Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Structure of littoral zoocenoses in the macroalgae zones of the Neva River Estuary

  • Zooplankton, Zoobenthos, and Zooperiphyton
  • Published:
Inland Water Biology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The biodiversity and spatial distribution of macrofauna biomass are studied for 12 sites of stonesand littoral in the Neva Estuary in 2002–2005. The highest biodiversity has been observed for chironomids and oligochaetes in the Neva Bay (36% and 24% of total species number) and in the eastern Gulf of Finland (33% and 23%). Amphipods (≤89%), molluscs (≤61%), and chironomids (≤37%) dominate by biomass. The biomass spatial distribution vary dramatically from 9 to 37 g m−2 in the freshwater Neva Bay and from 1 to 68 g m−2 for the other Neva Estuary areas. The bottom fauna biomass in the Neva Bay is significantly lower than in the 1980–1990’s and constitutes 20–50% of the biomass previously observed. We explain such a significant decrease by a reduction of the insects and aborigine crustaceans Gammarus lacustris Sars and Asellus aquaticus L. The invasive amphipod species Gmelinoides fasciatus (Stebbing) dominated by biomass for the study period (3.8–15.6 g m−2, or >30% of total macrozoobenthos biomass).

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Antsulevich, A.E. and Chivilev, S.M., Modern State of the Benthic Fauna of Luga Bay of the Gulf of Finland, Vestn. St. Petersb. Gos. Univ., Ser. Biol. 1992, issue 3, no. 17, pp. 3–7, 110.

  2. Berezina, N.A., Interspecific Interactions of Amphipods Gammarus lacustris and Gmelinoides fasciatus, Ekologiya, 2009, no. 2, pp. 91–95.

  3. Biologicheskie invazii v vodnykh i nazemnykh ekosistemakh (Biological Invasions in Aquatic and Terrestrial Ecosystems), Moscow: Tovarishch. Nauch. Izdan. KMK, 2004.

  4. Visloukh, S.M., Kratkii Otchet o Biologicheskikh Issledovaniyakh v Nevskoi Gube v 1922–1912 g. (A Brief Report on Biological Studies in Neva Bay in 1911–1912), Petrograd: Izd. Petrogr. Gor. Dumy, 1913, pp. 215–312.

    Google Scholar 

  5. Deryugin, K.M., Hydrobiology and Benthos. Studies in the Neva River and Its Basin, in Gidrologicheskie i Gidrobiologicheskie Issledovaniya Nevskoi Guby (Hydrological and Hydrobiological Studies in Neva Bay), Petrograd: Ros. Gidrol. Inst., 1923, issue 2, no. 63.

    Google Scholar 

  6. Zakonomernosti gidrobiologicheskogo rezhima vodoemov raznogo tipa (Consistent Patterns of Hydrobiological Regime in Water Bodies of Different Types), Moscow: Nauch. Mir, 2004.

  7. Lakin, G.F., Biometriya (Biometrics), Moscow: Vysshaya Shkola, 1990.

    Google Scholar 

  8. Malyavin, S.A., Berezina, N.A., and Hwang, J.-Sh., On the Finding of Chelicorophium curvispinum Sars, 1895 (Amphipoda: Crustacea) in the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, Zool. Zh., 2008, vol. 87, pp. 643–649.

    Google Scholar 

  9. Metodicheskie rekomendatsii po sboru i obrabotke materialov pri vedenii monitoringa biologicheskogo zagryazneniya na Finskom zalive (Methodical Recommendations on Collection and Treatment of Materials during Biological Pollution Monitoring in the Gulf of Finland), St. Petersburg: Nauch. Tsentr RAN, Zool. Inst. RAN, 2005.

  10. Nevskaya guba: gidrobiologicheskie issledovaniya (Neva Bay: Hydrobiological Studies), Leningrad: Nauka, 1987.

  11. Salazkin, A.A., Benthic Fauna of Neva Bay and Some Characeristics of Its Distribution, Sb. Nauch. Tr. Gos. NII Ozer. Rech. Ryb. Khoz., 1982, issue 192, pp. 70–77.

  12. Skorikov, A.S., On the Fauna of Neva Bay and Waters Surrounding the Kotlin Island, Ezhegod. Zool. Muzeya AN, 1910, vol. 15, pp. 474–490.

