We found a match
Your institution may have access to this item. Find your institution then sign in to continue.
- Title
Diversity and Physiological Tolerance of Native and Invasive Jellyfish/Ctenophores along the Extreme Salinity Gradient of the Baltic Sea.
- Authors
Jaspers, Cornelia; Bezio, Nicholas; Hinrichsen, Hans-Harald; Malej, Alenka; Hoeksema, Bert W.; Schiariti, Agustín
- Abstract
Global change has led to manifold changes of marine ecosystems and biodiversity world-wide. While it has been shown that certain jellyfish and comb jelly species have increased regionally, it remains to be investigated if this is a general trend or localized phenomenon. Especially for the economically important Baltic Sea, which is characterized by an extreme physical environmental gradient, this question has not been addressed to date. Here we present a detailed account of the gelatinous macro-zooplankton community including their physiological tolerance towards abiotic conditions and resulting distribution ranges in the Baltic. We show that the arrival and establishment of non-indigenous species has led to a rising importance of jellyfish and comb jellies in the Baltic. This accounts for the comb jelly Mnemiopsis leidyi, which was first observed in Northern Europe in 2005, as well as for the hydromedusae Blackfordia virginica, first sighted in 2014. Both species have been shown to attain high population densities with pronounced grazing impact in other invasive regions. Given the current and anticipated changes of the physical environment of the Baltic Sea, especially ongoing warming, amplification of their impact can be expected.
- Publication
Diversity (14242818), 2021, Vol 13, Issue 2, p57
- ISSN
1424-2818
- Publication type
Academic Journal
- DOI
10.3390/d13020057