Biodiversity gradient in the Baltic Sea: a comprehensive inventory of macrozoobenthos data

Sammanfattning

In the Helsinki Commission Red List project 2009-2012, taxonomic and distributional data of benthic (macro) invertebrates were compiled by the present authors in a comprehensive checklist of the Baltic Sea fauna. Based on the most recent and comprehensive data, this paper presents the diversity patterns observed among benthic invertebrates in the Baltic Sea. As expected, the total number of species per sub-region generally declined along the salinity gradient from the Danish Straits to the northern Baltic Sea. This relationship is well known from the Baltic Sea and has resulted in a general assumption of an exponentially positive relationship between species richness and salinity for marine species, and a negative relationship for freshwater species. In 1934, Remane produced a diagram to describe the hypothetical distribution of benthic invertebrate diversity along a marine-freshwater salinity gradient. Our results clearly indicated the validity of this theory for the macrozoobenthic diversity pattern within the Baltic Sea. Categorisation of sub-regions according to species composition showed both separation and grouping of some sub-regions and a strong alignment of similarity patterns of zoobenthic species composition along the salinity gradient.

Nyckelord

Baltic Sea; Species diversity; Macrozoobenthos; Inventory; Checklist

Publicerad i

Helgoland Marine Research
2014, Volym: 68, nummer: 1, sidor: 49-57 Utgivare: SPRINGER

SLU författare

• Karlsson, Anna

  • SLU Artdatabanken, Sveriges lantbruksuniversitet
    

Globala målen

SDG14 Hav och marina resurser


UKÄ forskningsämne

Oceanografi, hydrologi, vattenresurser


Publikationens identifierare

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10152-013-0368-x

Permanent länk till denna sida (URI)

https://res.slu.se/id/publ/67737