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Fast growing ephemeral algae are increasingly observed in shallow coastal waters worldwide. This is generally considered a symptom of coastal eutrophication. It has been suggested that the reoccurrence of macroalgal mats, despite ongoing efforts to decrease nutrient loadings, may be explained by the fact that sheltered bays function as self-regenerating systems through benthic regeneration of nutrients. The importance of benthic nutrient regeneration during the initiation of the growth of filamentous green algal mats was investigated in 2 shallow-water bays on the west coast of Sweden. Nutrient regeneration was assessed in situ and in the laboratory, using sediment-water light/dark incubations and pore water distribution patterns. Benthic efflux of inorganic nutrients could supply up to 55 to 100% of the estimated nitrogen demand and 30 to 70% of the phosphorus requirements for the initial macroalgal growth from May to June. However, the availability of the pore water nutrient pool was influenced by the amount and functional type of infauna, and by competition from microphytobenthos. Because of the internal nutrient source of the embayments, it is suggested that there may be a significant time lag between a decreased nutrient supply to coastal waters and improved conditions of shallow water embayments.

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Abundance and distribution of cod Gadus morhua in various size intervals and age groups between 2000 and 2005 were followed in coastal trawl surveys. In spite of a reduction in fishing pressure in recent years and high cod recruitment in the Skagerrak region in 2001 and 2003, no recovery could be evidenced. The survey data clearly showed that low cod density areas were not recolonized, even though abundance of juvenile cod remained high for about a year after the recruitment episodes. Increased abundance of fish >400 mm total length was only discernible at some scattered locations where other studies also have suggested local populations still to be present. The intermittent high recruitment has been linked to an inflow of egg and larvae from the North Sea, a theory which also has gained support from genetic studies. It was thus argued that the disappearance of the juvenile cod from the inshore is an effect of a migratory behaviour; the fish of offshore origin eventually leave the coast for the open Skagerrak or the North Sea. These findings support a view on cod populations as essentially behavioural entities, whereas dispersal of early life stages may be less important as a structuring mechanism.

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