    Google Scholar 

  13. Freshwater Invertebrate Communities in Macrophyte Thickets, Tr. Zool. Inst. AN SSSR, 1988, vol. 186.

  14. Shishkin, B.A., Nikulina, V.N., Maksimov, A.A., and Silina, N.I., Osnovnye kharakteristiki bioty vershiny Finskogo zaliva i ee rol’ v formirovanii kachestva vody (The Main Characteristics of the Biota of the Outermost Part of the Gulf of Finland and Its Role in Water Quality Formation), Leningrad: Gidrometeoizdat, 1989.

    Google Scholar 

  15. Environmental Aspects of the Impact of Hydro Construction on the Biota of the Water Area of the Eastern Part of the Gulf of Finland, Sb. Nauch. Tr. Gos. NII Ozer. Rech. Ryb. Khoz., 2006, vol. 332, no. 2.

  16. Ekologicheskoe sostoyanie vodoemov i vodotokov basseina reki Nevy (Environmental State of Water Bodies and Watercourses of the Neva River Basin), St. Petersburg: Nauch. Tsentr RAN, 1996.

  17. Ekosistema estuariya r. Nevy, bioraznoobrazie i ekologicheskie problemy (Ecosystem of the Neva River Estuary, Biodiversity, and Environmental Problems), Moscow: Izd. KMK, 2008.

  18. Berezina, N.A., Expansion of the North American Amphipod Gammarus tigrinus Sexton, 1939 to the Neva Estuary (Easternmost Baltic Sea), Oceanologia, 2007, vol. 49, no. 1, pp. 129–135.

    Google Scholar 

  19. Berezina, N.A., Food Spectra and Consumption Rates of Four Amphipod Species from the North-West of Russia, Fund. Appl. Limnol., 2007, vol. 168, no. 4, pp. 317–326.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  20. Berezina, N.A., Assessment of Predation Impact by Invasive Amphipods in Easternmost Baltic Sea, Neobiota, 2008, vol. 7, pp. 211–218.

    Google Scholar 

  21. Berezina, N.A., Golubkov, S.M., and Gubelit, J.I., Grazing Effects of Alien Amphipods on Macroalgae in the Littoral Zone of the Neva Estuary (Eastern Gulf of Finland, Baltic Sea), Oceanol., Hydrobiol. stud., 2005, vol. 34,Suppl. 1, pp. 63–82.

    Google Scholar 

  22. Berezina, N.A., Tsiplenkina, I.G., Pankova, E.S., and Gubelit, J.I., Dynamics of Invertebrate Communities in Stony Littoral of the Neva Estuary (Baltic Sea) under Macroalgal Blooms, Trans. Water Bull., 2007, no. 1, pp. 49–60.

  23. Berglund, J., Mattila, J., Ronnberg, O., et al., Seasonal and Inter-Annual Variation in Occurrence and Biomass of Rooted Macrophytes and Drift Algae in Shallow Bays, Estuar. Coast. Shelf Sci., 2003, vol. 56, nos. 5–6, pp. 1167–1175.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  24. Biological Invaders in Inland Waters: Profiles, Distribution and Threats, Dordrecht: Springer, 2007.

  25. Bokn, T.L., Moy, F.E., Christie, H., et al., Are Rocky Shore Ecosystems Affected by Nutrient-Enriched Seawater? Some Preliminary Results from a Mesocosm Experiment, Hydrobiologia, 2002, vol. 484, nos. 1–3, pp. 167–175.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  26. Bonsdorff, E., Drifting Algae and Zoobenthos. Effects on Settling and Community Structure, Netherlands, J. Sea Res., 1992, vol. 30, pp. 57–62.

    Google Scholar 

  27. Bonsdorff, E., Blomqvist, E.M., Mattila, J., and Norkko, A., Long-Term Changes and Coastal Eutrophication. Examples from the Åland Islands and the Archipelago Sea, Northern Baltic Sea, Oceanol. Acta, 1997, no. 20, pp. 319–329.

  28. Cognetti, G., Colonization of Stressed Coastal Environments, Mar. Pol. Bull., 1992, vol. 24, no. 1, pp. 12–14.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  29. Dean, R.L. and Connell, J.H., Marine Invertebrates in an Algal Succession. II. Tests of Hypotheses to Explain Changes in Diversity with Succession, J. Exp. Mar. Biol. Ecol., 1987, vol. 109, no. 3, pp. 217–247.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  30. Golubkov, S.M. and Anokhina, L.E., The Effect of Grazing by Mayfly Larvae on the Species Composition, Diversity and Primary Production of Periphyton, Russ. J. Aquatic Ecol., 1992, vol. 1, no. 2, pp. 137–142.

