Species specific uptake of radio-labelled phytodetritus by benthic meiofauna from the Baltic Sea

Abstract The distribution and abundance of scavenging seabirds and their utilization of discards and offal between June and December 1998 were studied in the western Baltic Sea. Herring gulls were clearly the most numerous scavenging species in all areas and all seasons, followed by great black-backed gulls, lesser black-backed gulls and mew gulls. High percentages of discarded gadoids (cod, whiting), clupeids (herring, sprat), scad, rockling and offal were consumed by seabirds during experimental discarding on fishing boats, whereas the percentages of flatfish consumed were extremely low. There was a clear effect of cod length on total and species-specific consumption by birds but this pattern was hardly evident for clupeids or dab. By combining official discard and offal statistics and our experimental discarding, we estimate that 6500 t of fish discards and 16 000 t of offal were consumed annually by seabirds in the Baltic Sea. Bivalves, especially blue mussels Mytilus edulis, were the most frequently represented food item in herring gull pellets. Fish identified in the pellets consisted mainly of gadoids, in particular cod. The proportion of discards in herring gull pellets was on average 1.6% (range: 0–4.5%) at Laboe and 17.5% at Warnemünde (range: 9.4–25.5%), but pellets bias diet assessment as offal and other soft prey (including clupeids) will be under-represented. Scavenging on discards and offal is a widespread phenomenon in the Baltic Sea as it is in other shelf areas of Europe, but the number of bird species involved is generally lower and strongly biased towards gulls, especially herring gulls.

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Large spatial variations in coastal <sup>14</sup>C reservoir age – a case study from the Baltic Sea

Climate of the Past ◽

10.5194/cp-9-1015-2013 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 9 (3) ◽

pp. 1015-1028 ◽

Cited By ~ 51

Author(s):

B. C. Lougheed ◽

H. L. Filipsson ◽

I. Snowball

Keyword(s):

Baltic Sea ◽

Salinity Gradient ◽

Hard Water ◽

The Baltic Sea ◽

Water Effects ◽

The Baltic ◽

Species Specific ◽

T Values ◽

Reservoir Age

Abstract. Coastal locations are highly influenced by input from freshwater river runoff, including sources of terrestrial carbon, which can be expected to modify the 14C reservoir age, or R (t), associated with marine water. In this Baltic Sea case study, pre-bomb museum collection mollusc shells of known calendar age, from 30 locations across a strategic salinity transect of the Baltic Sea, were analysed for 14C, δ13C and δ18O. R (t) was calculated for all 30 locations. Seven locations, of which six are within close proximity of the coast, were found to have relatively higher R (t) values, indicative of hard-water effects. Whenever possible, the Macoma genus of mollusc was selected from the museum collections, in order to exclude species specific reservoir age effects as much as possible. When the Macoma samples are exclusively considered, and samples from hard-water locations excluded, a statistically significant correlation between Macoma R (t) and average salinity is found, indicating a two end-member linear mixing model between 14Cmarine and 14Crunoff. A map of Baltic Sea Macoma aragonite R (t) for the late 19th and early 20th centuries is produced. Such a map can provide an estimate for contemporary Baltic Sea Macoma R (t), although one must exercise caution when applying such estimates back in time or to 14C dates obtained from different sample material. A statistically significant correlation is found between δ18Oaragonite and Macoma R (t), suggesting that δ18Oaragonite can be used to estimate Macoma palaeo-R (t), due to the δ18Oaragonite signal being dominated by the salinity gradient of the Baltic Sea. A slightly increased correlation can be expected when δ18Oaragonite is corrected for temperature fractionation effects. The results of this Baltic Sea case study, which show that R (t) is affected by hydrographic conditions and local carbon inputs, have important consequences for other coastal and estuarine locations, where R (t) is also likely to significantly vary on spatial and temporal bases.

