Declines amongst breeding Eider Somateria mollissima numbers in the Baltic/Wadden Sea flyway

We report on the status of theBaltic/Wadden Sea flyway Eider population based on trends in breeding and wintering numbers throughout the region, supplemented by changes in the sex ratio and proportion of young Eiders as monitored in the Danish hunting bag. At the flyway scale, total numbers of breeding pairs decreased by 48% during 2000–2009, after relatively stable breeding numbers in 1991–2000. The majority of the population nest in Finland and Sweden,where the number of breeding pairs has halved over the same period. After initial declines in winter numbers between 1991 and 2000, during 2000–2009, national wintering numbers increased in the Baltic Sea, but decreased in the Wadden Sea. The annual proportion of adult females in the Danish hunting bag data de creased from ca.45%(1982) to ca.25%(2009) and simultaneously the proportion of firstwinter birds fell from ca. 70% to ca. 30%, indicating dramatic structural changes in the Danish wintering numbers. These results suggest that the total flyway populationwill experience further declines, unless productivity increases and the factors responsible for decreasing adult female survival are identified and ameliorated.We discuss potential population drivers and present some recommendations for improved flyway-levelmonitoring and management of Eiders

Winter distribution of Greater Scaup Aythya marila in relation to available food resources

The European wintering population of Greater Scaup has declined significantly over the last 20 years and some of the main threats appear to be at the wintering grounds. This contribution aims at describing the local distribution of Scaup in the Dutch Wadden Sea, one of the most important wintering sites for Scaup in relation to available food resources. Data on the distribution of Scaup was obtained from annual aerial counts in January during 1999–2009. This data was related to benthos data of regular shellfish surveys in the sublittoral part of the western Dutch Wadden Sea. Boosted regression tree models were applied to quantify the relative importance of different potential prey items to explain the presence of Scaup. Scaup preferred sites with high abundances of small sized Mya arenaria. A negative influence on Scaup preference for sites with high abundances M. arenaria was found when there was a high abundance of large Cerastoderma edule at the sites, which increased Scaup searching time for M. arenaria

De ontwikkeling van een niet beviste sublitorale mosselbank

Het doel van het hier gepresenteerde onderzoek is om door middel van meerjarige monitoring in voor- en najaar inzicht te krijgen in de ontwikkeling van ongestoorde sublitorale mosselbanken en de daarmee geassocieerde biodiversiteit. Voor elk van de gesloten gebieden gelden de volgende vragen: 1. Hoe is de ontwikkeling van de mosselbank wanneer er geen bodemberoerende activiteiten plaatsvinden? Kijk hiervoor naar parameters als areaal, biomassa ontwikkeling, leeftijdsklassen van mosselen en aanwas als gevolg van nieuwe broedval 2. Hoe is de ontwikkeling van de geassocieerde biodiversiteit (flora en fauna). 3. Ontwikkelt zich na sluiting voor mosselzaad- en garnalenvisserij ook andere benthos dan tot dusver op mosselvoorkomens in de Waddenzee wordt aangetroffen

Effect of round goby (Neogobius melanostomus) invasion on blue mussel (Mytilus edulis trossulus) population and winter diet of the long-tailed duck (Clangula hyemalis)

The invasive round goby has established a viable population within 9 years of its first introduction to Lithuanian coastal waters (SE Baltic Sea). During its expansion phase, abundances increased 23-fold, which led to the near complete eradication of its main prey, the blue mussel, at < 20 m depth. The round goby population showed a stabilizing trend after blue mussel biomass was depleted; however, their abundance has not declined. The round goby feeds efficiently on newly settled mollusks, causing a severe constraint for blue mussel recovery. Changes in blue mussel availability and size structure induced a dietary shift in wintering long-tailed duck towards fish prey. An energetically dense food source sustains a good body condition in long-tailed ducks, however the change in trophic position (from 3.1 to 4.3 trophic level) suggests the potential for a reduction in their carrying capacity. Results from this study also show that coastal habitats with low and unpredictable population dynamics of blue mussel become less attractive wintering sites for long-tailed duck in the Baltic Sea. We also document a cascading effect of invasive species in the food web