Shallow-water mining undermines global sustainability goals

Coastal mineral resources are pro-moted as a sustainable option to meet increasing metal demands. However, shallow-water mining contradicts international conserva-tion and sustainability goals and its regulative legislation is still being de-veloped. In the absence of thorough comparisons of different mining practices, there are no justifications in favour of shallow-water mining.Peer reviewe

Evaluation, Gap Analysis, and Potential Expansion of the Finnish Marine Protected Area Network

Peer reviewe

Identifying areas prone to coastal hypoxia - the role of topography

Hypoxia is an increasing problem in marine ecosystems around the world. While major advances have been made in our understanding of the drivers of hypoxia, challenges remain in describing oxygen dynamics in coastal regions. The complexity of many coastal areas and lack of detailed in situ data have hindered the development of models describing oxygen dynamics at a sufficient spatial resolution for efficient management actions to take place. It is well known that the enclosed nature of seafloors and reduced water mixing facilitates hypoxia formation, but the degree to which topography contributes to hypoxia formation and small-scale variability of coastal hypoxia has not been previously quantified. We developed simple proxies of seafloor heterogeneity and modeled oxygen deficiency in complex coastal areas in the northern Baltic Sea. According to our models, topographical parameters alone explained similar to 80 % of hypoxia occurrences. The models also revealed that less than 25 % of the studied seascapes were prone to hypoxia during late summer (August-September). However, large variation existed in the spatial and temporal patterns of hypoxia, as certain areas were prone to occasional severe hypoxia (O-2 <2 mg L-1), while others were more susceptible to recurrent moderate hypoxia (O-2 <4.6 mg L-1). Areas identified as problematic in our study were characterized by low exposure to wave forcing, high topographic shelter from surrounding areas and isolation from the open sea, all contributing to longer water residence times in seabed depressions. Deviations from this topographical background are probably caused by strong currents or high nutrient loading, thus improving or worsening oxygen status, respectively. In some areas, connectivity with adjacent deeper basins may also influence coastal oxygen dynamics. Developed models could boost the performance of biogeochemical models, aid developing nutrient abatement measures and pinpoint areas where management actions are most urgently needed.Peer reviewe

Substrate limitation of a habitat-forming genus Fucus under different water clarity scenarios in the northern Baltic Sea

Canopy-forming macroalgae living on rocky bottoms provide valuable ecosystem services but long-term eutrophication has narrowed their distribution and depth zonation in the Baltic Sea. The spatial distribution of macroalgae is shaped by many factors, such as light, salinity, nutrients and wave exposure. In addition, the lack of suitable hard substrates limits the distribution of algae in many areas. Analysing how the spatial distribution of macroalgae is modified by changes in environmental conditions is relevant for focusing management actions. To quantify the resultant distribution under various environmental and management scenarios, both current environmental conditions and substrate limitation need to be considered. We estimated the potential distribution area of bladderwrack Fucus spp. under 11 water transparency scenarios in 9 Finnish sea areas differing in morphology and eutrophication status. The prevailing averaged long-term water transparency conditions were interpreted from satellite images. Ten scenarios were calculated based on hypothetical changes in euphotic depth from −50% to +50% of the present. Species distribution modelling was used to assess the potential distribution areas of Fucus. In addition, to quantify the influence of substrate limitation, we estimated the average substrate limitation with two correction methods: (i) by using field data from underwater videos within the predicted distribution areas and (ii) by using a habitat model representing the distribution of reefs (i.e. rocky bottoms) in the study area. The decrease of euphotic depth by 50% from the present level narrowed the distribution area of Fucus by 24–53% in the Southwestern archipelago, 55–70% in the Gulf of Finland, 37–66% in the Bothnian Sea and 59–100% in Kvarken. An increase in euphotic depth significantly broadened the spatial distribution of Fucus. Decreasing share of suitable hard substrate along depth gradient however hinders broadening of the distribution area. If all areas were suitable for growth, a 50% increase in euphotic depth would expand the distribution area by 124–803%, depending on area. When only suitable substrates were taken into account, this percentage remained at 9–270%. We conclude that substrate limitation needs to be taken into account when estimating macroalgal species distribution in the marine environment. We show how this can be done also when comprehensive bottom substrate maps are not available. Our results are valuable when setting the targets for environmental management plans, and for balancing the local management measures in a cost effective manner. Highlights • Benthic light conditions affect the distribution of canopy-forming macroalgae Fucus. • Also substrate limits the distribution and zonation of Fucus. • Scenario modelling and substrate correction methods were utilised. • Sea areas differ in substrate composition which affects potential distribution area. • Substrate limitation is more pronounced in inner than in outer archipelago

