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Current environmental issues in the Baltic Sea – assessment of conservation status of nature values (project MARMONI)

Current environmental issues in the Baltic Sea – assessment of conservation status of nature values (project MARMONI). Dr. biol. Solvita Strāķe Latvian Institute of Aquatic Ecology Daugavgrīvas 8, Rīga, LV 1048 e-pasts: solvita.strake@lhei.lv. Baltic sea research history.

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Current environmental issues in the Baltic Sea – assessment of conservation status of nature values (project MARMONI)

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  1. Current environmental issues in the Baltic Sea – assessment of conservation status of nature values (project MARMONI) Dr. biol. Solvita Strāķe Latvian Institute of Aquatic Ecology Daugavgrīvas 8, Rīga, LV 1048 e-pasts: solvita.strake@lhei.lv

  2. Balticsearesearchhistory • BeginningofregularobservationsintheBalticSea – floodmeasurementsinSt.Petersburg • Obtainedwith r/v Pommerania(Germany), BalticSeawatertemperatureandsalinitydata starts from 1871 • VictorHensen – founderofplanktonresearch, inventplanktoncollectionmethods. TestednewequipmentintheBalticSeaexpedition in1883 – 86 • International Council for the Exploration of the Sea(ICES)foundedin 1902is the oldest intergovernmental organisation in the world concerned with marine and fisheries science

  3. Baltijas searesearchhistory • RussiaexpeditionintheBalticSea 1908 – 1909, surveysindifferentBalticSearegions • SystematicallyBalticSearesearch starts afterSecondWorldWar

  4. BalticSeafeatures • one of the world's largest bodies of brackish water • Semi-enclosedsea (restrictedwaterexchange ~35 years) • Meandepth 52m, maxdepth 459m • Meanwatersalinity ~12‰ • Salinitystratificationat 40-70m depth, restrictedoxygenandnutrientexchangebetweenupperanddeeperwaterlayers

  5. BalticSeabiodiversity • >60 marinelandscapes • 150 biotopes • ~ 100 fishspecies • ~ 442 macrophytobenthossspecies • ~ 1000 zoobenthosspecies • ~ 3000 planktonspecies • thousandsofunknownbacteriaandvirus

  6. BalticSeaplankton • ~ 1700 speciesphytoplanktonormicroscopicalgae, diatomsanddinoflagellatesaretypicalspeciesformoresalineBalticSeasubregions, cyanobacteriaoccurin less salinecoastalregions • ~ 1200 zooplankton(micro-,meso-,macro-) species, wheremicroplanktonform major part

  7. Balticseabenthos • ~ 1500 speciesofmacrozoobenthosorinvertebrate organisms livingonbottom– worms, crustacens, molluscs • ~ 600 speciesofmeiobenthos, organisms less than1mm, turbellarians, nematodes, harpacticoidcopepods, ostracods • Availabilityofoxygeninbottomlayersdetermineoccurenceanddistributionofbenthic organisms incertainBalticSeadepth

  8. BalticSeamacrophytes • ~ 450 macrophytespecies • Ratioofannual/ perennialmacrophytesgivesinformationaboutdifferentBalticSeasub-basinquality • Greenalgae(Cladophorasp.) occurinshallowcoastalwaters, brownalgae(Fucussp.) around 3-7m depth, redalgae(Furcellariasp.) around12-15m depth. Ineachalgaebeltdwellcertaininvertebratespecies

  9. BalticSeafishspecies • ~ 100 fishspecies, includingKategat~ 200 fishspecies • Cod(Gadus morhua), Balticherring(Clupeaharengusmembras), sprat(Sprattussprattus), salmon(Salmosalar), flounder(Platichthysflesus), perch(Percafluviatilis) u.c.

  10. BalticSeamammals • RingedsealPhoca hispida botnicarequires ice for giving birth and does not occur in areas that are ice-free all year. In the Baltic its main residence areas are limited to the the Bay of Bothnia, the Gulf of Riga and eastern Gulf of Finland • GreysealsHalichoerusgrypusmainly inhabit the northern parts of the BalticSea • HarborsealPhocavitulinaoccur only in southern Sweden and the Danish Straits • Harbor porpoisePhocoenaphocoenalives in all northern seas.Beginningof20 centurysizeofopenBalticSeapopulationwas~ 10 000 ~ 20 000 individuals, today’sestimationare~ 300 ~ 600 individuals

  11. BalticSeabiotopes 1110 Sandbanks which are slightly covered by sea water all the time 1130 Estuaries 1150 Coastal lagoons 1160 Large shallow inlets and bays 1170 Reefs

  12. Reefbiotopespeciescomplex Brownalgae(Fucusvesiculosus), seagrass(Zosteramarina), redalgae(Furcellarialumbricalis) bedsandbluemussels(Mytilusedulis un M. trossulus) coloniesaremainreefbiotopeformingspecies. Suchcomplexservs to otherspeciesashatching, hidingandfeedingplace