    Google Scholar 

  31. Golubkov, S.M., Back, S., Nikulina, V.N., et al., Effects of Eutrophication and Invasion of Dreissena polymorpha in the Coastal Zone of the Eastern Gulf of Finland, Proc. Eston. Acad. Sci. Biol. Ecol., 2003, vol. 52, no. 3, pp. 284–304.

    Google Scholar 

  32. Jansson, A.M., The Food-Web of the Cladophora-Belt Fauna, Helgoländ. Mar. Res., 1967, vol. 15, pp. 574–588.

    Google Scholar 

  33. Karlson, K., Rosenberg, R., and Bondsdorff, E., Temporal and Spatial Large-Scale Effects of Eutrophication and Oxygen Deficiency on Benthic Fauna in Scandinavian and Baltic Waters, Oceanogr. Mar. Biol. Ann. Rev., 2002, issue 40, pp. 427–489.

  34. Kotta, J. and Orav, H., Factors Affecting the Structure and Diversity of Invertebrate Fauna Associated with Macrophytes in the Species Poor Ecosystem of the Northern Baltic Sea, Ann. Zool. Fenn., 2001, no. 38, pp. 163–171.

  35. Kraufvelin, P. and Salovius, S., Animal Diversity in Baltic Rock Shore Macroalgae: Can Cladophora glomerata Compensate for Lost Fucus vesiculosus?, Estuar. Cost. Shelf Sci., 2004, vol. 61, no. 2, pp. 369–378.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  36. Lauringson, V. and Kotta, J., Influence of the Thin Drift Algal Mats on the Distribution of Macrozoobenthos in Koiguste Bay, NE Baltic Sea, Hydrobiologia, 2006, no. 554, pp. 97–105.

  37. Methods for Chemical Analysis of Fresh Waters. IBP Handbook, 8, Oxford: Blackwell Sci. Publ., 1969.

  38. Norkko, A. and Bonsdorff, E., Rapid Zoobenthic Community Responses to Accumulations of Drifting Algae, MEPS, 1996, no. 131, pp. 143–157.

  39. Norkko, J.E., Bonsdorff, E., and Norkko, A., Drifting Algal Mats as an Alternative Habitat for Benthic Invertebrates. Species Specific Responses to a Transient Resource, J. Exp. Mar. Biol. Ecol., 2000, no. 248, pp. 79–104.

  40. Olenin, S., Minchin, D., and Daunys, D., Assessment of Biopollution in Aquatic Ecosystems, Mar. Pol. Bull., 2007, no. 55, pp. 379–394.

  41. Orlova, M., Telesh, I.V., Berezina, N.A., et al., Effects of Nonindigenous Species on Diversity and Community Functioning in the Eastern Gulf of Finland (Baltic Sea), Helgoländ. Mar. Res., 2006, no. 2, pp. 98–105.

  42. Pankova, E.S. and Berezina, N.A., Predation Rate and Size Selectivity of the Invasive Amphipod Gmelinoides fasciatus Preying upon Native Isopod Asellus aquaticus, Acta Zool. Lituan., 2007, vol. 17, no. 2, pp. 144–150.

    Google Scholar 

  43. Raberg, S. and Kautsky, L., A Comparative Biodiversity Study of the Associated Fauna of Perennial Fucoids and Filamentous Algae, Estuar., Coast. Shelf Sci., 2007, vol. 73, nos. 1–2, pp. 249–258.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  44. Tagliapietra, D., Pavan, M., and Wagner, C., Feeding Habits of Benthic Fauna on Palude Della Rosa, Venice Lagoon (Italy), Boll. Mus. Civ. Stor. Natur. Venezia, 1998, issue. 49, pp. 271–276.

  45. Telesh, I.V., Golubkov, S.M., and Alimov, A.F., The Neva Estuary Ecosystem. Ecology of Baltic Coastal Waters Series, Ecol. Stud., 2008, vol. 197, pp. 259–284.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Zoological Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, Universitetskaya nab. 1, St. Petersburg, 199034, Russia

    N. A. Berezina, S. M. Golubkov & Yu. I. Gubelit

Authors
  1. N. A. Berezina
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. S. M. Golubkov
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Yu. I. Gubelit
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to N. A. Berezina.

Additional information

Original Russian Text © N.A. Berezina, S.M. Golubkov, Yu.I. Gubelit, 2009, published in Biologiya Vnutrennikh Vod, No. 4, 2009, pp. 48–56.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Berezina, N.A., Golubkov, S.M. & Gubelit, Y.I. Structure of littoral zoocenoses in the macroalgae zones of the Neva River Estuary. Inland Water Biol 2, 340–347 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1134/S1995082909040087

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1134/S1995082909040087

Key words

Search

Navigation