Stockholms universitet

Caroline RaymondMiljöanalytiker

Om mig

Miljöövervakar Egentliga Östersjön för att ta reda på hur havet egentligen mår. Specialiserad på bentisk makrofauna, dvs djur som lever på havets botten (t ex maskar, musslor och kräftdjur). Jobbar också med vegetationsklädda bottnar där jag dykleder och hjälper till med dataanalyser.

Jag ansvarar för den bentiska miljöövervakningen som utförs på DEEP. Det bentiska programmet provtar årligen ca 100 stationer i Egentliga Östersjön, och utifrån vilka djur som hittas och hur många de är kan vi säga nåt om tillståndet i havet. Det unika med miljöövervakningen är att vi får utföra återkommande provtagningar vilket gör att vi kan följa vilka förändringar som faktiskt sker. I Askö har vi provtagit 18 stationer årligen sedan 1981, och vi har tillgång till flera äldre mätningar som vi kan använda i våra utvärderingar om miljön.

Mejla gärna benthos.emb(a)su.se om du vill komma i kontakt med oss på benthosgruppen! Data från miljöövervakningen kan laddas hem från SMHI (https://www.smhi.se/klimatdata/oceanografi/havsmiljodata ).

Jag ingår också i expertgruppen för rödlistning av bentiska arter, nästa rödlista beräknas vara klar under 2025.

Publikationer

I urval från Stockholms universitets publikationsdatabas

  • Ecological succession of benthic macrofauna following disturbance: Effects of contaminants and in situ sediment remediation

    2022. Caroline Raymond.

    Avhandling (Dok)

    More than 70% of the Earth is covered by water, and most of the sea floor consists of soft sediments, such as mud, clay and sand. Thus, soft sediments form one of the most important habitats on Earth, with a high diversity of organisms. However, the sediments in coastal areas are often subject to anthropogenic pollutants, and current remediation methods are often both costly and destructive on the ecosystem. Benthic macrofauna, i.e., sediment-living invertebrates larger than 1 mm, sustain a variety of ecosystem functions in the sediment by their activities; they oxygenate the sediment, redistribute particles and nutrients, and are also important secondary producers. Therefore, it is essential to maintain healthy benthic ecosystems and to study effects of various disturbances on benthic species composition and their recovery trajectory after disturbance, a process called ecological succession.

    The aims of this PhD thesis were to investigate: 1) how benthic marine invertebrate communities in a Norwegian fjord respond to thin-layer capping with activated carbon, a recently proposed technique to remediate contaminated sediments in situ in a more cost-efficient and less ecosystem destructive manner, 2) how benthic community composition in sediments from the Baltic Sea is explained by environmental variables and concentrations of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and metals, and 3) how well current benthic quality assessment indices as well as functional indices represent these disturbances.

    The remediation method with activated carbon had long-term negative effects on the benthic macrofauna (paper I-III). Up to nine years after the capping, the communities were still severely affected, with lower species diversity, abundance and biomass. Recolonization of key species, such as the brittle star Amphiura filiformis, did not occur in the capped fields. Further, functional indices calculating bioturbation and bioirrigation estimated significantly lower activities in the communities exposed to activated carbon. Other studies have shown promising results in reducing contaminant fluxes and bioaccumulation of dioxins, but the long-term side-effects observed here on the benthic communities after capping show that the remediation method needs to be improved before application on a large scale. 

    The benthic community composition was also studied in the Baltic Sea (paper IV). The significant factors to explain the benthic community structure were PAHs, even at medium to low concentrations in the sediment, together with the environmental variables salinity, temperature and depth. These variables also explained the Benthic Quality Index (BQI), used for ecological status assessments in coastal areas of Sweden and in the open Baltic Sea.

     However, several ecological indices commonly used to assess the benthic environmental status were not able to detect the disturbance caused by activated carbon in the Norwegian fjord (paper III), although clear effects on the benthic community in terms of lower species diversity and abundance were evident. Thus, current status assessment indices may need to be revised, or at least used with caution, in management evaluation of the sediments after disturbances other than eutrophication.

