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Biological indicators

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Book cover Biological Oceanography of the Baltic Sea

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Abstract

  1. 1.

    Changes in living conditions caused by natural variability or anthropogenic activities elicit distinct responses of species, populations and communities. Bioindication is the recording of such responses and the entity measured is called a “bioindicator”.

  2. 2.

    A bioindicator can be any relevant component or measure that can be used to estimate the environmental status based on the performance of all types of organisms (prokaryotes, protists, macroalgae, vascular plants, invertebrates, fish, mammals), including bulk measurements such as the chlorophyll a concentration in the seawater or the lower depth limit of macrophytes.

  3. 3.

    To be able to conclude if environmental change has taken place based on bioindication, it is essential to have knowledge of the specific ecological requirements of the organisms with respect to their habitats.

  4. 4.

    Bioindication using individuals or species includes e.g. behavioural adaptations, modifications of organ and cell structures and changes in population dynamics.

  5. 5.

    Bioindication by recording dramatic increases or decreases in the proportion and/or density of species in a community provides a conspicuous sign of environmental change, especially when this includes the extinction of species.

  6. 6.

    Strong decreases and extinctions of species in a community coupled to immigration of non-indigenous species may signify a shift in community composition that has a bearing on the functioning of the entire ecosystem.

  7. 7.

    Bioindication is a major tool used in the implementations of the EU environmental legislation : the Habitats Directive (HD), the Water Framework Directive (WFD) and the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Leibniz Institute for Baltic Sea Research, Seestraße, P.O. Box 15, 18119, Rostock-Warnemünde, Germany

    Michael L. Zettler, Alexander Darr, Matthias Labrenz & Nardine Stybel

  2. Forschungszentrum Jülich, Schweriner Straße, P.O. Box 44, 18069, Rostock, Germany

    Sigrid Sagert & Uwe Selig

  3. Institute for Terrestrial and Aquatic Wildlife Research, University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Foundation, Werftstraße, P.O. Box 6, 25761, Büsum, Germany

    Ursula Siebert

Authors
  1. Michael L. Zettler
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  2. Alexander Darr
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  3. Matthias Labrenz
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  4. Sigrid Sagert
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  5. Uwe Selig
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  6. Ursula Siebert
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  7. Nardine Stybel
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Michael L. Zettler .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Stockholm University , Stockholm, Sweden

    Pauline Snoeijs-Leijonmalm

  2. Universität Rostock, Rostock, Germany

    Hendrik Schubert

  3. Paleoceanography Unit, University of Szczecin Faculty of Geosciences, Szczecin, Poland

    Teresa Radziejewska

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Zettler, M.L. et al. (2017). Biological indicators. In: Snoeijs-Leijonmalm, P., Schubert, H., Radziejewska, T. (eds) Biological Oceanography of the Baltic Sea. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-0668-2_14

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