Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Long-term decline and recent recovery of Fucus populations along the rocky shores of southeast Sweden, Baltic Sea

  • Published:
Aquatic Ecology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The Fucus populations on rocky shores along 300 km of the coastal waters of southeast Sweden in the Baltic proper have been studied since 1984 at a number of fixed sites as part of monitoring programmes. This paper describes changes in distribution and abundance of F. vesiculosus and F. serratus during the period 1984–2001. Sheltered sites showed a consistent temporal and spatial pattern of Fucus spp. distribution over a coastline of 300 kilometres. The depth penetration and abundance of Fucus spp. increased during the 1980s. Around 1990 the development reversed as a consequence of grazing and in 1997 many sites were almost devoid of Fucus spp. Since 1998 both abundance and depth penetration have increased again, possibly as a result of local measures against eutrophication. Exposed sites, on the other hand, lost their Fucus populations at the beginning of the 1990s, and they have not recovered. Extended field studies lead us to deduce that the fixed sites referred to above were representative of the Fucus populations in the area investigated. Major declines, both at sheltered and exposed sites, are attributed to grazing by the isopod Idotea baltica. The populations of I. baltica may have been favoured by the continuing eutrophication of the Baltic, a series of mild winters in the 1990s, and a contemporary decline in some potential predators.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Anon. 2002. Report of the Baltic Fisheries Assessment Working Group. ICES CM 2002/ACFM: 17.

  • Berger R., Henriksson E., Kautsky L. and Malm T. 2003. Effects of filamentous algae and deposited matter on the survival of Fucus vesiculosus L. germlings in the Baltic Sea. Aquat. Ecol. 37: 1–11.

    Google Scholar 

  • Beukema J.J. 1992. Expected changes in the Wadden Sea benthos in a warmer world: Lessons from periods with mild winters. Proceedings of the 26th European marine biology symposium. Biological effects of disturbances on estuarine and coastal marine Environments. Neth, J. Sea Res. 30: 73–79.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cederwall H. and Elmgren R. 1990. Biological effects of eutrophication in the Baltic Sea, particularly the coastal zone. Ambio 19: 109–112.

    Google Scholar 

  • Engkvist R., Malm T. and Tobiasson S. 2000. Density dependent grazing effects of the isopod Idotea baltica Pallas on Fucus vesiculosus L in the Baltic Sea. Aquat. Ecol. 34: 253–260.

    Google Scholar 

  • Engkvist R., Malm T. and Nilsson J. 2004. Interaction between isopod grazing and wave action: a structuring force in macroalgal communities in the southern Baltic Sea. Aquat. Ecol. 38: 403–413.

    Google Scholar 

  • Eriksson B.K., Johansson G. and Snoeijs P. 1998. Long-term changes in the sublittoral zonation of brown algae in the southern Bothnian Sea. Eur. J. Phycol. 33: 241–249.

    Google Scholar 

  • Greenhouse S.W. and Geissner S. 1959. On methods in the analysis of profile data. Psychometrika 24: 95–112.

    Google Scholar 

  • Haage P. 1976. Quantitative investigations of the Baltic Fucus belt macrofauna. Seasonal variations in biomass, reproduction and population dynamics of the dominant taxa. C. Askö Lab. Univ. Stock. 10: 1–84.

    Google Scholar 

  • Haahtela I. 1984. A hypothesis of the decline of the bladder wrack (Fucus vesiculosus L.) in SW Finland in 1975–1981. Limnologica (Berlin) 15: 345–350.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hauxwell J., McClelland J., Behr P.J. and Valiela I. 1998. Relative importance of grazing and nutrient controls of macroalgal biomass in three temperate shallow estuaries. Estuaries 21: 347–360.

    Google Scholar 

  • Helminen U., Mäkinen A. and Rönnberg O. 2000. Aerial survey of recent changes in the occurrence of Fucus vesiculosus in the Archipelago Sea, SW Finland. Abstract at the Nessling Foundation Symposium, Man and the Baltic Sea, 2–3. 10 2000, Helsinki, Finland.

  • Hemmi A. and Jormalainen V. 2002. Nutrient enhancement increases performance of a marine herbivore via quality of its food alga. Ecology 83: 1052–1064.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hurrell J.W. 1995. Decadal trends in the North Atlantic oscillation: regional temperatures and precipitation. Science 269: 676–679.

    Google Scholar 

  • Håkansson L. 1981. A Manual of Lake Morphometry. Springer-Verlag, Berlin, Germany, 78 pp.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hänninen J., Vuorinen I. and Hjelt P. 2000. Climatic factors in the Atlantic control the oceanographic and ecological changes in the Baltic Sea. Limnol. Oceanogr. 45: 703–710.

