| 1. |
- Obst, Matthias, 1974, et al.
(författare)
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A Marine Biodiversity Observation Network for Genetic Monitoring of Hard-Bottom Communities (ARMS-MBON)
- 2020
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Ingår i: Frontiers in Marine Science. - : Frontiers Media SA. - 2296-7745. ; 7
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Marine hard-bottom communities are undergoing severe change under the influence of multiple drivers, notably climate change, extraction of natural resources, pollution and eutrophication, habitat degradation, and invasive species. Monitoring marine biodiversity in such habitats is, however, challenging as it typically involves expensive, non-standardized, and often destructive sampling methods that limit its scalability. Differences in monitoring approaches furthermore hinders inter-comparison among monitoring programs. Here, we announce a Marine Biodiversity Observation Network (MBON) consisting of Autonomous Reef Monitoring Structures (ARMS) with the aim to assess the status and changes in benthic fauna with genomic-based methods, notably DNA metabarcoding, in combination with image-based identifications. This article presents the results of a 30-month pilot phase in which we established an operational and geographically expansive ARMS-MBON. The network currently consists of 20 observatories distributed across European coastal waters and the polar regions, in which 134 ARMS have been deployed to date. Sampling takes place annually, either as short-term deployments during the summer or as long-term deployments starting in spring. The pilot phase was used to establish a common set of standards for field sampling, genetic analysis, data management, and legal compliance, which are presented here. We also tested the potential of ARMS for combining genetic and image-based identification methods in comparative studies of benthic diversity, as well as for detecting non-indigenous species. Results show that ARMS are suitable for monitoring hard-bottom environments as they provide genetic data that can be continuously enriched, re-analyzed, and integrated with conventional data to document benthic community composition and detect non-indigenous species. Finally, we provide guidelines to expand the network and present a sustainability plan as part of the European Marine Biological Resource Centre (www.embrc.eu).
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| 2. |
- Norkko, J., et al.
(författare)
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A welcome can of worms? Hypoxia mitigation by an invasive species
- 2012
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Ingår i: Global Change Biology. - : Wiley. - 1354-1013 .- 1365-2486. ; 18:2, s. 422-434
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Invasive species and bottom-water hypoxia both constitute major global threats to the diversity and integrity of marine ecosystems. These stressors may interact with unexpected consequences, as invasive species that require an initial environmental disturbance to become established can subsequently become important drivers of ecological change. There is recent evidence that improved bottom-water oxygen conditions in coastal areas of the northern Baltic Sea coincide with increased abundances of the invasive polychaetes Marenzelleria spp. Using a reactive-transport model, we demonstrate that the long-term bioirrigation activities of dense Marenzelleria populations have a major impact on sedimentary phosphorus dynamics. This may facilitate the switch from a seasonally hypoxic system back to a normoxic system by reducing the potential for sediment-induced eutrophication in the upper water column. In contrast to short-term laboratory experiments, our simulations, which cover a 10-year period, show that Marenzelleria has the potential to enhance long-term phosphorus retention in muddy sediments. Over time bioirrigation leads to a substantial increase in the iron-bound phosphorus content of sediments while reducing the concentration of labile organic carbon. As surface sediments are maintained oxic, iron oxyhydroxides are able to persist and age into more refractory forms. The model illustrates mechanisms through which Marenzelleria can act as a driver of ecological change, although hypoxic disturbance or natural population declines in native species may be needed for them to initially become established. Invasive species are generally considered to have a negative impact; however, we show here that one of the main recent invaders in the Baltic Sea may provide important ecosystem services. This may be of particular importance in low-diversity systems, where disturbances may dramatically alter ecosystem services due to low functional redundancy. Thus, an environmental problem in one region may be either exacerbated or alleviated by a single species from another region, with potentially ecosystem-wide consequences.
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| 3. |
- Kauppi, L., et al.
