Recruitment failure of coastal predatory fish in the Baltic Sea coincident with an offshore ecosystem regime shift

• DOI: 10.1093/icesjms/fsq109
• Publication Date: 2010-07-31T00:34:40Z
• Authors: Lars Ljunggren; Alfred Sandström; Ulf Bergström; Johanna Mattila; Antti Lappalainen; Gustav Johansson; Göran Sundblad; Michele Casini; Olavi Kaljuste; Britas Klemens Er...
• Keywords: Sprat; Trophic cascade; Piscivore; Biomanipulation; Regime shift

Abstract Ljunggren, L., Sandström, A., Bergström, U., Mattila, J., Lappalainen, Johansson, G., Sundblad, Casini, M., Kaljuste, O., and Eriksson, B. K. 2010. Recruitment failure of coastal predatory fish in the Baltic Sea coincident with an offshore ecosystem regime shift. – ICES Journal Marine Science, 67: 1587–1595. The dominant southwestern Sea, perch pike, have decreased markedly abundance during past decade. An investigation into their recruitment at 135 sites showed that both species suffered from failures, mainly open areas. A detailed study 15 areas problems were also notable for mortality early-stage larvae onset exogenous food-intake. At those sites, zooplankton predicted 83 34% variation young year respectively, suggesting declines caused by attributable to food limitation. Incidences match time trophic cascade generated massive increases planktivorous sprat decreases biomass early 1990s. Therefore, explained 53% 1994 2007 site, where three-spined stickleback increased exponentially after 2002. results indicate dramatic change may propagated coast causing dominating predators pike followed increase small-bodied fish.