    Google Scholar 

  • Isaksson I., Pihl L. and van Montfrans J. 1994. Eutrophication-related changes in macrovegetation and foraging of young cod (Gadus morhua L.): A mesocosm experiment. J. Exp. Mar. Biol. Ecol. 177: 203–217.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jansson A-M. 1967. The food-web of the Cladophora-belt fauna. Helg. Wiss. Meer. 15: 574–588.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jazdzewski K. 1970. Biology of Crustacea Malacostraca in the Bay of Puck, Polish Baltic Sea. Zoologica Pol. 20: 423–480.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jones C.G., Lawton J.H. and Shachak M. 1994. Organisms as ecosystem engineers. Oikos 69: 373–386.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kangas P., Autio H., Hällfors G., Luther H., Niemi A. and Salemaa H. 1982. A general model of the decline of Fucus vesiculosus at Tvärminne, south coast of Finland in 1977–81. Acta Bot. Fenn. 118: 1–27.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kangas P. and Niemi Å. 1985. Observations of recolonization by the bladder wrack, Fucus vesiculosus, on the southern coast of Finland. Aqua Fenn. 15: 133–140.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kautsky H. 2001. Små förändringar i växternas djuputbredning.. In: Tidlund A. and Ganning B. (eds), Miljötillståndet i Egentliga Östersjön Årsrapport 2000: 62–63. Stockholms Marina Forskningscentrum, Stockholm, Sweden (in Swedish with an English summary).

    Google Scholar 

  • Kautsky H., Kautsky L., Kautsky N., Kautsky U. and Lindblad C. 1992. Studies on the Fucus vesiculosus community in the Baltic Sea. Acta Phytogeogr. Suec. 78: 33–48.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kautsky H. and van der Maarel E. 1990. Multivariate approaches to the variation in phytobenthic communities and environmental vectors in the Baltic Sea. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 60: 169–184.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kautsky N., Kautsky H., Kautsky U. and Wærn M. 1986. Decreased depth penetration of Fucus vesiculosus (L) since the 1940's indicates eutrophication of the Baltic Sea. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 28: 1–8.

    Google Scholar 

  • Keats D.W., Steele D.H. and South G.R. 1987. The role of fleshy macroalgae in the ecology of juvenile cod (Gadus morhua L.) in inshore waters off eastern Newfoundland. Can. J. Zool. 65: 49–53.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kiirikki M. 1996. Mechanisms affecting macroalgal zonation in the northern Baltic Sea. Eur. J. Phycol. 31: 225–232.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kiirikki M. and Lehvo A. 1997. Life strategies of filamentous algae in the northern Baltic Proper. Sarsia 82: 259–267.

    Google Scholar 

  • Koslowski G. and Loewe P. 1994. The Western Baltic Sea Ice Season in Terms of a Mass-Related Severity Index 1879 -1992. Part I: Temporal Variability and Association with the North Atlantic Oscillation. Tellus 46: 66–74.

    Google Scholar 

  • Levring T. 1940. Studien über die Algenvegetationen von Blekinge Südschweden. PhD thesis, University of Lund, Lund, Sweden (in German).

    Google Scholar 

  • Lindvall B. 1984. The condition of a Fucus-community in a polluted archipelago area on the east coast of Sweden. Ophelia Suppl. 3: 147–150.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mäkinen A., Haathela I., Ilvessalo H. and Lehto J. 1984. Changes in littoral rocky shore vegetation in the Seili area, SW archipelago of Finland. Ophelia Suppl. 3: 157–166.

    Google Scholar 

  • Malm T. 1999. Distribution patterns and ecology of Fucus serratus L. and Fucus vesiculosus L. in the Baltic Sea. PhD thesis, University of Stockholm, Stockholm, Sweden.

    Google Scholar 

  • Malm T., Engkvist R. and Kautsky L. 1999. Grazing effects of two freshwater snails on juvenile Fucus vesiculosus in the Baltic Sea. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 188: 63–71.

    Google Scholar 

  • Malm T. and Kautsky L. 2003. Differences in life-history characteristics are consistent with the vertical distribution pattern of Fucus serratus and Fucus vesiculosus (Fucales, Phaeophyceae) in the central Baltic Sea. J. Phycol. 39: 880–887.

    Google Scholar 

  • Malm T., Kautsky L. and Engkvist R. 2001. Reproduction, Recruitment and Geographical Distribution of Fucus serratus L in the Baltic Sea. Bot. Mar. 44: 101–108.

