findings show that the pedagogic design used gives a general picture of digestion and energy transfer usable for teaching in primary school.

Connectivity plays an important role in shaping the genetic structure and in evolution of local adaptation. In the marine environment barriers to gene flow are in most cases caused by gradients in environmental factors, ocean circulation and/or larval behavior. Despite the long pelagic larval stages, with high potential for dispersal many marine organisms have been shown to have a fine scale genetic structuring. In this study, by using a combination of high-resolution genetic markers, species hybridization data and biophysical modeling we can present a comprehensive picture of the evolutionary landscape for a keystone species in the Baltic Sea, the blue mussel. We identified distinct genetic differentiation between the West Coast, Baltic Proper and Bothnian Sea regions, with lower gene diversity in the Bothnian Sea. Oceanographic connectivity together with salinity and to some extent species identity provides explanations for the genetic differentiation between the West Coast and the Baltic Sea (Baltic Proper and Bothnian Sea). The genetic differentiation between the Baltic Proper and Bothnian Sea cannot be directly explained by oceanographic connectivity, species identity or salinity, while the lower connectivity to the Bothnian Sea may explain the lower gene diversity. © 2016.

Teaching pre-service preschool teachers in technology is a challenge. Technology is a fairly new subject in school, students lack experiences and are not aware of the aim of the subject. In addition technology also include the consequences of technological choices for individuals, society and environment. The curriculum for pre-school in Sweden emphasize development of children´s knowledge in science, technology and their ability to identify technology in everyday life. The education of pre-service teachers involves visualization of their own tacit knowledge and experiences to be used in the teaching of technology. Here a course during a three weeks period with 55 pre-service teacher students is presented. They worked in groups with construction exercises, museum visit and outdoor technology walk. The students wrote summaries of the processes together with critical reflections. The written exams on the identification of technology in everyday life were analysed by using the quality markers 4R’s of Doll’s and compared with marks on their examination tasks. Our results show that many students could describe the processes of construction with high quality showing several perspectives of understanding, e.g., the advantage of group activity, their own development of understanding and how to teach children in preschool.

Teaching evolution is a tricky business. Less teaching seems to give better understanding of the theory. Evolutionary processes are dialectic relations between many actors, individuals, groups, abiotic and biotic factors etc., different from mechanistic descriptions of relations between singular objects in other scientific theories. This difference, in combination with religious beliefs confuses efforts to get understanding and acceptance of the theory of evolution. With the new curriculum for Swedish compulsory school, science education has to be linked to students’ own experiences in order to promote critical thinking and skills useable in daily life. Further, biology in science teaching during the first school years is focused on general observations and fundamental concepts, not on scientific methods and evolutionary processes. Thus, students often experience biology as a subject filled with facts about simple relations and teleological explanations, making the theory of evolution superfluous. The objectives here were to design teaching in evolutionary theory adapted to the professional needs of students and to assess the learning outcome. Three different courses in evolutionary theory were included. Two pre-service teacher training programs, for nursery school and for year 4–6 in the compulsory school, and one for students in environmental studies were included. Assessments of learning outcome were made by analyses of texts written by the students. The quality of the science knowledge content and the personal and professional development were assessed by using the 4 R’s of Doll. Associations between concepts and understanding were evaluated using clustering and ordination statistical techniques. The learning outcome was good showing visible progressions in the understanding. Thus, it is important to assess the understanding of concepts rather than estimating their frequency in students texts.

According to the Swedish curriculum for primary school it is important in science subjects to develop skills to observe, to describe the observations and to put them into a theoretical framework already starting year 1–3.

Thus, it may be important for the teacher not only to be accustomed to the methods of observing but also to be an expert on using these observations in order to design teaching situations where these skills may be developed.

Here we present a study where 25 pre-service primary school teacher students at the beginning of a 20 weeks course established a relation to a study site focused on ecological questions. The task during the first week of that course was to observe and describe two habitats in the field and suggest what abiotic and biotic factors that had shaped the variation focussing at competition as an important ecological factor. In order to connect those ecological aspects with evolutionary aspects, specimen of the common species in the two habitats were collected and brought to the lab where the students constructed phenetic trees based on morphology but also on ecologically relevant properties like roots/no roots, expecting the set-up to awake evolutionary reflection. A main goal with this week was to give the students tools to investigate nature – to observe and describe patterns and to explain them by observing abiotic and biotic variation and evolutionary features and limitations.

Later during the course we created other, often not obviously similar, situations where the students had the opportunity to use the experiences of this first training week. We used open questions for reflections and examinations in order to get written material to assess the development of the skills.

We found notable personal development in most students and a greater awareness about the importance of personal cognitive activities in order to create better understanding and ability to use achieved knowledge in different situations.