Aare Verliin

Food selection of Coregonus lavaretus in a brackish water ecosystem.

This study examined how variability in the abundance and biomass structure of benthic invertebrates affected the feeding choice of the whitefish Coregonus lavaretus on a hard bottom habitat of the brackish Baltic Sea. In general, crustaceans such as Idotea balthica and Gammarus spp. were preferred over molluscs. Although being the most numerous taxon in the invertebrate samples, Mytilus trossulus was the lowest ranking in C. lavaretus food preference. The availability of benthic invertebrate prey set the dietary range of fish but the selectivity largely described fish feeding within this range. There was no clear link between fish predation and the dominance structure of benthic invertebrate communities, suggesting that species composition, abundance and biomass of invertebrate species had no impact on the feeding selectivity of the fish. Thus, while fish predation may not affect the dominant species within a benthic community, due to strong selectivity fish may impose strong pressure on some rarer but highly preferred invertebrate prey species.

Invasion of round goby to the temperate salmonid streams in the Baltic Sea

Round goby Neogobius melanostomus, initially originating from the Ponto-Caspian region, has become one of the most successful invasive species in the Northern Hemisphere. During the last three decades, this invasive fish has established numerous populations both in Eurasia and North America (reviewed in Kornis et al. 2012). In Europe, this species has invaded lakes, large rivers and also various marine environments. In Northern America, round goby has started to spread from lakes to several estuaries, marshes and smaller tributaries (Poos et al. 2010; Kornis et al. 2012). High tolerance to various environmental factors, short generation time, opportunistic diet preferences and aggressive behaviour allows this species to colonize different biotopes (Corkum et al. 2004; Johnson et al. 2005; Brown and Stepien 2008; Kornis et al. 2014). Rapid invasion of round goby has proved to have impact on native fish populations in several invaded regions. Declines in abundance of some benthic fishes as stone loach Barbatula barbatula, bullhead Cottus gobio and white-finned gudgeon Romanogobio albipinnatus have been suggested in European freshwaters (Jurajda et al. 2005). In the Baltic Sea, the expansion of round goby has been suggested to affect flounder Platichthys flesus, eelpout Zoarces viviparus and native gobies (Balážová-L’avrincı́ková and Kovác 2007; Karlson et al. 2007). In North America, several percid and cottid species compete with round goby for food, territory and spawning grounds (Jude et al. 1995; Janssen and Jude 2001). Round goby invasion to the Baltic Sea was confirmed in 1990, when several fish were caught from Puck Bay in Poland (Skóra and Stolarski 1993). In the Estonian coastal sea, round goby was found in 2002, from Pärnu Bay in the Gulf of Riga (Shpilev and Ojaveer 2003). However, first rapidly growing population occurred during the mid-2000s in Muuga Bay near Tallinn, in the southern coast of the Gulf of Finland (Ojaveer 2006). During the 2010s, round goby dispersed widely along the southern coast of Gulf of Finland and became particularly abundant in several small bays east of Tallinn. Since 2011, the round gobies were found from six salmonid spawning streams along the North Estonian coast (Fig. 1). Fishes were caught during the national annual salmonid parr density survey, using backpack electrofishing gear. Study sites (two or three per stream) were located in rapid sections situated on the lower reaches of the streams which are accessible to anadromous salmonids. All sites were fished twice and the interval between sampling runs was at least 30 minutes. The abundance of salmonids and all other fish species were recorded, all caught fish were measured to the nearest mm (total length), kept in water buckets and released afterwards (except round gobies). Based on the maximum summer water temperatures, streams were classified as cool (13.1–17.0 C; three locations) or temperate (17.1–21.0 C; three locations) (Järvekülg 2001). The length of the streams varied between 25 and 85 km, catchment areas between 84–479 km and mean discharges in lower reaches between 0.5–4.0 m/s (Loopmann 1979) [Electronic Supplementary Material (ESM) Table S1]. All the studied sites were located in freshwater, and distances along a stream from the sea varied from 0.5 to 2.6 km. In three streams, where round Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s10228-016-0537-4) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Variations in egg characteristics of ruffe Gymnocephalus cernua inhabiting brackish and freshwater environments

Egg characteristics of teleost fishes are affected by various abiotic and biotic factors. In order to reproduce successfully, freshwater fishes inhabiting brackish environments must alter their reproductive characteristics, including egg properties, to increased osmotic pressure. Ruffe Gymnocephalus cernua was used as a model species to compare egg characteristics between fish populations inhabiting brackish and freshwater environments. Fish from the brackish environment had larger eggs with higher energy content than the individuals originating from freshwater. In freshwater, eggs from the first batch were larger than from the second. Female size correlated positively with egg size in the brackish water population. In freshwater, this correlation was evident only with eggs from the first batch. Only a weak positive correlation was found between fish condition and egg size in females from the brackish water population. Egg size variation did not differ between sites, nor was it correlated with mean egg size or any other maternal traits within populations. These results indicate significant modifications in reproductive strategies between brackish and freshwater ruffe populations. Additionally, results show that at least in freshwater, the first batch of eggs is of the highest quality and therefore more important for reproduction.

Whitefish (Coregonus lavaretus (L.)) landings in the Baltic Sea during the past 100 years: combining official datasets and grey literature

European whitefi sh (Coregonus lavaretus (L.)) has been one of the commercially most important Baltic Sea freshwater fi sh species, especially in northern regions. More or less systematic recording of whitefi sh landings in the Baltic Sea started nearly a century ago. Although understanding the development of local fi sheries is crucial for the sustainable management of fi sh populations, to date there are no combined data (including both commercial and recreational fi sheries) available which summarise past whitefi sh landings in the Baltic Sea area. In this study we summarised available data on whitefi sh landings using offi cial datasets and also the so-called grey literature, i.e. different reports and journals of fi shing societies. This revealed that increasing fi shing effort and modernisation of fi shing gear in all Baltic Sea regions resulted in increased landings during the fi rst half of the twentieth century, but an overall decline in whitefi sh catches has been evident from the mid-1950s and was probably caused by overfi shing, eutrophication and restricted access to spawning grounds.

Quantification of the early small-scale fishery in the north-eastern Baltic Sea in the late 17th century.

Historical perspectives on fisheries and related human behaviour provide valuable information on fishery resources and their exploitation, helping to more appropriately set management targets and determine relevant reference levels. In this study we analyse historical fisheries and fish trade at the north-eastern Baltic Sea coast in the late 17th century. Local consumption and export together amounted to the annual removal of about 200 tonnes of fish from the nearby sea and freshwater bodies. The fishery was very diverse and exploited altogether one cyclostome and 17 fish species with over 90% of the catch being consumed locally. The exported fish consisted almost entirely of high-valued species with Stockholm (Sweden) being the most important export destination. Due to rich political history and natural features of the region, we suggest that the documented evidence of this small-scale fishery should be considered as the first quantitative summary of exploitation of aquatic living resources in the region and can provide a background for future analyses.