Separate and interactive effects of eutrophication and climate variables on the ecosystem elements of the Gulf of Riga

There is currently a critical knowledge gap in how eutrophication and climate variables separately and interactively impact the dynamics of marine ecosystems. Based on long-term monitoring data we quantified the separate and combined impacts of nutrient loading, temperature, salinity, and wind condi...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Estuarine, coastal and shelf science coastal and shelf science, 2009-10, Vol.84 (4), p.509-518
Main Authors: Kotta, Jonne, Kotta, Ilmar, Simm, Mart, Põllupüü, Maria
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Baltic sea
Brackish
Climate
climate change
Communities
ecosystem
Ecosystems
Eutrophication
Gulfs
long-term changes
Mathematical models
Nutrients
Zooplankton
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Summary:There is currently a critical knowledge gap in how eutrophication and climate variables separately and interactively impact the dynamics of marine ecosystems. Based on long-term monitoring data we quantified the separate and combined impacts of nutrient loading, temperature, salinity, and wind conditions on zooplankton, zoobenthos and fish inhabiting a brackish water ecosystem in the Gulf of Riga. Changes in zoobenthos communities and herring stock were largely explained by climate variables. Zooplankton species were related to both eutrophication and climate variables, and models combining all environmental variables explained additional variation in zooplankton data compared to the separate models of climate and eutrophication. This suggests that zoobenthos communities and herring stock are largely driven by weather conditions, whereas the combined effect of weather and nutrient loads are likely the cause for dynamic zooplankton communities in the Gulf of Riga.
ISSN:0272-7714
1096-0015
DOI:10.1016/j.ecss.2009.07.014