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Vulnerability of benthic habitats to the aquatic invasive species

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Abstract

A comparative vulnerability analysis of 16 selected benthic habitat types in the SE Baltic Sea waters and the Curonian lagoon, including Klaipeda strait, was performed using long-term monitoring datasets (1980–2003) and results of several other surveys in the lagoon and the sea. Results indicated that invasive species richness (number of alien species per habitat) in lagoon habitats was significantly higher than in the sea. Habitats formed by artificial rock and stone, sand, mud, and habitats modified by zebra mussel shell deposits appeared to be the most invaded. Highest invasive species richness occurred in habitats with high native species richness indicating that the main factors driving native species distribution (such as favourable physical conditions, habitat alterations generated by human or/and biotic activities) are also driving aquatic invaders. Physical factors distinguished to be the most important for native and invasive species distribution were salinity, depth range (expressed by the maximal and minimal depths difference within a habitat), shallowness of a habitat (expressed by a minimal depth), and availability of a hard substrate.

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Acknowledgements

This study was supported by the EU Framework 6 Integrated Project 506675 ALARM “Assessing Large-scale environmental risks with tested methods” and project CT 2003-511202 DAISIE “Delivering Alien Species Inventory for Europe”.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Coastal Research and Planning Institute, Klaipeda University, H. Manto 84, Klaipeda, LT-92294, Lithuania

    Anastasija Zaiko, Sergej Olenin & Darius Daunys

  2. Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 2205 Commonwealth Blvd, Ann Arbor, MI, 48105-2945, USA

    Tomas Nalepa

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  1. Anastasija Zaiko
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  2. Sergej Olenin
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  3. Darius Daunys
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  4. Tomas Nalepa
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Correspondence to Anastasija Zaiko.

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Zaiko, A., Olenin, S., Daunys, D. et al. Vulnerability of benthic habitats to the aquatic invasive species . Biol Invasions 9, 703–714 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10530-006-9070-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10530-006-9070-0

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