The Key Environmental Factors Shaping Coastal Fish Community in the Eastern Gulf of Finland, Baltic Sea
A highly productive coastal zone plays an important role in various stages of fish life cycles, e.g., spawning migrations, fish reproduction, larval development, juveniles growing, etc. Therefore, coastal biotopes significantly contribute to commercial fish species recruitment. Although the eastern...
| Main Authors: | , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2022-10-01
|
| Series: | Diversity |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/14/11/930 |
| _version_ | 1827646813132292096 |
|---|---|
| author | Anton Uspenskiy Zakhar Zhidkov Boris Levin |
| author_facet | Anton Uspenskiy Zakhar Zhidkov Boris Levin |
| author_sort | Anton Uspenskiy |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | A highly productive coastal zone plays an important role in various stages of fish life cycles, e.g., spawning migrations, fish reproduction, larval development, juveniles growing, etc. Therefore, coastal biotopes significantly contribute to commercial fish species recruitment. Although the eastern Gulf of Finland is rich in shallow coastal water, its coastal fish communities and the influencing environmental variables are still significantly understudied. We investigated the composition and distribution of coastal fish species and the impact of abiotic and biotic environmental factors in the eastern Gulf of Finland during field surveys in 2011–2017. In total, 34 fish species were recorded at shallows. The coastal fish community demonstrates a low degree of heterogeneity despite a highly heterogeneous environment. Five freshwater species are widely distributed and the most frequent in the area. Three key environmental variables influencing the coastal fish community of the eastern Gulf of Finland were: (i) salinity, (ii) filamentous algae presence, and (iii) macrophytes presence. Fish community structure was also influenced by the sampling season. Discriminating and typifying taxa were performed for each environmental variable. We suggest that obtained results might be useful for future environmental studies in the region and fish community modeling. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T19:08:44Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-c194e59b7f274d9385cd3fb67b09fb52 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1424-2818 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T19:08:44Z |
| publishDate | 2022-10-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Diversity |
| spelling | doaj.art-c194e59b7f274d9385cd3fb67b09fb522023-11-24T04:21:03ZengMDPI AGDiversity1424-28182022-10-01141193010.3390/d14110930The Key Environmental Factors Shaping Coastal Fish Community in the Eastern Gulf of Finland, Baltic SeaAnton Uspenskiy0Zakhar Zhidkov1Boris Levin2Zoological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Universitetskaya Emb., 1, 199034 Saint Petersburg, RussiaZoological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Universitetskaya Emb., 1, 199034 Saint Petersburg, RussiaZoological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Universitetskaya Emb., 1, 199034 Saint Petersburg, RussiaA highly productive coastal zone plays an important role in various stages of fish life cycles, e.g., spawning migrations, fish reproduction, larval development, juveniles growing, etc. Therefore, coastal biotopes significantly contribute to commercial fish species recruitment. Although the eastern Gulf of Finland is rich in shallow coastal water, its coastal fish communities and the influencing environmental variables are still significantly understudied. We investigated the composition and distribution of coastal fish species and the impact of abiotic and biotic environmental factors in the eastern Gulf of Finland during field surveys in 2011–2017. In total, 34 fish species were recorded at shallows. The coastal fish community demonstrates a low degree of heterogeneity despite a highly heterogeneous environment. Five freshwater species are widely distributed and the most frequent in the area. Three key environmental variables influencing the coastal fish community of the eastern Gulf of Finland were: (i) salinity, (ii) filamentous algae presence, and (iii) macrophytes presence. Fish community structure was also influenced by the sampling season. Discriminating and typifying taxa were performed for each environmental variable. We suggest that obtained results might be useful for future environmental studies in the region and fish community modeling.https://www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/14/11/930Holarcticfish assemblagecoastal shallowsbrackish watersecologyhabitat |
| spellingShingle | Anton Uspenskiy Zakhar Zhidkov Boris Levin The Key Environmental Factors Shaping Coastal Fish Community in the Eastern Gulf of Finland, Baltic Sea Diversity Holarctic fish assemblage coastal shallows brackish waters ecology habitat |
| title | The Key Environmental Factors Shaping Coastal Fish Community in the Eastern Gulf of Finland, Baltic Sea |
| title_full | The Key Environmental Factors Shaping Coastal Fish Community in the Eastern Gulf of Finland, Baltic Sea |
| title_fullStr | The Key Environmental Factors Shaping Coastal Fish Community in the Eastern Gulf of Finland, Baltic Sea |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Key Environmental Factors Shaping Coastal Fish Community in the Eastern Gulf of Finland, Baltic Sea |
| title_short | The Key Environmental Factors Shaping Coastal Fish Community in the Eastern Gulf of Finland, Baltic Sea |
| title_sort | key environmental factors shaping coastal fish community in the eastern gulf of finland baltic sea |
| topic | Holarctic fish assemblage coastal shallows brackish waters ecology habitat |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/14/11/930 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT antonuspenskiy thekeyenvironmentalfactorsshapingcoastalfishcommunityintheeasterngulfoffinlandbalticsea AT zakharzhidkov thekeyenvironmentalfactorsshapingcoastalfishcommunityintheeasterngulfoffinlandbalticsea AT borislevin thekeyenvironmentalfactorsshapingcoastalfishcommunityintheeasterngulfoffinlandbalticsea AT antonuspenskiy keyenvironmentalfactorsshapingcoastalfishcommunityintheeasterngulfoffinlandbalticsea AT zakharzhidkov keyenvironmentalfactorsshapingcoastalfishcommunityintheeasterngulfoffinlandbalticsea AT borislevin keyenvironmentalfactorsshapingcoastalfishcommunityintheeasterngulfoffinlandbalticsea |