    Google Scholar 

  • Marshall J., Kushner Y., Battisti D., Chang P., Czaja A., Dickson R., Hurrell J., McCartney M., Saravanan R. and Visbeck M. 2001. North Atlantic climate variability: Phenomena, impacts and mechanisms. Int. J. Climat. 21: 1863–1898.

    Google Scholar 

  • Martin G. 2000. Phytobenthic communities of the Gulf of Riga and the inner sea of the West-Estonian Archipelago. PhD thesis, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia.

    Google Scholar 

  • Menge B.A. 2000. Top-down and bottom-up community regulation in marine rocky intertidal habitats. J. Exp. Mar. Biol. Ecol. 250: 257–289.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Pihl L., Wennhage H. and Nilsson S. 1994. Fish assemblage structure in relation to macrophytes and filamentous epiphytes in shallow non-tidal rocky-and soft-bottom habitats. Env. Biol. Fishes 39: 271–288.

    Google Scholar 

  • Plinski M. and Florczyk I. 1984. Changes in the phytobenthos resulting from the eutrophication of the Puck Bay. Limnologica 15: 325–327.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rönnberg O. 1984. Recent changes in the distribution of Fucus vesiculosus L. around the Åland Islands (N Baltic). Ophelia Suppl. 3: 189–193.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rönnberg O., Lehto J. and Haathela I. 1985. Recent changes in the occurrence of Fucus vesiculosus in the Archipelago Sea. SW Finland. Ann. Bot. Fenn. 22: 231–244.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rönnberg O. and Mathiesen L. 1998. Long-term changes in the marine macroalgae of Lagskär, Åland Sea (N Baltic). Nordic Journal of Botany 18: 379–384.

    Google Scholar 

  • Russell G. 1988. The seaweed flora of a young semi-enclosed sea: The Baltic. Salinity as a possible agent of flora divergence. Biogeography of Marine Benthic Algae. 42: 243–250.

    Google Scholar 

  • Salemaa H. 1979. Ecology of Idotea spp. (Isopoda) in the northern Baltic. Ophelia 18: 133–150.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schramm W. 1996. The Baltic Sea and its transition zones.. In: Schramm W. and Nienhuis P.H. (eds), Marine Benthic Vegetation: Recent Changes and the Effects of Eutrophication, Vol. 123. Springer-Verlag, Berlin, Germany, pp. 131–164.

    Google Scholar 

  • Serrão E.A., Kautsky L., Lifvergren T. and Brawley S.H. 1996. Gamete dispersal and pre-recruitment mortality in Baltic Fucus vesiculosus. Phycologia Suppl. 36: 101–102.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sjöstedt L.G. 1920. Algologiska studier vid Skånes södra och östra kust. University of Lund, Lund, Sweden (in Swedish).

    Google Scholar 

  • Stenseth N.C., Mysterud A., Ottersen G., Hurrell J.W., Chan K.S. and Lima M. 2002. Ecological effects of climate fluctuations. Science 297: 1292–1296.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Svedelius N. 1901. Studier öfver Östersjöns hafsalgsflora. PhD thesis. University of Uppsala, Uppsala, Sweden (in Swedish).

    Google Scholar 

  • Tobiasson S., Engkvist R., Juhlin B., Liungman O., Wickströ m., Lundgren F. and Sjölin A. 2002. Annual report 2001. The water conservation union in the county of Blekinge and the water con-servation union in the western Hanö bay. 2002:5 Kalmar, Sweden, Department of Biology and Environmental Science, University of Kalmar (in Swedish).

  • Vogt H. and Schramm W. 1991. Conspicuous decline of Fucus in Kiel Bay (western Baltic): What are the causes? Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 69: 189–194.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wærn M. 1952. Rocky-shore algae in the Öregrund archipelago. Acta Phytogeogr. Suec. 30: 1–298.

    Google Scholar 

  • Worm B., Lotze H.K. and Sommer U. 2001. Algal propagule banks modify competition, consumer and resource control on Baltic rocky shores. Oecologia 128: 281–293.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Kalmar, Department of Biology and Environmental Science, S–391 82, Kalmar, Sweden ((e-mail

    Jonas Nilsson, Roland Engkvist & Lars-Eric Persson

Authors
  1. Jonas Nilsson
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Roland Engkvist
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Lars-Eric Persson
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Nilsson, J., Engkvist, R. & Persson, LE. Long-term decline and recent recovery of Fucus populations along the rocky shores of southeast Sweden, Baltic Sea. Aquatic Ecology 38, 587–598 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10452-004-5665-7

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10452-004-5665-7

Search

Navigation