The History of Cyanobacterial Blooms in the Baltic Sea

Long-term information on possible changes in cyanobacterial blooms in the Baltic Sea, formed mainly by Nodularia spumigena and Aphanizomenon sp., was sought in published records in historical (years 1887–1938) and modern (years 1974–1998) phytoplankton data sets. Old and new sampling methods and fix...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Ambio 2001-08, Vol.30 (4), p.172-178
Main Authors: Finni, Terttu, Kononen, Kaisa, Olsonen, Riitta, Wallström, Kerstin
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Baltic States
Coasts
Coefficients
Cyanobacteria
Environmental Monitoring - history
Eutrophication
Gulfs
History, 19th Century
History, 20th Century
Nitrogen - analysis
Nitrogen - history
Part I
Phosphorus - analysis
Phosphorus - history
Phytoplankton
Plankton
Population Dynamics
Sea water
Seas
Taxa
World wars
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Summary:Long-term information on possible changes in cyanobacterial blooms in the Baltic Sea, formed mainly by Nodularia spumigena and Aphanizomenon sp., was sought in published records in historical (years 1887–1938) and modern (years 1974–1998) phytoplankton data sets. Old and new sampling methods and fixatives were tested to improve the comparison of data that had been collected and analyzed in different ways. A hundred years ago, plankton was mainly of interest as a source of fish food; eutrophication problems were only locally reported from the coast, mainly in southern haffs and the receiving waters of larger cities. There were few recordings of open-sea blooms before World War II. Abundances of Nodularia spumigena and Aphanizomenon sp. were low in the old material, and 137 summer samples from 1887–1938 showed no peak abundance. High abundances are common in the new material, and the range of the numbers of both taxa has increased markedly relative to the old material. Since the 1960s, cyanobacterial blooms have been common in the open sea in both the Baltic proper and the Gulf of Finland, indicating high availability of nutrients.
ISSN:0044-7447
1654-7209
DOI:10.1579/0044-7447-30.4.172