Gerald Schernewski

Occurrence and public perception of jellyfish along the German Baltic coastline

Jellyfish accumulations are often problematic for tourism and fisheries both along European coastlines and overseas. They damage the reputation of several seaside resorts and cause serious economic losses. On the German Baltic coast, jellyfish accumulations are well known, too. Besides population increase due to anthropogenic effects, normal hydrodynamic processes are notable key factors when it comes to jellyfish accumulations. Along German Baltic coastlines, moon jellyfish (Aurelia aurita) occur most frequently but also stinging lion’s mane jellyfish (Cyanea capillata) appear regularly, however not as abundant. The objectives of our study were a) to screen when, where, how many and which jellyfish species occur on German Baltic coasts, b) to find the causes for jellyfish accumulations and c) to evaluate how beach visitors perceive native medusae and whether information can influence their perception. Different methods where combined: systematic jellyfish observations in cooperation with lifeguards, investigations of jellyfish abundance in shallow water zones, and interviews with beach visitors. Our results suggest that jellyfish occurrence along the German Baltic coast correlates with offshore wind or shore-parallel wind, which cause upwelling events. In contrast, there is no evidence that frequency of jellyfish occurrence was dependent on water temperature in summer. In regard to tourism, we found that beach visitors who received information about jellyfish stated to feel significantly less bothered by medusae. Overall, this article addresses different methods to learn more about jellyfish accumulations and it shows information strategies in terms of improved beach management.

The effectiveness of coastal management web portals – a critical analysis

Effective and efficient information dissemination is crucial for a successful management of coasts and beaches. Almost all coastal management activities use Internet portals to provide electronic accessibility of data and information. In this respect, we have analyzed web tracking data and costs to investigate the effectiveness and efficiency of two coastal management web portals. Indicators for the visiting quality, the volume and characteristics of the information flow and the associated costs were combined. The results show that mainly professional users were attracted by the two investigated online coastal management information offers. Furthermore, the coastal management contents were mainly relevant on regional scale. The results indicate that it is not enough to provide various information, instead it further needs also efforts to disseminate this information to a broader public. Specific preparation and presentation of information for the target groups would lead to an active dissemination process. The investigation of the costs shows that an increasing efficiency of information dissemination via the Internet goes together with the long term use of the information infrastructure. Therefore large coastal management web portals need runtimes of several years. The applied method combined and simplified actual used web analytic methods to allow valuable insights into the information dissemination of coastal management web portals. In this way the method can be used to help coastal decision makers or other practitioners to screen their web presence in the background of information supply and demand for all visitor groups they want to reach.

Adaptation to Climate Change: Viniculture and Tourism at the Baltic Coast

In 2000, the European Union acknowledged Denmark as an official wine growing country. Recently Rattey and Burg Stargard (near the German Baltic Sea coast) received its official recognition as the northernmost German wine-growing area. These are just exemplary cases, which reflect the ongoing northwards extension of vineyards and the ongoing re-introduction of viniculture around the Baltic Sea. It is already a clear indicator of a recently warmer climate. Grapes favour warm and sunny summers, with average temperatures of at least 13–15°C during the growing season (April–October), sufficient precipitation and mild, dry autumns. For wine growing the average annual temperatures should be between 9 and 13°C and the annual accumulated sunshine hours should at least reach 1,100 h. Along the southern Baltic Sea coast these conditions are already met, suitable grape varieties like Helios or Solaris exist and allow a commercial wine production. These new grape varieties, possess a high degree of resistance towards fungal diseases, considerably reduce plant protection measures and thus allow an environmental friendly viniculture. Viniculture in marginal regions, like at the Baltic Sea coast, is more laborious, bears more risks, and the crop yields will be lower compared to the traditional wine regions. On the other side, tourists, collectors, and the increasing wine interested audience are willing to pay much more per bottle than for a comparative product from a traditional German wine region. However, viniculture at the Baltic Sea coast has to be regarded as an attraction and can hardly become a large-scale agricultural product. Large amounts of tourists visit the southern Baltic Sea coast during summer-month. In future, warmer summers and higher water temperatures will allow an increase in tourism and an extension of the summer season. However, the rural coastal hinterland does not benefit much from these tourists, because attractions are lacking. The growing interest in wine as cultural element and increasing wine-tourism indicate that vineries could serve as attractions and support the sustainable rural development. Further, viniculture is labour-intensive, would create jobs in rural areas and could contribute to a revitalization of the countryside.

Ecosystem services provision today and in the past: a comparative study in two Baltic lagoons

The European Biodiversity Strategy asks EU Member States for an assessment, mapping and valuing of Ecosystem Services (ES). While terrestrial ES concept is advanced and different tools are available, they are largely lacking for coastal and marine systems. We develop a stepwise methodological process to assess ES in coastal and marine systems which we name Marine Ecosystem Services Assessment Tool. We applied it to two large Baltic lagoons, the Szczecin and the Curonian Lagoons demonstrating a quantitative and qualitative assessment approach. Firstly, an initial status is defined reflecting, according to the European Water Framework Directive, a past situation when the ecosystems where in a so called good ecological state. In both Baltic lagoons, this refers to a situation around 1960. Secondly, a present state is defined, assessed and compared to the initial status. Increasing anthropogenic impacts in Szczecin Lagoon caused an overall decrease ecological status which may influence the system’s ability to provide services. Assessing ES changes semi-quantitatively via 39 indicators and 22 services, we show a decrease in provisioning and regulating and maintenance and an increase of cultural services’ provision. According to 15 expert valuations, the Curonian Lagoon displays no changes in provisioning but an increase in regulating and maintenance and cultural service provision. We discuss how these results can serve different marine management approaches and support different polices. Through our application we show how the tool can be used to assess ES changes over time and thus provide key information on sustainable use and ES for future generations.