Aim Invasive species are of increasing global concern. Nevertheless, the mechanisms driving further distribution after the initial establishment of non‐native species remain largely unresolved, especially in marine systems. Ocean currents can be a major driver governing range occupancy, but this has not been accounted for in most invasion ecology studies so far. We investigate how well initial establishment areas are interconnected to later occupancy regions to test for the potential role of ocean currents driving secondary spread dynamics in order to infer invasion corridors and the source–sink dynamics of a non‐native holoplanktonic biological probe species on a continental scale. Location Western Eurasia. Time period 1980s–2016. Major taxa studied ‘Comb jelly’ Mnemiopsis leidyi. Methods Based on 12,400 geo‐referenced occurrence data, we reconstruct the invasion history of M. leidyi in western Eurasia. We model ocean currents and calculate their stability to match the temporal and spatial spread dynamics with large‐scale connectivity patterns via ocean currents. Additionally, genetic markers are used to test the predicted connectivity between subpopulations. Results Ocean currents can explain secondary spread dynamics, matching observed range expansions and the timing of first occurrence of our holoplanktonic non‐native biological probe species, leading to invasion corridors in western Eurasia. In northern Europe, regional extinctions after cold winters were followed by rapid recolonizations at a speed of up to 2,000 km per season. Source areas hosting year‐round populations in highly interconnected regions can re‐seed genotypes over large distances after local extinctions. Main conclusions Although the release of ballast water from container ships may contribute to the dispersal of non‐native species, our results highlight the importance of ocean currents driving secondary spread dynamics. Highly interconnected areas hosting invasive species are crucial for secondary spread dynamics on a continental scale. Invasion risk assessments should consider large‐scale connectivity patterns and the potential source regions of non‐native marine species.

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SUMARY:The small pelagic sprat (Sprattus sprattus) is a key ecologic player in the Baltic Sea. However, there is longterm variability in recruitment which is thought to be influenced by fluctuations in abiotic and biotic conditions experienced during the early life stages. This study concentrates on the influence of different ambient salinities on sprat egg development, egg buoyancy and survival as well as early yolk sac larval morphometric traits. Egg buoyancy significantly decreased with increasing salinity experienced during fertilization and/or incubation experiments. Field egg buoyancy measurements in 2007 and 2008 exhibited annual and seasonal differences in specific gravity, potentially associated with changes in adult sprat vertical distribution. Neither egg development time nor the duration of the yolk sac phase differed among salinity treatments. At eye pigmentation, larval standard length exhibited high variance among individuals but did not differ among treatments. The largest ecological impact of salinity experienced during spawning was the modification the buoyancy of eggs and yolk sac larvae, which determines their vertical habitat in the Baltic Sea. There are strong thermo-and oxyclines in the Baltic Sea, and thus salinity can indirectly impact the survival of these early life stages by modifying the ambient temperatures and oxygen conditions experienced.Keywords: clupeids, vertical distribution, specific gravity, drift, recruitment, spawning stock, adult fish. RESUMEN: INFLUENCIA DE DIFERENTES CONDICIONES DE SALINIDAD EN LA FLOTABILIDAD DE LOS HUEVOS, DESARROLLO Y SUPERVIVENCIA DE LARVAS LECITOTRÓFICAS, Y RASGOS MORFOMÉTRICOS DEL ESPADÍN DEL MAR BÁLTICO (SPRATTUS SPRATTUS BALTICUS SCHNEIDER). -El espadín (Sprattus sprattus)es un pequeño pelágico que juega un papel ecológico clave en el mar Báltico. No obstante, se considera que la variabilidad a largo plazo en el reclutamiento está influenciada por condiciones bióticas y abióticas experimentadas durante los primeros estadios de desarrollo. Este estudio se concentra en la influencia de diferentes salinidades ambiente sobre el desarrollo de los huevos de espadín, su flotabilidad y supervivencia, así como sobre los rasgos morfométricos de las larvas lecitotróficas. La flotabilidad de los huevos disminuye significativamente con los incrementos de salinidad experimentados durante los experimentos de fertilización y/o incubación. Las medidas de flotabilidad en el medio mostraron diferencias en la gravedad específica de carácter anual y estacionales en 2007 y 2008, potencialmente asociadas a cambios en la distribución vertical de los adultos de espadín. Ni el tiempo de desarrollo de los huevos ni la duración de la fase lecitotrófica difirió entre los tratamientos de salinidad. En el estadio de pigmentación de los ojos la longitud estándar de las larvas mostró importante variabilidad entre individuos, pero no entre tratamientos. El mayor impacto ecológico debido a la salinidad experimentada durante la puesta fue la modificación de la flotabilidad de los...

Environmental conditions may have previously underappreciated effects on the reproductive processes of commercially exploited fish populations, for example eastern Baltic cod, that are living at the physiological limits of their distribution. In the Baltic Sea, salinity affects neutral egg buoyancy, which is positively correlated with egg survival, as only water layers away from the oxygen consumption-dominated sea bottom contain sufficient oxygen. Egg buoyancy is positively correlated to female spawner age/size. From observations in the Baltic Sea, a field-based relationship between egg diameter and buoyancy (floating depth) could be established. Hence, based on the age structure of the spawning stock, we quantify the number of effective spawners, which are able to reproduce under ambient hydrographic conditions. For the time period 1993–2010, our results revealed large variations in the horizontal extent of spawning habitat (1000–20 000 km2) and oxygen-dependent egg survival (10–80%). The novel concept of an effective spawning stock biomass takes into account offspring that survive depending on the spawning stock age/size structure, if reproductive success is related to egg buoyancy and the extent of hypoxic areas. Effective spawning stock biomass reflected the role of environmental conditions for Baltic cod recruitment better than the spawning stock biomass alone, highlighting the importance of including environmental information in ecosystem-based management approaches.

Global change has led to manifold changes of marine ecosystems and biodiversity world-wide. While it has been shown that certain jellyfish and comb jelly species have increased regionally, it remains to be investigated if this is a general trend or localized phenomenon. Especially for the economically important Baltic Sea, which is characterized by an extreme physical environmental gradient, this question has not been addressed to date. Here we present a detailed account of the gelatinous macro-zooplankton community including their physiological tolerance towards abiotic conditions and resulting distribution ranges in the Baltic. We show that the arrival and establishment of non-indigenous species has led to a rising importance of jellyfish and comb jellies in the Baltic. This accounts for the comb jelly Mnemiopsis leidyi, which was first observed in Northern Europe in 2005, as well as for the hydromedusae Blackfordia virginica, first sighted in 2014. Both species have been shown to attain high population densities with pronounced grazing impact in other invasive regions. Given the current and anticipated changes of the physical environment of the Baltic Sea, especially ongoing warming, amplification of their impact can be expected.