Reduced predation and competition from herring may have contributed to the increase of three-spined stickleback in the Baltic Sea

Abstract

In many areas of the Baltic Sea, three-spined stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus) has increased several fold since the early 2000s. Two major planktivores of the Baltic Sea, Atlantic herring (Clupea harengus) and European sprat (Sprattus sprattus), may interact with stickleback via competition for food and predation, but the potential implications at the population level are still unknown. Here, we explored interactions between stickleback, herring, and sprat using (i) herring diet analyses and (ii) fish biomass estimates from hydroacoustics for 2001-2019 covering the largest Baltic Sea basins-the Central Baltic and the Bothnian Sea. The diet analyses revealed that stickleback is an important prey for large herring along the Swedish Baltic Sea coast, comprising up to 64% of the diet of individuals >22 cm. We found a negative influence of large herring (>18 cm) on stickleback in the Central Baltic, and a negative relationship between sprat and small herring (<18 cm) (pooled) and stickleback in the Bothnian Sea. The decline in herring and sprat population after the mid-1990s could have contributed to the increase in stickleback population via reduced predation and competition. Overall, herring may be an underappreciated piscivore, and high fishing pressure on herring could generate cascading effects on lower trophic levels.

Keywords

three-spined stickleback; Atlantic herring; sprat; Baltic Sea; temporal trends; species interactions; predation; competition

Published in

ICES Journal of Marine Science
2024
Publisher: OXFORD UNIV PRESS

SLU Authors

• Donadi, Serena

  • Department of Aquatic Resources (SLU Aqua), Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    

• Olin, Agnes

  • Department of Aquatic Resources (SLU Aqua), Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    

• Casini, Michele

  • Department of Aquatic Resources (SLU Aqua), Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    
  • University of Bologna

• Erlandsson, Mårten

  • Department of Aquatic Resources (SLU Aqua), Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    

• Fredriksson, Ronny

  • Department of Aquatic Resources (SLU Aqua), Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    

• Kaljuste, Olavi

  • Department of Aquatic Resources (SLU Aqua), Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    

• Larson, Niklas

  • Department of Aquatic Resources (SLU Aqua), Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    

• Bergström, Ulf

  • Department of Aquatic Resources (SLU Aqua), Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    

Associated SLU-program

Coastal and sea areas

UKÄ Subject classification

Fish and Aquacultural Science

Publication identifier

• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/icesjms/fsae168

Permanent link to this page (URI)

https://res.slu.se/id/publ/139900