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- Kraufvelin, Patrik, et al.
(författare)
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Essential fish habitats (EFH) : conclusions from a workshop on the importance, mapping, monitoring, threats and conservation of coastal EFH in the Baltic Sea
- 2016
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Rapport (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Many fish species in the Baltic Sea are highly dependent on shallow and sheltered coastal habitats that they use for spawning, nursery, feeding and migration. Still, the role of these essential fish habitats (EFH) for the development and support of fish stocks and communities has received relatively little attention, even though there is general consensus among scientists about their critical importance. Little is also known about the major threats to EFH, and their conservation status in different countries has previously not been reviewed. As EFH often are found in the same parts of the coastal zone that are also highly valued by humans, this gap in knowledge needs to be addressed. Hence, there is an urgent need to focus more thoroughly on the importance, mapping, monitoring and protection of EFH and also the driving factors and mechanisms behind the changes we observe in their status. Only this way, we will be able to predict and mitigate future effects of environmental change in these valuable habitats and to create adaptive management plans. The main objectives of this project were to 1) organize a workshop for experts around the Baltic Sea on the importance, protection of and threats to coastal EFH (including an overview of the methods used for the mapping and monitoring of these habitats), and 2) based on the outcome of the workshop, produce a review paper in an international scientific journal about the state of the art of the subject for the Baltic Sea, including knowledge gaps and future research needs. Here, we report the results of the project, focusing on the outcome of the workshop. From the workshop (organised during 2nd-4th June 2015 in öregrund, Sweden) we conclude that there are only few quantitative studies available concerning the importance of EFH for fish stocks. This evidence is in turn quite complex and do not necessarily provide straightforward answers. Nevertheless, for some coastal species, indirect evidence exists and sufficient data are also available to carry out further quantitative analyses. More evidence on the role of EFH for fish production could potentially also be achieved using spatial and temporal data analyses, stage-structured modelling and otolith chemistry techniques. Based on qualitative results/analyses, it can be reasoned that EFH are very important and valuable for the provisioning of rich fish communities and for fish production. This conclusion is reached, despitethe still quite low degree of targeted studies that are focusing explicitly on the role of the habitats and that are providing straight quantitative relationships. Most likely the importance of these habitats has been underestimated in the past and more studies could contribute to pinpoint their ecological importance. For the monitoring and mapping aspects of EFH in Baltic Sea countries, a lot of data seems to be available. Different sampling methods are used for a wide range of both coastal and offshore species and life stages (from eggs, larvae, YOY (young of the year) to adult fish). The use of these data in producing habitat maps has for long been poor, but the situation is now improving rapidly in many countries as a result of national and regional underwater mapping and inventory programs. In this sense, not only habitat mapping and mapping of fish distribution (fish in different life stages) are of importance. Also the mapping of major threats, pressures and environmental background conditions should be performed. This would ensure maximum availability and optimized use of information necessary for efficient management and for the improvement of marine spatial planning. The threats to and conservation status of EFH suggest urgent and diverse management solutions. Eutrophication, climate change, coastal construction and development, invasive species and fishery seem to constitute the major threats to the habitats. Among these threats, the physical pressures, including for example marine shipping/boat traffic and its associated infrastructure (like dredging), physical exploitation of shore areas and trawl fishery, tend to be more easily manageable. These activities disturb fish habitats both directly and indirectly, and are typically more serious to fish reproduction and juvenile stages. The conservation status of EFH is generally poor, mainly due to that fisheries management and nature conservation in the Baltic Sea region historically have been separated. Internationally, however, many marine ecological studies have shown how mutual benefits may be reached through an integrated management of fisheries and habitats. This gives EFH a central role in management, merging the interests of fisheries management and habitat protection, and simultaneously attracting a lot of scientific interest to associated research questions. The results of the current project hence suggest that there are data for quantitative analyses to support the role of EFH for fish production, a potential to initiate, develop and synchronize future monitoring and mapping of the habitats, and that there is an increasing awareness for the protection and increased concern for the sustainability of these shallow coastal systems. The outcome of this project could serve as a basis for improving cooperation between Baltic Sea countries in this field, which in the long run could result in both harmonized monitoring and mapping methods of the EFH in the Baltic Sea and a strengthened management. The work also provides important input for developing indicators to assess the status of EFH and for the implementation of international agreements and legislative acts as the Baltic Sea Action Plan (BSAP), the Habitats Directive (HD) and the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD).
