Benthic habitat is an integral part of freshwater Mysis ecology.

Diel vertical migration (DVM) is common in aquatic organisms. The trade-off between reduced predation risk in deeper, darker waters during the day and increased foraging opportunities closer to the surface at night is a leading hypothesis for DVM behaviour.Diel vertical migration behaviour has dominated research and assessment frameworks for Mysis, an omnivorous mid-trophic level macroinvertebrate that exhibits strong DVM between benthic and pelagic habitats and plays key roles in many deep lake ecosystems. However, some historical literature and more recent evidence indicate that mysids also remain on the bottom at night, counter to expectations of DVM.We surveyed the freshwater Mysis literature using Web of Science (WoS; 1945-2019) to quantify the frequency of studies on demographics, diets, and feeding experiments that considered, assessed, or included Mysis that did not migrate vertically but remained in benthic habitats. We supplemented our WoS survey with literature searches for relevant papers published prior to 1945, journal articles and theses not listed in WoS, and additional references known to the authors but missing from WoS (e.g. only 47% of the papers used to evaluate in situ diets were identified by WoS).Results from the survey suggest that relatively little attention has been paid to the benthic components of Mysis ecology. Moreover, the literature suggests that reliance on Mysis sampling protocols using pelagic gear at night provides an incomplete picture of Mysis populations and their role in ecosystem structure and function.We summarise current knowledge of Mysis DVM and provide an expanded framework that more fully considers the role of benthic habitat. Acknowledging benthic habitat as an integral part of Mysis ecology will enable research to better understand the role of Mysis in food web processes.

Stable isotope composition in Daphnia is modulated by growth, temperature, and toxic exposure: implications for trophic magnification factor assessment.

The potential for using stable isotope analysis in risk assessment of environmental contaminants is crucially dependent on the predictability of the trophic transfer of isotopes in food webs. The relationship between contaminant levels and trophic position of consumers is widely used to assess biomagnification properties of various pollutants by establishing trophic magnification factors (TMF). However, contaminant-induced variability of the isotopic composition in biota is poorly understood. Here, we investigated effects of toxic exposure on δ(15)N and δ(13)C values in a consumer, with a main hypothesis that these effects would be largely mediated via growth rate and metabolic turnover of the test animals. The cladoceran Daphnia magna was used in two experiments that were conducted to manipulate growth and body condition (assayed as C:N ratio) by food availability and temperature (Experiment 1) and by toxic exposure to the pesticide lindane (Experiment 2). We found a significant negative effect of growth rate and a positive effect of temperature on the consumer-diet discrimination factor for δ(15)N and δ(13)C, with no effects on the C:N ratio (Experiment 1). In lindane-exposed daphnids, a significant growth inhibition was observed, with concomitant increase in metabolic costs and significantly elevated size-specific δ(15)N and δ(13)C values. Moreover, a significantly higher incorporation of carbon relative to nitrogen, yet a concomitant decrease in C:N ratio was observed in the exposed animals. Together, these results have methodological implications for determining trophic positions and TMF in polluted environments, where elevated δ(15)N values would translate into overestimated trophic positions and underestimated TMF. Furthermore, altered δ(13)C values may lead to erroneous food-chain assignment of the consumer in question.

Behavioral, ecological and genetic differentiation in an open environment--a study of a mysid population in the Baltic Sea.

Diel vertical migration (DVM) is often assumed to encompass an entire population. However, bimodal nighttime vertical distributions have been observed in various taxa. Mysid shrimp populations also display this pattern with one group concentrated in the pelagia and the other near the bottom. This may indicate alternative migratory strategies, resembling the seasonal partial migrations seen in birds, fishes and amphibians, where only a subset of the population migrates. To assess the persistence of these alternative strategies, we analyzed the nitrogen and carbon stable isotope signatures (as proxies for diet), biochemical indices (as proxies for growth condition), and genetic population divergence in the Baltic mysid Mysis salemaai collected at night in the pelagia and close to the bottom. Stable isotope signatures were significantly different between migrants (pelagic samples) and residents (benthic samples), indicating persistent diet differences, with pelagic mysids having a more uniform and carnivorous diet. Sequencing of the mitochondrial cytochrome subunit I (COI) gene showed genetic differentiation attributable to geographic location but not between benthic and pelagic groups. Divergent migration strategies were however supported by significantly lower gene flow between benthic populations indicating that these groups have a lower predisposition for horizontal migrations compared to pelagic ones. Different migration strategies did not convey measurable growth benefits as pelagic and benthic mysids had similar growth condition indices. Thus, the combination of ecological, biochemical and genetic markers indicate that this partial migration may be a plastic behavioral trait that yields equal growth benefits.

