Feeding activity and diet composition of round goby (Neogobius melanostomus) in the coastal waters of SE Baltic Sea

Feeding activity and diet composition of round goby were investigated in the south-eastern Baltic Sea, the Lithuanian coastal waters during May-October 2012 in order to determine main feeding objects and seasonal periods when native fauna could be most affected by predation of this highly invasive species. In total, prey represented by 18 taxa was found in the gut contents of dissected fish. Feeding activity of round goby varied depending on the body size, sex and stage of the reproduction period. The gut contents of < 50 mm specimens were dominated by zooplanktonic and meiobenthic organisms, whereas larger individuals (50–99 mm) shifted to amphipods and mollusks. Individuals of the intermediate 100-200 mm length had a variable diet, changing depending on the season; in spring they mostly preyed on Macoma balthica, in summer − on polychaetes, while in autumn the contribution of Mytilus trossulus and fish considerably increased in their diet. Diet composition of individuals ≥ 200 mm was relatively constant in the course of the study with substantial preference to M. balthica. These findings imply that benthic fauna, particularly a newly settled generation of epibenthic mollusks in autumn is under strong predatory pressure of the round goby

What can we learn about changes in coastal food web structure after the round goby invasion?

The round goby (Neogobius melanostomus) is extremely invasive fish species, capable to reach high abundance and make significant impact on invaded ecosystem. First round gobies occured in the Lithuanian part of the Baltic Sea in 2002. The population passed establishment (2002-2010), expansion (2011-2012) and adjustment (2013-2015) phases. Rapid round goby abundance increment induced dramatic decline of its major prey - the blue mussel (Mytilus edulis), which in turn negatively affected population of wintering long-tailed duck (Clangula hyemalis). Food competition between round goby and long-tailed duck was evaluated analysing changes in their diet composition, feeding efficiency and feeding niche overlap during different round goby invasion phases. During establishment both species preyed mainly on M. edulis; during expansion, the diet of round goby was dominated by M. edulis, Crangon crangon and Macoma balthica, while in the last invasion period it shifted to polychaetes. Long-tailed duck shifted its diet from epibenthic blue mussel to fish prey during round goby expansion and adjustment phases. Feeding efficiency of the round goby decreased from 100% (percentage of full guts) determined during establishment to 80% and 68% during expansion and adjustment phases, respectively. The highest percentage of feeding long-tailed ducks was observed in the beginning of round goby invasion (74%), it dramatically declined during 2011-2012 (26%) and recovered (53%) during 2015-2016. Feeding niche overlap between round goby and long-tailed duck was biologically significant during round goby establishment, but it lost significance after drastic decline of the blue mussel in natural environment

Drivers of Cyanobacterial Blooms in a Hypertrophic Lagoon

The Curonian Lagoon is Europe's largest lagoon and one of the most seriously impacted by harmful blooms of cyanobacteria. Intensive studies over the past 20 years have allowed us to identify the major drivers determining the composition and spatial extent of hyperblooms in this system. We summarize and discuss the main outcomes of these studies and provide an updated, conceptual scheme of the multiple interactions between climatic and hydrologic factors, and their influence on internal and external processes that promote cyanobacterial blooms. Retrospective analysis of remote sensed images demonstrated the variability of blooms in terms of timing, extension and intensity, suggesting that they occur only under specific circumstances. Monthly analysis of nutrient loads and stoichiometry from the principal tributary (Nemunas River) revealed large interannual differences in the delivery of key elements, but summer months were always characterized by a strong dissolved inorganic N (and Si) limitation, that depresses diatoms and favors the dominance of cyanobacteria. Cyanobacteria blooms occurred during high water temperatures, long water residence time and low-wind conditions. The blooms induce transient (night-time) hypoxia, which stimulates the release of iron-bound P, producing a positive feedback for blooms of N-fixing cyanobacteria. Consumer-mediated nutrient recycling by dreissenid mussels, chironomid larvae, cyprinids and large bird colonies, may also affect P availability, but their role as drivers of cyanobacteria blooms is understudied

Towards ecosystem-based management: identifying operational food-web indicators for marine ecosystems

Modern approaches to Ecosystem-Based Management and sustainable use of marine resources must account for the myriad of pressures (interspecies, human and environmental) affecting marine ecosystems. The network of feeding interactions between co-existing species and populations (food webs) are an important aspect of all marine ecosystems and biodiversity. Here we describe and discuss a process to evaluate the selection of operational food-web indicators for use in evaluating marine ecosystem status. This process brought together experts in food-web ecology, marine ecology, and resource management, to identify available indicators that can be used to inform marine management. Standard evaluation criteria (availability and quality of data, conceptual basis, communicability, relevancy to management) were implemented to identify practical food-web indicators ready for operational use and indicators that hold promise for future use in policy and management. The major attributes of the final suite of operational food-web indicators were structure and functioning. Indicators that represent resilience of the marine ecosystem were less developed. Over 60 potential food-web indicators were evaluated and the final selection of operational food-web indicators includes: the primary production required to sustain a fishery, the productivity of seabirds (or charismatic megafauna), zooplankton indicators, primary productivity, integrated trophic indicators, and the biomass of trophic guilds. More efforts should be made to develop thresholds-based reference points for achieving Good Environmental Status. There is also a need for international collaborations to develop indicators that will facilitate management in marine ecosystems used by multiple countries.JRC.D.2-Water and Marine Resource