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| 4. |
- Bryhn, Andreas, et al.
(författare)
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External nutrient loading from land, sea and atmosphere to all 656 Swedish coastal water bodies
- 2017
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Ingår i: Marine Pollution Bulletin. - : PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD. - 0025-326X .- 1879-3363. ; 114:2, s. 664-670
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Identifying the main sources of nutrient loading is a key factor for efficient mitigation of eutrophication. This study has investigated the pathways of external nutrient loading to 656 coastal water bodies along the entire Swedish coastline. The studied water bodies have been delineated to meet requirements in the European Union's Water Framework Directive, and recent status assessments have shown that 57% of them fail to attain good or high ecological status with respect to nutrients. The analysis in the study was performed on data from mass balance based nutrient budgets computed using the modelling framework Vattenwebb. The external nutrient contribution from the sea to the water bodies was highly variable, ranging from about 1% to nearly 100%, but the median contribution was >99% of the total external loading regarding both nitrogen and phosphorus. External loading from the atmosphere and local catchment area played a minor role in general. However, 45 coastal water bodies received >25% of the external nitrogen and phosphorus from their catchments. Loading from land typically peaked in April following ice-break and snow melting and was comparatively low during summer. The results indicate that for many eutrophicated Swedish coastal water bodies, nutrient abatement is likely to be optimally effective when potential measures in all of the catchment area of the concerned sea basin are considered. Local-scale mitigation in single water bodies will likely be locally effective only in the small proportion of areas where water and thereby also nutrient input from the catchment is high compared to the influx from the sea. Future studies should include nutrient reduction scenarios in order to refine these conclusions and to identify relevant spatial scales for coastal eutrophication mitigation measures from a water body perspective.
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| 5. |
- Kraufvelin, Patrik, et al.
(författare)
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Essential coastal habitats for fish in the Baltic Sea
- 2018
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Ingår i: Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science. - : Elsevier BV. - 0272-7714 .- 1096-0015. ; 204, s. 14-30
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- Many coastal and offshore fish species are highly dependent on specific habitat types for population maintenance. In the Baltic Sea, shallow productive habitats in the coastal zone such as wetlands, vegetated flads/lagoons and sheltered bays as well as more exposed rocky and sandy areas are utilized by fish across many life history stages including spawning, juvenile development, feeding and migration. Although there is general consensus about the critical importance of these essential fish habitats (EFH) for fish production along the coast, direct quantitative evidence for their specific roles in population growth and maintenance is still scarce. Nevertheless, for some coastal species, indirect evidence exists, and in many cases, sufficient data are also available to carry out further quantitative analyses. As coastal EFH in the Baltic Sea are often found in areas that are highly utilized and valued by humans, they are subjected to many different pressures. While cumulative pressures, such as eutrophication, coastal construction and development, climate change, invasive species and fisheries, impact fish in coastal areas, the conservation coverage for EFH in these areas remains poor. This is mainly due to the fact that historically, fisheries management and nature conservation are not integrated neither in research nor in management in Baltic Sea countries. Setting joint objectives for fisheries management and nature conservation would hence be pivotal for improved protection of EFH in the Baltic Sea. To properly inform management, improvements in the development of monitoring strategies and mapping methodology for EFH are also needed. Stronger international cooperation between Baltic Sea states will facilitate improved management outcomes across ecologically arbitrary boundaries. This is especially important for successful implementation of international agreements and legislative directives such as the Baltic Sea Action Plan, the Marine Strategy Framework Directive, the Habitats Directive, and the Maritime Spatial Planning Directive, but also for improving the communication of information related to coastal EFH among researchers, stakeholders, managers and decision makers. In this paper, efforts are made to characterize coastal EFH in the Baltic Sea, their importance and the threats/pressures they face, as well as their current conservation status, while highlighting knowledge gaps and outlining perspectives for future work in an ecosystem-based management framework. (C) 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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| 6. |
- Lindegarth, Mats, 1965, et al.