Extensive Coverage of Marine Mineral Concretions Revealed in Shallow Shelf Sea Areas

Ferromanganese (FeMn) concretions are mineral precipitates found on soft sediment seafloors both in the deep sea and coastal sea areas. These mineral deposits potentially form a three-dimensional habitat for marine organisms, and contain minerals targeted by an emerging seabed mining industry. While FeMn concretions are known to occur abundantly in coastal sea areas, specific information on their spatial distribution and significance for marine ecosystems is lacking. Here, we examine the distribution of FeMn concretions in Finnish marine areas. Drawing on an extensive dataset of 140,000 sites visited by the Finnish Inventory Programme for the Underwater Marine Environment (VELMU), we examine the occurrence of FeMn concretions from seabed mapping, and use spatial modeling techniques to estimate the potential coverage of FeMn concretions. Using seafloor characteristics and hydrographical conditions as predictor variables, we demonstrate that the extent of seafloors covered by concretions in the northern Baltic Sea is larger than anticipated, as concretions were found at similar to 7000 sites, and were projected to occur on over 11% of the Finnish sea areas. These results provide new insights into seafloor complexity in coastal sea areas, and further enable examining the ecological role and resource potential of seabed mineral concretions.Peer reviewe

Cormorants have negligible seascape-scale impacts on benthic vegetation communities

Cormorant populations in the Baltic Sea have rapidly expanded since the 1990s, raising concerns about their ecosystem impacts. Nutrient runoff from colonies, as well as cormorant predation on fish, can affect surrounding producer communities. Past studies have found cormorant impacts on producers in the immediate vicinity of colonies, but the importance of cormorants over a larger spatial scale is unknown, especially compared to other environmental variables. We used an extensive underwater vegetation inventory dataset (~18 000 data points along the Finnish coast) to determine the effects of cormorant colonies on macroalgae and plants. We compared community structure and species abundance/occurrence in near-colony (10 km from a colony) points, and determined the importance of cormorant influence (using an index incorporating colony size and distance from the colony) in near-colony sites. We found no significant differences in community structure between near-colony and control points in most habitats, and adding cormorant index only infinitesimally improved statistical models after incorporating other environmental factors. However, the abundance of several species did differ, in particular the foundation species bladderwrack (Fucus vesiculosus) and eelgrass (Zostera marina) were either less likely to occur in near-colony points or negatively correlated with cormorant index, possibly due to the effects of nutrient enrichment from colonies. Our findings confirm that cormorants can have effects on some producer species, but highlight that these effects are negligible when taking into account the scale and magnitude of other bottom up and top-down processes occurring in the Baltic Sea.</div

Dynamics of senescence-related QTLs in potato

The study of quantitative trait's expression over time helps to understand developmental processes which occur in the course of the growing season. Temperature and other environmental factors play an important role. The dynamics of haulm senescence was observed in a diploid potato mapping population in two consecutive years (2004 and 2005) under field conditions in Finland. The available time series data were used in a smoothed generalized linear model to characterize curves describing the senescence development in terms of its onset, mean and maximum progression rate and inflection point. These characteristics together with the individual time points were used in a Quantitative trait loci (QTL) analysis. Although QTLs occurring early in the sene

Dynamics of senescence-related QTLs in potato

v2012o

Chromatin organization regulates viral egress dynamics

Various types of DNA viruses are known to elicit the formation of a large nuclear viral replication compartment and marginalization of the cell chromatin. We used three-dimensional soft x-ray tomography, confocal and electron microscopy, combined with numerical modelling of capsid diffusion to analyse the molecular organization of chromatin in herpes simplex virus 1 infection and its effect on the transport of progeny viral capsids to the nuclear envelope. Our data showed that the formation of the viral replication compartment at late infection resulted in the enrichment of heterochromatin in the nuclear periphery accompanied by the compaction of chromatin. Random walk modelling of herpes simplex virus 1-sized particles in a three-dimensional soft x-ray tomography reconstruction of an infected cell nucleus demonstrated that the peripheral, compacted chromatin restricts viral capsid diffusion, but due to interchromatin channels capsids are able to reach the nuclear envelope, the site of their nuclear egress.Peer reviewe