Light Increases Energy Transfer Efficiency in a Boreal Stream

Periphyton communities of a boreal stream were exposed to different light and nutrient levels to estimate energy transfer efficiency from primary to secondary producers using labeling with inorganic C-13. In a one-day field experiment, periphyton grown in fast-flow conditions and dominated by opportunistic green algae were exposed to light levels corresponding to sub-saturating (forest shade) and saturating (open stream section) irradiances, and to N and P nutrient additions. In a two-week laboratory experiment, periphyton grown in low-flow conditions and dominated by slowly growing diatoms were incubated under two sub-saturating light and nutrient enrichment levels as well as grazed and non-grazed conditions. Light had significant positive effect on C-13 uptake by periphyton. In the field experiment, P addition had a positive effect on C-13 uptake but only at sub-saturating light levels, whereas in the laboratory experiment nutrient additions had no effect on the periphyton biomass, C-13 uptake, biovolume and community composition. In the laboratory experiment, the grazer (caddisfly) effect on periphyton biomass specific C-13 uptake and nutrient content was much stronger than the effects of light and nutrients. In particular, grazers significantly reduced periphyton biomass and increased biomass specific C-13 uptake and C: nutrient ratios. The energy transfer efficiency, estimated as a ratio between C-13 uptake by caddisfly and periphyton, was positively affected by light conditions, whereas the nutrient effect was not significant. We suggest that the observed effects on energy transfer were related to the increased diet contribution of highly palatable green algae, stimulated by higher light levels. Also, high heterotrophic microbial activity under low light levels would facilitate energy loss through respiration and decrease overall trophic transfer efficiency. These findings suggest that even a small increase in light intensity could result in community-wide effects on periphyton in boreal streams, with a subsequent increase in energy transfer and system productivity

Indicator Properties of Baltic Zooplankton for Classification of Environmental Status within Marine Strategy Framework Directive

<div><p>The European Marine Strategy Framework Directive requires the EU Member States to estimate the level of anthropogenic impacts on their marine systems using 11 Descriptors. Assessing food web response to altered habitats is addressed by Descriptor 4 and its indicators, which are being developed for regional seas. However, the development of simple foodweb indicators able to assess the health of ecologically diverse, spatially variable and complex interactions is challenging. Zooplankton is a key element in marine foodwebs and thus comprise an important part of overall ecosystem health. Here, we review work on zooplankton indicator development using long-term data sets across the Baltic Sea and report the main findings. A suite of zooplankton community metrics were evaluated as putative ecological indicators that track community state in relation to Good Environmental Status (GES) criteria with regard to eutrophication and fish feeding conditions in the Baltic Sea. On the basis of an operational definition of GES, we propose mean body mass of zooplankton in the community in combination with zooplankton stock measured as either abundance or biomass to be applicable as an integrated indicator that could be used within the Descriptor 4 in the Baltic Sea. These metrics performed best in predicting zooplankton being in-GES when considering all datasets evaluated. However, some other metrics, such as copepod biomass, the contribution of copepods to the total zooplankton biomass or biomass-based Cladocera: Copepoda ratio, were equally reliable or even superior in certain basin-specific assessments. Our evaluation suggests that in several basins of the Baltic Sea, zooplankton communities currently appear to be out-of-GES, being comprised by smaller zooplankters and having lower total abundance or biomass compared to the communities during the reference conditions; however, the changes in the taxonomic structure underlying these trends vary widely across the sea basins due to the estuarine character of the Baltic Sea.</p></div

Details for the data sets provided by national monitoring programs for indicator testing; deviations in sampling methods from the HELCOM guidelines (i.e., WP2, 100-μm mesh size) are indicated.

<p>See <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0158326#pone.0158326.s006" target="_blank">S1 Table</a> for details.</p

Indicator description, calculation principles, and rationale.

<p>Only species/groups that are included consistently in the zooplankton analysis were used for calculations.</p

Summary of CuSum analysis (S3 Fig) for all indicators and datasets with >12 years of observations.

<p>Periods when UCL or LCL (bold) were violated for >3 consecutive years are shown; the first two digits are omitted for simplicity.</p