  13. Reefbiotopespeciescomplex Fucusvesiculosus – commonmacrophytespeciesintheBalticSea: • widespread; • highbiomass; • positiveeffectonbiodiversity

  14. Reefbiotopespeciescomplex Bluemusselsareimportantlinkbetweenbenthicandpelagicpart; Withinoneyearallcoloniesofbluemusselsareable to filteramountofwatercomparablewithwholeBalticSeawatervolume

  15. BalticSeaprotection – Helsinki convention • For the first time ever, all the sources of pollution around an entire sea were made subject to a single convention, signed in 1974 by the then seven Baltic coastal states. Newconventionwas signed in 1992 by all the states bordering on the Baltic Sea, and the European Community • The governing body of the Convention is the Helsinki Commission - Baltic Marine Environment Protection Commission. StatesaroundBalticSeaimplementcommonprinciples to protectBalticSeaenvironment • AlsofromLatviadifferentorganizationsandexpertsareinvolvedin HELCOM work

  16. BalticSeaActionPlan (2007) • The HELCOM Baltic Sea Action Plan is an ambitious programme to restore the good ecological status of the Baltic marine environment by 2021. • A healthyBalticSeaenvironmentwithdiversebiologicalcomponentsfunctioninginbalance, resultingin a goodecological status andsupporting a widerangeofsuistainablehumaneconomicandsocialactivities

  17. BalticSeaActionPlan (2007.) Baltic Sea unaffected by eutrophication Favourable status of Baltic Sea biodiversity Baltic Sea life undisturbed by hazardous substances Maritime activities carried out in an environmentally friendly way Natural nutrient levels Natural landscapes and seascapes Concentrations close to natural levels Negligible illegal pollution Clear water No accidents with significant environmental impact Healthy wildlife Thriving and balances communities of plants and animals Natural oxygen levels Adequate preparedness to react to shipping accidents Natural level of algal blooms All fish safe to eat Viable populations of species No new introductions of non-indigenous species Natural distribution and occurrence of plants and animals Radioactivity at pre-Chernobyl level Minimum air pollution from ships

  18. Natural landscapes and seascapes protect both terrestrial and submerged ecosystems, processes and cultural values. Thriving and balanced communities of plants and animals are essential for the favourable status of the Baltic Sea biodiversity.

  19. BalticSeaunaffectedbyeutrophication Eutrophicationis the enrichment of water as a result of an increase in nutrients, which can have a negative impact on the marine and coastal environment. The negative effects of eutrophication on marine ecosystemsincludes: algal blooms, increased growth of macroalgae, increased sedimentation and oxygen consumption, oxygen depletion in the bottom water and sometimes the death of benthicanimals and fish.

  20. BalticSeaunaffectedbyeutrophication ReducedSecchidepth Algalbloomfrequency MeasurementsofSecchidepthintheOpenBaltic

  21. Favourable status ofBalticSeabiodiversity (targets) • By 2010, to haveanecologicallycoherentandwellmanagednetworkofcoastalandoffshoreBSPAs, NATURE 2000 areas • By 2012 to havecommonbroadscalespatialplanningprinciplesforprotectionmarineenvironmentandreconcilingvariousinterestsconcerningsustainableuseofcoastalandoffshoreareas • By 2021 to ensurethat “natural” and near naturalmarinelandscapesareadequatelyprotectedandthedegradedareaswillberestored (goodecological status)

  22. Favourable status ofBalticSeabiodiversity • LIFE+ programme“Innovative approaches for marine biodiversity monitoring and assessment of conservation status of nature values in the Baltic Sea”(MARMONI) 2010. – 2015. • CentralBalticProgramme 2007-2013. “Goodenvironmental status throughregionalcooperationandcapacitybuilding” (GES-REG) 2011. – 2013. • LIFE+ programme "Static Acoustic Monitoring of the Baltic Sea Harbour Porpoise”(SAMBAH) 2010. – 2014.

  23. BalticSealifeundisturbedbyhazardous substances • Substances or groups of substances that : i.toxic, persistent and liable to bioaccumulate ii.may occur in the marine environment and areCarcinogenic,Mutagenic or toxic to Reproduction (CMR) iii.identified as causing probable serious effects tohuman health or the environment (HELCOM Recommendation 31E/3) Loads and impacts of some hazardous substances have been reduced considerably during the past 20-30 years, but concentrations of some other substances have increased in the marine environment.

  24. BalticSealifeundisturbedbyhazardous substances • CentralBalticSeaProgramme 2007-2013. “ControlofHazardous Substances intheBalticSea” (COHIBA) (2009. – 2012.) - aim of the project was to analyse 11 substances and substance groups assessed by HELCOM as priority substances. - to contribute to the identification of sources for the 11 hazardous substances (mercury, cadmium, organotins, phenolic substances, endosulfans, dioxinsetc.) in BSAP by performing screening in municipal and industrial waste waters, landfill effluents and storm waters, in all participating countries.

  25. Thankyouforattention!

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