(författare)
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Seasonal variability in ecosystem functions : quantifying the contribution of invasive species to nutrient cycling in coastal ecosystems
- 2017
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Ingår i: Marine Ecology Progress Series. - : Inter-Research Science Center. - 0171-8630 .- 1616-1599. ; 572, s. 193-207
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Benthic ecosystems at temperate and high latitudes experience marked seasonal variation in the environmental factors affecting nutrient remineralization processes both directly and indirectly through their effects on the benthic communities. The invasive polychaete genus Marenzelleria represents new functionality in Baltic Sea sediments through its deep burrowing and extensive gallery formation, thus possibly greatly affecting benthic oxygen and nutrient fluxes. We assessed the seasonal contribution of Marenzelleria spp. to fluxes of solutes in monthly field measurements at 2 sites, 10 and 33 m deep, in the northern Baltic Proper over 1 yr. In general, the fluxes of inorganic nutrients and oxygen were higher during summer than during winter, and the seasonal variation was more pronounced at the deeper, more biologically active site. By using variation partitioning, we were able to demonstrate that Marenzelleria and other macrofauna could account for up to 92% of the variation in the fluxes depending on the site and season. Fauna was the most important in predicting the fluxes in spring when the sediment organic content and the abundance of juvenile Marenzelleria spp. were highest, while during e.g. winter, the influence of Marenzelleria spp., even though abundant, on solute fluxes was negligible. The results from this study have implications for management, and, importantly, for the modelling of nutrient budgets often based on values from studies conducted during the summer period only, thus possibly greatly miscalculating the annual nutrient fluxes.
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| 4. |
- Attard, K. M., et al.
(författare)
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Seasonal metabolism and carbon export potential of a key coastal habitat : The perennial canopy-forming macroalga Fucus vesiculosus
- 2019
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Ingår i: Limnology and Oceanography. - : Wiley. - 0024-3590 .- 1939-5590. ; 64:1, s. 149-164
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The important role of macroalgal canopies in the oceanic carbon (C) cycle is increasingly being recognized, but direct assessments of community productivity remain scarce. We conducted a seasonal study on a sublittoral Baltic Sea canopy of the brown alga Fucus vesiculosus, a prominent species in temperate and Arctic waters. We investigated community production on hourly, daily, and seasonal timescales. Aquatic eddy covariance (AEC) oxygen flux measurements integrated similar to 40 m(2) of the seabed surface area and documented considerable oxygen production by the canopy year-round. High net oxygen production rates of up to 35 +/- 9 mmol m(-2) h(-1) were measured under peak irradiance of similar to 1200 mu mol photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) m(-2) s(-1) in summer. However, high rates > 15 mmol m(-2) h(-1) were also measured in late winter (March) under low light intensities < 250 mu mol PAR m(-2) s(-1) and water temperatures of similar to 1 degrees C. In some cases, hourly AEC fluxes documented an apparent release of oxygen by the canopy under dark conditions, which may be due to gas storage dynamics within internal air spaces of F. vesiculosus. Daily net ecosystem metabolism (NEM) was positive (net autotrophic) in all but one of the five measurement campaigns (December). A simple regression model predicted a net autotrophic canopy for two-thirds of the year, and annual canopy NEM amounted to 25 mol O-2 m(-2) yr(-1), approximately six-fold higher than net phytoplankton production. Canopy C export was similar to 0.3 kg C m(-2) yr(-1), comparable to canopy standing biomass in summer. Macroalgal canopies thus represent regions of intensified C assimilation and export in coastal waters.
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| 5. |
- Eriksson, Susanne P., 1964, et al.
(författare)
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Episodic disturbance events modify predator-prey interactions in soft sediments
- 2005
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Ingår i: Estuarine Coastal and Shelf Science. - : Elsevier BV. - 0272-7714. ; 64:2-3, s. 289-294
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Physical disturbance events are common in shallow soft-sediment habitats and can have significant effects on predator-prey interactions. While several studies have reported on predator aggregations following disturbance events, few studies have investigated the mechanisms and interactive effects of predation and physical disturbance on prey survival in shallow soft-sediment habitats. In this study the interactive effects of sediment resuspension and predation by two contrasting epibenthic predator species were tested on the survival of the amphipod Corophium volutator in a laboratory experiment. The shrimp Crangon crangon and juvenile plaice Pleuronectes platessa were used as predators, both numerical dominants in shallow soft sediments on the Swedish west coast. In addition we quantified epibenthic predator aggregation in the field following small-scale disturbances. In the laboratory, synergistic negative effects of predation and non-lethal disturbance on Corophium survival were found with both predator species, and rapid aggregation of several mobile epibenthic predator species following disturbance was demonstrated in the field. Abundances of C. crangon, the numerically dominant predator in the field, were doubled in disturbed patches within 2 min following disturbance. Our study emphasises the importance of considering episodic small-scale disturbances when interpreting predation effects and trophic interactions in shallow soft-sediment systems. (c) 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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| 6. |
- Gladstone-Gallagher, Rebecca V., et al.