(författare)
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Testing the Potential for Predictive Modeling and Mapping and Extending Its Use as a Tool for Evaluating Management Scenarios and Economic Valuation in the Baltic Sea (PREHAB)
- 2014
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Ingår i: Ambio. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0044-7447 .- 1654-7209. ; 43:1, s. 82-93
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We evaluated performance of species distribution models for predictive mapping, and how models can be used to integrate human pressures into ecological and economic assessments. A selection of 77 biological variables (species, groups of species, and measures of biodiversity) across the Baltic Sea were modeled. Differences among methods, areas, predictor, and response variables were evaluated. Several methods successfully predicted abundance and occurrence of vegetation, invertebrates, fish, and functional aspects of biodiversity. Depth and substrate were among the most important predictors. Models incorporating water clarity were used to predict increasing cover of the brown alga bladderwrack Fucus vesiculosus and increasing reproduction area of perch Perca fluviatilis, but decreasing reproduction areas for pikeperch Sander lucioperca following successful implementation of the Baltic Sea Action Plan. Despite variability in estimated non-market benefits among countries, such changes were highly valued by citizens in the three Baltic countries investigated. We conclude that predictive models are powerful and useful tools for science-based management of the Baltic Sea.
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| 7. |
- Ljunggren, Lars, et al.
(författare)
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Recruitment failure of coastal predatory fish in the Baltic Sea coincident with an offshore ecosystem regime shift
- 2010
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Ingår i: ICES Journal of Marine Science. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 1054-3139 .- 1095-9289. ; 67:8, s. 1587-1595
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The dominant coastal predatory fish in the southwestern Baltic Sea, perch and pike, have decreased markedly in abundance during the past decade. An investigation into their recruitment at 135 coastal sites showed that both species suffered from recruitment failures, mainly in open coastal areas. A detailed study of 15 sites showed that areas with recruitment problems were also notable for mortality of early-stage larvae at the onset of exogenous food-intake. At those sites, zooplankton abundance predicted 83 and 34% of the variation in young of the year perch and pike, respectively, suggesting that the declines were caused by recruitment failure attributable to zooplankton food limitation. Incidences of recruitment failure match in time an offshore trophic cascade that generated massive increases in planktivorous sprat and decreases in zooplankton biomass in the early 1990s. Therefore, sprat biomass explained 53% of the variation in perch recruitment from 1994 to 2007 at an open coastal site, where three-spined stickleback also increased exponentially after 2002. The results indicate that the dramatic change in the offshore ecosystem may have propagated to the coast causing declines of the dominating coastal predators perch and pike followed by an increase in the abundance of small-bodied fish.
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| 9. |
- Mathis, James I., et al.
(författare)
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Heat induced fracturing of rock in an existing uniaxial stress field
- 1986
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Ingår i: Scientific basis for nuclear waste management IX. - Pittsburgh, Pa : Materials Research Society. - 0931837154 ; , s. 799-807
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- The Stripa project was designed to test the agreement between theoretical and actual rock fracture times of a rock block loaded with a physical as well as a thermal load. Laboratory testing consisted of physically loading center-drilled cubes of rock, 0. 3 m on a side, uniaxially from 0 to 25 MPa. These were then thermally loaded with a nominal 3. 7 kW (factory rating) cylindrical heater until failure occurred. This time to failure was recorded for comparison with a direct mathematical and a finite element solution. For both cases, calculations were performed at specific time-steps and an estimated failure time calculated from the compiled results.
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