Managing Baltic Sea fisheries under contrasting production and predation regimes: ecosystem model analyses.

Based on an earlier published ecosystem model, we have explored possible effects of different management scenarios for the Baltic Sea. The scenarios include an oligotrophication of the system, a drastic increase in the number of seals, and changes in the fishery management. From these simulations we conclude that fisheries, seals, and eutrophication all have strong and interacting impacts on the ecosystem. These interactions call for integrated management. The modeling highlights the potential for conflicts among management mandates such as flourishing fisheries, rebuilt seal populations, and substantially reduced eutrophication. The results also suggest that fisheries management reference points have to be adjusted in response to changes in the presence of natural predators or ecosystem productivity.

Stable isotopes show food web changes after invasion by the predatory cladoceran Cercopagis pengoi in a Baltic Sea bay.

Cercopagis pengoi, a recent invader to the Baltic Sea and the Laurentian Great Lakes, is a potential competitor with fish for zooplankton prey. We used stable C and N isotope ratios to elucidate trophic relationships between C. pengoi, zooplankton (microzooplankton, 90-200 microm, mostly copepod nauplii and rotifers; mesozooplankton, >200 microm, mostly copepods), and zooplanktivorous fish (herring, size range 5-15 cm and sprat, 9-11 cm) in a coastal area of the northern Baltic Sea. The isotope ratios in C. pengoi and fish were much higher than those of zooplankton, showing general trends of enrichment with trophic level. Young-of-the-year (YOY) herring had a significantly higher (15)N/(14)N ratio than C. pengoi, suggesting of a trophic linkage between the two species. To evaluate the possible relative importance of different food sources for C. pengoi and YOY herring, two-source isotope-mixing models for N were used, with micro- and mesozooplankton as prey for C. pengoi and mesozooplankton and C. pengoi as prey for YOY herring. These models indicate that mesozooplankton was the major food source of both species. However, microzooplankton may be important prey for young stages of C. pengoi. Comparative analyses of the herring trophic position before and after the invasion by C. pengoi showed a trophic level shift from 2.6 to 3.4, indicating substantial alterations in the food web structure. Our findings contribute to a growing body of evidence, showing that C. pengoi can modify food webs and trophic interactions in invaded ecosystems.

Fish, fishing, and pollutant reduction in the Baltic Sea.

The Baltic Sea is heavily polluted yet supports major commercial fisheries for cod (Gadus morhua), herring (Clupea harengus), and sprat (Sprattus sprattus). Emissions of persistent organic pollutants, such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and DDT, were high during the 1960s and 1970s, and concentrations in fish and other fauna are still significant. Several models of the fluxes of these pollutants among the water, sediment, and atmosphere have been developed, but these generally omit the roles of fish and fisheries. We show that the standing stock of the most abundant fish species in the Baltic Sea was a sink for 260 kg of PCBs in the late 1980s to early 1990s and that the fishery removed as much or more PCB (31 kg yr(-1))than other budget components (e.g., degradation in the water column). Accounting for fish and fisheries could increase our understanding of the fluxes of pollutants, and banning the discard of highly contaminated organs such as cod liver could be part of the pollution management.

Are marine planktonic invertebrates food limited? The case of Mysis mixta (Crustacea, Mysidacea) in the Baltic Sea.

Linear regression analysis of field data from a coastal area of the Baltic Sea indicated that growth of the zooplanktivorous Mysis mixta was food limited. No statistically significant effects of temperature on growth were detected.