(författare)
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Social-ecological connections across land, water, and sea demand a reprioritization of environmental management
- 2022
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Ingår i: Elementa. - : University of California Press. - 2325-1026. ; 10:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Despite many sectors of society striving for sustainability in environmental management, humans often fail to identify and act on the connections and processes responsible for social–ecological tipping points. Part of the problem is the fracturing of environmental management and social–ecological research into ecosystem domains (land, freshwater, and sea), each with different scales and resolution of data acquisition and distinct management approaches. We present a perspective on the social–ecological connections across ecosystem domains that emphasize the need for management reprioritization to effectively connect these domains. We identify critical nexus points related to the drivers of tipping points, scales of governance, and the spatial and temporal dimensions of social–ecological processes. We combine real-world examples and a simple dynamic model to illustrate the implications of slow management responses to environmental impacts that traverse ecosystem domains. We end with guidance on management and research opportunities that arise from this cross-domain lens to foster greater opportunity to achieve environmental and sustainability goals.
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| 7. |
- Jansson, A., et al.
(författare)
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Growth and survival in a changing environment: Combined effects of moderate hypoxia and low pH on juvenile bivalve Macoma balthica
- 2015
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Ingår i: Journal of Sea Research. - : Elsevier BV. - 1385-1101. ; 102, s. 41-47
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Baltic Sea species live in a complex, variable environment characterized by highly fluctuating hydrology, including large seasonal and diel pH variations. For decades, oxygen deficiency caused by anthropogenic eutrophication has affected the Baltic Sea, and large areas of the seafloor are permanently hypoxic resulting in severely degraded benthic communities. Species living in this system are thus potentially tolerant and adapted to this fluctuating environment, but also vulnerable as illustrated by high mortality of benthic species as a result of hypoxia. In the future, the frequency and extent of regularly co-occurring low oxygen and low pH levels will likely increase with on-going climate change. A key species in the Baltic Sea soft-bottom communities, the bivalve Macoma balthica (L.), experiences such conditions throughout its life-cycle, and therefore serves as a good model organism for studying the combined effects of oxygen and pH conditions. To study the response of M. balthica to multiple changes occurring in the benthic environment, we conducted an experiment to investigate the survival and shell growth of newly settled juveniles simultaneously exposed to two pH levels (7.85 and 7.35) and two oxygen levels (8.5 and 3.0 mg/l) for 29 days in a fully factorial design. Survival was high in all treatments (>60%), but significantly higher in the two low oxygen treatments (>70%). Although positive growth was observed in all treatments, pH and oxygen as well as their interaction significantly affected relative growth. The highest growth was observed in the "low O-2/high pH" treatment, which was 2.4 times higher than in both treatments with high oxygen. Although the mechanism for these differences remains unknown, hypoxia-induced metabolic depression likely plays a role. Our results highlight the need to know more about the occurrence and performance of benthic species regularly exposed to changing conditions, and of the range and conditions encountered in situ. With the predicted future negative changes in oxygen availability as well as pH, the adaptive responses of benthic species to multiple stressors will be critical in understanding ecosystem dynamics in the face of change. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
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| 8. |
- Josefson, A. B., et al.
