Long-term changes in Baltic herring (<i>Clupea harengus membras</i>) growth in the Gulf of Finland

Rönkkönen, S.; Ojaveer, Evald; Raid, Tiit; Viitasalo, Markku

doi:10.1139/f03-167

Cited by 62 publications

(57 citation statements)

References 21 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Moreover, differences in the spawning time and area between sprat and herring [23] affect the food availability and thus FA contents of the young-of-the-year fish. According to Casini et al [59], sprat solely feed on zooplankton, and sprat and smaller herring largely feed on the same zooplankton species [59][60][61]. The growth rate of sprat declines with age, so that its total length seldom exceeds 15 cm [39].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fatty acid composition of sprat (Sprattus sprattus) and herring (Clupea harengus) in the Baltic Sea as potential prey for salmon (Salmo salar)

et al. 2017

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Sprat (Sprattus sprattus) and small herring (Clupea harengus) are the dominant prey fish of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) in the Baltic Sea. If the fatty acid (FA) proportions of sprat and herring differ, the dietary history of ascending salmon could be determined from their FA profiles. Therefore, we investigated the FA composition of several age groups of whole sprat and small herring, caught from the three main feeding areas of salmon in autumn and spring. Oleic acid (18:1n-9) was the most prevalent FA in sprat and characteristic of this species. In herring, palmitic acid (16:0) was the most common FA, but herring lipid was characterized by n-6 polyunsaturated FAs, and moreover, by palmitoleic acid (16:1n-7) and vaccenic acid (18:1n-7). Due to the higher lipid content of sprat, the concentrations of all other FAs, excluding these, were higher in sprat than in herring. The concentration of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA, 22:6n-3) increased with an increase in the lipid content and was consequently highest in the youngest specimens, being in young sprat almost double that of young herring, and 2.6 times higher in the sprat biomass than in that of herring. As a result of a decrease in the DHA concentration with age, the ratio thiamine/DHA increased with respect to age in both species, and was lower in sprat than in herring. It is concluded that an abundance of DHA in the diet of salmon most likely increases oxidative stress because of the susceptibility of DHA to peroxidation, and thus decreases thiamine resources of fasting, prespawning salmon. Because the FA composition of sprat and herring differs, and the relative abundancies of prey fish differ between the feeding areas of salmon, the feeding area of ascending salmon can most probably be derived by comparing their FA profiles.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fatty acid composition of sprat (Sprattus sprattus) and herring (Clupea harengus) in the Baltic Sea as potential prey for salmon (Salmo salar)

et al. 2017

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…As predictors, we used sprat stock abundance and salinity. These parameters were chosen because of their acknowledged importance for herring growth in the Baltic Sea, acting on the main planktonic prey for herring (Möllmann et al 2003, Rönkkönen et al 2004, Casini et al 2006). We did not test for intra-specific density-dependence (i.e.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…We did not test for intra-specific density-dependence (i.e. effect of herring abundance on herring growth) as no evidence has been found for such relationship (Rönkkönen et al 2004, Casini et al 2006. The lack of intra-specific density-dependence is also supported by the absence of a negative relation between herring abundance and zooplankton in the offshore areas of the central Baltic Sea (Casini et al 2008), that could be due to the omnivorous nature of herring which also feed on nektobenthos (Casini et al 2004), reducing the interaction strength with zooplankton.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Linking fisheries, trophic interactions and climate: threshold dynamics drive herring Clupea harengus growth in the central Baltic Sea

