Small pelagic fish are central to the Baltic Sea food web. They feed on plankton and serve as prey for larger fish, seabirds and mammals. Because of this, their feeding habits influence the entire ecosystem. A new study led by researchers at the Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences (DEEP), published in ICES Journal of Marine Science, shows that the main pelagic fish species in the central Baltic, herring, sprat and stickleback, overlap surprisingly little in their use of resources.