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Phytoplankton life cycle transformations lead to species-specific effects on sediment processes in the Baltic Sea

Continental Shelf Research ◽

10.1016/j.csr.2008.07.004 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 28 (17) ◽

pp. 2488-2495 ◽

Cited By ~ 19

Author(s):

Kristian Spilling ◽

Magnus Lindström

Keyword(s):

Life Cycle ◽

Baltic Sea ◽

The Baltic Sea ◽

Specific Effects ◽

The Baltic ◽

Species Specific

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Large spatial variations in coastal <sup>14</sup>C reservoir age – a case study from the Baltic Sea

Climate of the Past Discussions ◽

10.5194/cpd-9-891-2013 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 9 (1) ◽

pp. 891-923

Author(s):

B. C. Lougheed ◽

H. L. Filipsson ◽

I. Snowball

Keyword(s):

Baltic Sea ◽

Hard Water ◽

The Baltic Sea ◽

Close Proximity ◽

Water Effects ◽

The Baltic ◽

Species Specific ◽

T Values ◽

Reservoir Age

Abstract. Coastal locations are highly influenced by input from freshwater river runoff, including sources of terrestrial carbon, which can be expected to modify the 14C reservoir age, or R(t), associated with marine water. In this Baltic Sea case study, pre-bomb museum collection mollusc shells of known calendar age, from 30 locations across a strategic salinity transect of the Baltic Sea, were analysed for 14C, δ13C and δ18O. R(t) was calculated for all 30 locations. Seven locations, of which six are within close proximity of the coast, were found to have relatively higher R(t) values, indicative of hard-water effects. δ13Caragonite values were found to be indicative of hard-water influence only for certain locations, suggesting the possibility of different sources of old carbon in different locations. Whenever possible, the Macoma genus of mollusc was selected from the museum collections, in order to exclude species specific reservoir age effects as much as possible. When the Macoma samples are exclusively considered, and samples from hard-water locations excluded, a statistically significant correlation between Macoma R(t) and average salinity is found, indicating a two end-member linear mixing model between 14Cmarine and 14Crunoff. A map of Baltic Sea Macoma aragonite R(t) for the late 19th and early 20th centuries is produced. Such a map can provide an estimate for contemporary Baltic Sea Macoma R(t), although one must exercise caution when applying such estimates back in time or to 14C dates obtained from different sample material. A statistically significant correlation is also found between δ18Oaragonite and Macoma R(t), suggesting that δ18Oaragonite can be used to estimate Macoma palaeo-R(t). The results of this Baltic Sea case study, which show that R(t) is affected by hydrographic conditions and local carbon inputs, have important consequences for other coastal and estuarine locations, where R(t) is also likely to significantly vary on spatial and temporal bases.

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Quantitative Real-Time PCR assays for species-specific detection and quantification of Baltic Sea spring bloom dinoflagellates

10.1101/871020 ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

A. M. Brink ◽

A. Kremp ◽

E. Gorokhova

Keyword(s):

Baltic Sea ◽

Real Time ◽

Spring Bloom ◽

Rrna Gene ◽

The Baltic Sea ◽

Relative Contribution ◽

Polymerase Chain ◽

The Baltic ◽

Species Specific ◽

Its1 And Its2

ABSTRACTIn the Baltic Sea, the dinoflagellates Apocalathium malmogiense, Biecheleria baltica, and Gymnodinium corollarium are important contributors to the spring bloom. However, their relative contribution to the bloom community cannot be unambiguously determined by conventional light microscopy due to lack of resolution of distinctive morphological features of the three species. Here, we describe a molecular approach based on a quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) primer and probe system, targeting the ITS1 and ITS2 regions of the rRNA gene for all three species and enabling their quantification. The specificity of the method was demonstrated using monocultures of A. malmogiense, B. baltica, G. corollarium as well as three other dinoflagellate species co-occurring in the Baltic Sea during spring and validated using field-collected phytoplankton samples.

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