Casini¹,

Bartolino²,

Molinero³

et al. 2010

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

How multiple stressors influence fish stock dynamics is a crucial question in ecology in general and in fisheries science in particular. Using time-series covering a 30 yr period, we show that the body growth of the central Baltic Sea herring Clupea harengus, both in terms of condition and weight-at-age (WAA), has shifted from being mainly driven by hydro-climatic forces to an interspecific density-dependent control. The shift in the mechanisms of regulation of herring growth is triggered by the abundance of sprat, the main food competitor for herring. Abundances of sprat above the threshold of ~18 × 10 10 ind. decouple herring growth from hydro-climatic factors (i.e. salinity), and become the main driver of herring growth variations. At high sprat densities, herring growth is considerably lower than at low sprat levels, regardless of the salinity conditions, indicative of hysteresis in the response of herring growth to salinity changes. The threshold dynamic accurately explains the changes in herring growth during the past 3 decades and in turn contributes to elucidate the parallel drastic drop in herring spawning stock biomass. Studying the interplay between different stressors can provide fundamental information for the management of exploited resources. The management of the central Baltic herring stock should be adaptive and take into consideration the dual response of herring growth to hydro-climatic forces and food-web structure for a sound ecosystem approach to fisheries. KEY WORDS: Condition · Weight-at-age · WAA · Ecological threshold · Inter-specific densitydependence · Hydro-climate · Herring · Sprat · Ecosystem-based fisheries management · Alternative dynamics Resale or republication not permitted without written consent of the publisher Contribution to the Theme Section 'Threshold dynamics in marine coastal systems'OPEN PEN ACCESS CCESS

show abstract

“…Salinity may affect the hormonal system and reproduction of fish (Billard et al 1981), but most likely a euryhaline species like the Baltic herring is able to adjust to variation of salinity, which is a typical feature of the Baltic Sea. During the salinity decline, herring's growth decreased (e.g., Rönkkönen et al 2004;Möllmann et al 2005) apparently as a life-history strategy to ensure the reproduction in variable environmental conditions . In spite of the reduction of fish body size, the herring stock of the Bothnian Sea has shown good recruitment and an increase of the spawning stock during the past 20 years (Lindegren et al 2011).…”

Section: Possible Causes Of Gonad Malformationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Morphological abnormalities in gonads of the Baltic herring (Clupea harengus membras): Description of types and prevalence in the northern Baltic Sea

Rajasilta

Elfving

Hänninen

et al. 2015

Ambio

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Due to heavy anthropogenic influence and variation of the environmental conditions in the Baltic Sea, reproductive disorders are becoming a major environmental concern. We show here an increasing prevalence of gonadal malformations in the Baltic herring (Clupea harengus membras), a key species of the Baltic ecosystem and important in commercial fishery. During 1987-2014, the spawning herring population in the Archipelago Sea (AS) (North Baltic Sea, Finland) was monitored annually and analyzed for gross morphology of the gonads [total number (n) of analyzed fish = 38 284]. Four different types of malformations were repeatedly found and named as asymmetric, rudimentary, segmented, and branched gonads, but also hermaphroditic gonads and miscellaneous (unidentified) disorders were recorded. In 2013, additional samplings (n of fish analyzed = 541) showed similar malformations in herring from the Bothnian Sea. In some gonad types, histological examination revealed disintegration of seminiferous tubules and hyperplasia of the interstitial tissue. In 2014, the overall prevalence of malformations was still relatively low in the AS (frequency = 0-3.4 %; n = 750) and had apparently minimal effect on population recruitment. However, an increasing trend in the time-series (GLM; F = 32.65; p\0.001) and a significantly higher prevalence in the Bothnian Sea (frequency = 0.7-5.0 %; n = 541; v 2 = 6.24; p\0.05) suggest that gonadal malformations may become a new threat for fish in the Baltic Sea. The observed gonad atrophies may be due to environmental endocrine disruption; however, also other explanations may exist and potential explanations are discussed.

show abstract

Long-term changes in Baltic herring (Clupea harengus membras) growth in the Gulf of Finland

Cited by 62 publications

References 21 publications

Fatty acid composition of sprat (Sprattus sprattus) and herring (Clupea harengus) in the Baltic Sea as potential prey for salmon (Salmo salar)

Fatty acid composition of sprat (Sprattus sprattus) and herring (Clupea harengus) in the Baltic Sea as potential prey for salmon (Salmo salar)

Linking fisheries, trophic interactions and climate: threshold dynamics drive herring Clupea harengus growth in the central Baltic Sea

Morphological abnormalities in gonads of the Baltic herring (Clupea harengus membras): Description of types and prevalence in the northern Baltic Sea

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About