Staveley, Thomas
- Department of Aquatic Resources (SLU Aqua), Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
Abstract
Three-spined sticklebacks (Gasterosteus aculeatus) have become dominant in many Baltic Sea coastal fish assemblages, yet life-stage-specific habitat use remains poorly understood. We surveyed shallow water habitats along the coast of Gotland, Sweden, to examine how juvenile and adult stickleback abundances relate to variables such as submersed aquatic vegetation (SAV) biomass and vertical structure, macrophyte species richness, biomass of drift filamentous algae and potential invertebrate prey abundance. Juvenile stickleback abundance increased with SAV variables, macrophyte species richness, and drift filamentous algae, whereas, in contrast, adult abundance was only significantly associated with potential prey (invertebrate abundance). Our findings reveal life-stage-specific habitat associations of three-spined sticklebacks and highlights the importance of both long-living vegetation and ephemeral drift algae in supporting juvenile sticklebacks. This study contributes to a better understanding of sticklebacks' coastal ecology in the central Baltic Sea.
Keywords
Baltic Sea; coastal zone; filamentous algae; Gotland; ontogenetic shift
Published in
Aquaculture, fish and fisheries
2026, volume: 6, number: 2, article number: e70214
Publisher: WILEY
SLU Authors
UKÄ Subject classification
Fish and Aquacultural Science
Ecology
Publication identifier
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/aff2.70214
Permanent link to this page (URI)
https://res.slu.se/id/publ/146549