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Macroalgal blooms and species diversity in the Transition Zone of the eastern Gulf of Finland

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Abstract

The Macroalgal flora of the Transition Zone of the eastern part of the Gulf of Finland was studied between 2003 and 2008. Sixteen species were found from a depth of 0.5–5 m. Three species (Cladophora aegagropila, Pseudolithoderma subextensum and Hildenbrandtia rubra) are listed as rare in The Red Data Book of Nature of the Leningrad Region (Tzvelev, 2000). Nine species are recorded here for the first time in Transition Zone of eastern Gulf of Finland. The dominant species growing at a 0.5–1.5 m depth was the green alga Cladophora glomerata. Our study shows that in 2003–2008 in the shallow (0.5–1.5 m) zone of the eastern Gulf of Finland, the biomass of C. glomerata peaks several times in a season reaching 450 ± 130 g DW m−2. Our study corrects earlier data for the species composition of macroalgae and describes their depth and horizontal distribution in the Gulf of Finland.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Dr. Sergey M. Golubkov, Dr. Vasily A. Petukhov, Dr. Nadezda A. Berezina for help with sampling, Dr. Arnold Pieterse and anonymous reviewers for valuable comments and the English version. This study was supported by a Presidential Grant (NS-1993.2008.4), the Program of Natural Sciences Department of Russian Academy of Sciences “Fundamentals of the Biological Resources Management,” and by the Chair Program of the Russian Academy of Sciences “Scientific Fundamentals of the Biodiversity Conservation in the Russian Federation.”

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Zoological Institute of the RAS, St. Petersburg, Russia

    Yulia I. Gubelit

  2. Komarov Botanical Institute of the RAS, St. Petersburg, Russia

    Nikolay A. Kovalchuk

Authors
  1. Yulia I. Gubelit
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  2. Nikolay A. Kovalchuk
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Correspondence to Yulia I. Gubelit.

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Guest editors: A. Pieterse, S. Hellsten, J. Newman, J. Caffrey, F. Ecke, T. Ferreira, B. Gopal, J. Haury, G. Janauer, T. Kairesalo, A. Kanninen, K. Karttunen, J. Sarvala, K. Szoszkiewicz, H. Toivonen, L. Triest, P. Uotila, N. Willby/Aquatic Invasions and Relation to Environmental Changes: Proceedings of the 12th International Symposium on Aquatic Weeds, European Weed Research Society

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Gubelit, Y.I., Kovalchuk, N.A. Macroalgal blooms and species diversity in the Transition Zone of the eastern Gulf of Finland. Hydrobiologia 656, 83–86 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-010-0425-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-010-0425-2

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