Geological and evolutionary underpinnings for the success of Ponto-Caspian species invasions in the Baltic Sea and North American Great Lakes

2002 ◽  
Vol 59 (7) ◽  
pp. 1144-1158 ◽  
Author(s):  
David F Reid ◽  
Marina I Orlova
Keyword(s):  
Great Lakes ◽  
Baltic Sea ◽  
North American ◽  
Endemic Species ◽  
Environmental Conditions ◽  
Water Levels ◽  
The Baltic Sea ◽  
North American Great Lakes ◽  
The Baltic ◽  
Environmental Tolerances

Between 1985 and 2000, ~70% of new species that invaded the North American Great Lakes were endemic to the Ponto-Caspian (Caspian, Azov, and Black seas) basins of eastern Europe. Sixteen Ponto-Caspian species were also established in the Baltic Sea as of 2000. Many Ponto-Caspian endemic species are characterized by wide environmental tolerances and high phenotypic variability. Ponto-Caspian fauna evolved over millions of years in a series of large lakes and seas with widely varying salinities and water levels and alternating periods of isolation and open connections between the Caspian Sea and Black Sea depressions and between these basins and the Mediterranean Basin and the World Ocean. These conditions probably resulted in selection of Ponto-Caspian endemic species for the broad environmental tolerances and euryhalinity many exhibit. Both the Baltic Sea and the Great Lakes are geologically young and present much lower levels of endemism. The high tolerance of Ponto-Caspian fauna to varying environmental conditions, their ability to survive exposure to a range of salinities, and the similarity in environmental conditions available in the Baltic Sea and Great Lakes probably contribute to the invasion success of these species. Human activities have dramatically increased the opportunities for transport and introduction and have played a catalytic role.

scholarly journals Early Lessons of COVID-19 for Governance of the North American Great Lakes and the Baltic Sea

World ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
pp. 318-329
Author(s):  
Savitri Jetoo ◽  
Gail Krantzberg
Keyword(s):  
Great Lakes ◽  
Baltic Sea ◽  
North American ◽  
Research Community ◽  
The Baltic Sea ◽  
The North ◽  
Institutional Accountability ◽  
Scientific Certainty ◽  
North American Great Lakes ◽  
The Baltic

The commitment to advance the protection of the North American Great Lakes and the Baltic Sea continues during the COVID-19 pandemic. The resilience of the research community was displayed as policy decisions were made for the first virtual conferences this year to share scientific findings and expertise in both regions. As this pandemic continues to challenge the world, countries have responded to the threat and continue to deal with the uncertainties of this wicked transboundary problem in many different ways. This article discusses key governance and policy issues that have been revealed thus far that can inform the governance of the transboundary North American Great Lakes and the Baltic Sea. Key lessons from the pandemic include waiting for total scientific certainty to act can lead to fatal consequences and our symbiotic connection with nature. Further insights from the pandemic include the importance of context, science-based leadership, institutional accountability, and acknowledging that nature knows no borders.

scholarly journals A three-dimensional view on biodiversity changes: spatial, temporal, and functional perspectives on fish communities in the Baltic Sea

2018 ◽  
Vol 75 (7) ◽  
pp. 2463-2475 ◽  
Author(s):  
Romain Frelat ◽  
Alessandro Orio ◽  
Michele Casini ◽  
Andreas Lehmann ◽  
Bastien Mérigot ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Baltic Sea ◽  
Environmental Conditions ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Temporal Dynamics ◽  
Marine Ecosystem ◽  
Fish Communities ◽  
The Baltic Sea ◽  
Functional Richness ◽  
Holistic Understanding ◽  
The Baltic

Abstract Fisheries and marine ecosystem-based management requires a holistic understanding of the dynamics of fish communities and their responses to changes in environmental conditions. Environmental conditions can simultaneously shape the spatial distribution and the temporal dynamics of a population, which together can trigger changes in the functional structure of communities. Here, we developed a comprehensive framework based on complementary multivariate statistical methodologies to simultaneously investigate the effects of environmental conditions on the spatial, temporal and functional dynamics of species assemblages. The framework is tested using survey data collected during more than 4000 fisheries hauls over the Baltic Sea between 2001 and 2016. The approach revealed the Baltic fish community to be structured into three sub-assemblages along a strong and temporally stable salinity gradient decreasing from West to the East. Additionally, we highlight a mismatch between species and functional richness associated with a lower functional redundancy in the Baltic Proper compared with other sub-areas, suggesting an ecosystem more susceptible to external pressures. Based on a large dataset of community data analysed in an innovative and comprehensive way, we could disentangle the effects of environmental changes on the structure of biotic communities—key information for the management and conservation of ecosystems.

The observation of seiches in the Baltic Sea using a multi data set of water levels

2000 ◽  
Vol 24 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 67-84 ◽  
Author(s):  
Margitta Metzner ◽  
Martin Gade ◽  
Ingo Hennings ◽  
Alexander B Rabinovich
Keyword(s):  
Baltic Sea ◽  
Water Levels ◽  
The Baltic Sea ◽  
Data Set ◽  
The Baltic

scholarly journals The relative importance of selected factors controlling the oxygen dynamics in the water column of the Baltic Sea

2009 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 2115-2156
Author(s):  
S. Miladinova ◽  
A. Stips
Keyword(s):  
Baltic Sea ◽  
Water Levels ◽  
Biogeochemical Model ◽  
Physical Factors ◽  
Intermediate Water ◽  
Relative Importance ◽  
The Baltic Sea ◽  
Salinity Field ◽  
The Baltic ◽  
Oxygen Dynamics

Abstract. A 1-D biogeochemical/physical model of marine systems has been applied to study the oxygen cycle in four stations of the different sub-basins of the Baltic Sea, namely, in Gotland Deep, Bornholm, Arkona and Fladen. The model consists of biogeochemical model of Neumann et al. (2002) coupled with the 1-D General Ocean Turbulence Model (GOTM). The model has been forced with meteorological data from the ECMWF reanalysis project for the period 1998–2003, producing a 6-year hindcast validated with datasets from the Baltic Environmental Database (BED) for the same period. The vertical profiles of temperature and salinity are relaxed towards both profiles provided by 3-D simulations of General Estuarine Turbulent Model (GETM) and observed profiles from BED. Modifications in the parameterisation of the air/sea oxygen fluxes have led to significant improvement of the model results in the surface and intermediate water levels. The largest mismatch with observation is found in simulating the oxygen dynamics in the Baltic Sea bottom waters. The model results demonstrate the good capability of the model to predict the time-evolution of the physical and biogeochemical variables at all different stations. Comparative analysis of the modelled oxygen concentrations with respect to the observation data is performed to distinguish the relative importance of several factors on the seasonal, interannual and long-term variations of oxygen. It is found that the natural physical factors, like the magnitude of the vertical turbulent mixing, wind speed, the variation in temperature and salinity field are the major factors controlling the oxygen dynamics in the Baltic Sea. The influence of limiting nutrients is less pronounced, at least under the nutrient flux parameterisation assumed in the model.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document