(författare)
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Burial and decomposition of plant pigments in surface sediments of the Baltic Sea: role of oxygen and benthic fauna
- 2012
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Ingår i: Marine Ecology-Progress Series. - : Inter-Research Science Center. - 0171-8630 .- 1616-1599. ; 455, s. 33-49
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Degradation and burial of organic matter in sediments are important processes for oxygen dynamics and thus for the outcome of eutrophication. To assess the influences of bottom-water oxygen and macroinvertebrate fauna function on these processes, we investigated distributions of phytopigments as markers of phytoplankton detritus in surface sediments across the Baltic Sea. We compared pigment concentrations among sites with different oxygen levels and different values of a bioturbation potential index combining abundance, individual size and species-specific rankings of mobility and sediment reworking (BPI). BPI was positively influenced by oxygen availability, with a threshold at 45 to 90 mu mol l(-1), below which it decreased rapidly to zero in anoxic sediments. There was significant co-variation between pigments and both oxygen and BPI after accounting for differences in pigment concentrations with sediment depth and among different sub-areas, which were largely attributed to different inputs of phytoplankton. Negative correlations between pigments and both BPI and oxygen in communities dominated by Macoma balthica and Scoloplos armiger, and between pigments and BPI in the upper sediment layers inhabited by Monoporeia affinis and Pontoporeia femorata, suggested increased degradation with increasing bioturbation. Positive correlations between pigments and BPI in communities dominated by Marenzelleria spp. suggested mainly burial, which also was supported by positive correlations between Marenzelleria abundance and both sediment water content and the freshness of buried organic material. It is hypothesised that a shift from sensitive resident species like Monoporeia or Scoloplos to the more hypoxia-tolerant Marenzelleria will slow down overall degradation rates, counteracting hypoxia formation in the bottom water. ELEOESCHGER D, 1991, MARINE ECOLOGY-PROGRESS SERIES, V70, P83
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| 9. |
- Kauppi, L., et al.
(författare)
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Increasing densities of an invasive polychaete enhance bioturbation with variable effects on solute fluxes
- 2018
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Ingår i: Scientific Reports. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2045-2322. ; 8
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Bioturbation is a key process affecting nutrient cycling in soft sediments. The invasive polychaete genus Marenzelleria spp. has established successfully throughout the Baltic Sea increasing species and functional diversity with possible density-dependent effects on bioturbation and associated solute fluxes. We tested the effects of increasing density of M. arctia, M. viridis and M. neglecta on bioturbation and solute fluxes in a laboratory experiment. Benthic communities in intact sediment cores were manipulated by adding increasing numbers of Marenzelleria spp. The results showed that Marenzelleria spp. in general enhanced all bioturbation metrics, but the effects on solute fluxes varied depending on the solute, on the density and species identity of Marenzelleria, and on the species and functional composition of the surrounding community. M. viridis and M. neglecta were more important in predicting variation in phosphate and silicate fluxes, whereas M. arctia had a larger effect on nitrogen cycling. The complex direct and indirect pathways indicate the importance of considering the whole community and not just species in isolation in the experimental studies. Including these interactions provides a way forward regarding our understanding of the complex ecosystem effects of invasive species.
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| 10. |
- Kauppi, L., et al.
(författare)
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Seasonal population dynamics of the invasive polychaete genus Marenzelleria spp. in contrasting soft-sediment habitats
- 2018
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Ingår i: Journal of Sea Research. - : Elsevier BV. - 1385-1101 .- 1873-1414. ; 131, s. 46-60
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Three species of the invasive polychaete genus Marenzelleria are among the dominant benthic taxa in many, especially deeper, areas in the Baltic Sea. The population dynamics of the polychaetes in the Baltic are, however, still largely unknown. We conducted monthly samplings of the benthic communities and environmental parameters at five sites with differing depths and sediment characteristics in the northern Baltic Sea (59 degrees 50.896', 23 degrees 15.092') to study the population dynamics, productivity and growth of Marenzelleria spp. from April 2013 to June 2014. The species of Marenzelleria occurring at the study sites were identified by genetic analyses. At the deepest site (33 m) only M. arctia was present, while all three species were found at the shallower, muddy sites (up to 20 m depth). At the shallow (6 m) sandy site only M. viridis and M. neglecta occurred. The sites differed in the seasonal dynamics of the Marenzelleria spp. population, reflecting the different species identities. The muddy sites up to 20 m depth showed clear seasonal dynamics, with the population practically disappearing by winter, whereas more stable populations occurred at the deepest site and at the sandy site. The highest density, biomass and production were observed at the 20 m deep, organic-rich muddy site where all three species recruited. The seasonally very high densities are likely to have important consequences for organic matter processing, and species interactions at these sites. The observed high productivity of the populations has possibly facilitated their establishment, and considerably increased secondary production in especially the deeper areas.
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