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  • Long-term response of marine benthic fauna to thin-layer capping with powdered activated carbon in the Grenland fjords, Norway

    2021. Hilde C. Trannum (et al.). Science of the Total Environment 776

    Artikel

    The Grenland fjords in Norway have a long history of contamination by large emissions of dioxins and mercury. As a possible sediment remediation method in situ, thin-layer capping with powdered activated carbon (AC) mixed with clay was applied at two test sites at 30 m and 95 m depth in the Grenland fjords. This study presents long-term effects of the AC treatment on the benthic community structure, i.e. nine years after capping. Capping with AC significantly reduced the number of species, their abundance and biomass at the two test sites, compared to uncapped reference sites. At the more shallow site, the dominant brittle star species Amphiura filiformis disappeared shortly after capping and did not re-establish nine years after capping. At the deeper site, the AC treatment also caused long-lasting negative effects on the benthic community, but some recovery was observed after nine years. Ecological indices used to assess environmental status did not capture the impaired benthic communities caused by the capping. The present study is the first documentation of negative effects of powdered AC on marine benthic communities on a decadal scale. Our results show that the benefits of reduced contaminant bioavailability from capping with AC should be carefully weighed against the cost of long-term detrimental effects on the benthic community. More research is needed to develop a thin-layer capping material that is efficient at sequestering contaminants without being harmful to benthic species.

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  • Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons Have Adverse Effects on Benthic Communities in the Baltic Sea: Implications for Environmental Status Assessment

    2021. Caroline Raymond, Elena Gorokhova, Agnes M. L. Karlson. Frontiers in Environmental Science 9

    Artikel

    Changes in benthic macrofaunal communities are indicative of environmental stressors, including eutrophication and hypoxia. However, some species are sensitive not only to hypoxia but also to various environmental contaminants. We tested which of the environmental predictors (sediment organic carbon, sediment concentrations of metals and polyaromatic hydrocarbons [PAHs], bottom water oxygen, salinity, temperature, and surface chlorophyll-a concentration) that best explained the following response variables: (1) macrofauna community composition, (2) abundance of a benthic sentinel species, the amphipod Monoporeia affinis; and (3) the Benthic Quality Index (BQI). All data originated from 29 reference monitoring stations in the Baltic Sea and the statistical tests included both uni- and multivariate analyses. The community composition and BQI were best explained by the same combination of salinity, depth, temperature and PAH concentrations. The abundance of M. affinis, which is sensitive to hypoxia and chemical exposure, was best explained by PAHs as a single predictor. Our findings suggest that benthic communities in the Baltic Sea are influenced by anthropogenic contaminants, which should be taken into account when benthos is used for eutrophication status assessment.

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  • Impaired benthic macrofauna function 4 years after sediment capping with activated carbon in the Grenland fjords, Norway

    2020. Caroline Raymond (et al.). Environmental Science and Pollution Research

    Artikel

    The sediments in the Grenland fjords in southern Norway are heavily contaminated by large emissions of dioxins and mercury from historic industrial activities. As a possible in situ remediation option, thin-layer sediment surface capping with powdered activated carbon (AC) mixed with clay was applied at two large test sites (10,000 and 40,000 m(2)) at 30-m and 95-m depths, respectively, in 2009. This paper describes the long-term biological effects of the AC treatment on marine benthic communities up to 4 years after treatment. Our results show that the capping with AC strongly reduced the benthic species diversity, abundance, and biomass by up to 90%. Vital functions in the benthic ecosystem such as particle reworking and bioirrigation of the sediment were also reduced, analyzed by using novel bioturbation and bioirrigation indices (BPc, BIPc, and IPc). Much of the initial effects observed after 1 and 14 months were still present after 49 months, indicating that the effects are long-lasting. These long-lasting negative ecological effects should be carefully considered before decisions are made on sediment remediation with powdered AC, especially in large areas, since important ecosystem functions can be impaired.

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  • Response of marine benthic fauna to thin-layer capping with activated carbon in a large-scale field experiment in the Grenland fjords, Norway

    2017. Göran S. Samuelsson (et al.). Environmental science and pollution research international 24 (16), 14218-14233

    Artikel

    A field experiment with thin-layer capping was conducted in the Grenland fjords, Norway, for remediation in situ of mercury and dioxin-contaminated sediments. Experimental fields at 30 and 95 m depth were capped with (i) powdered activated carbon (AC) mixed with clay (AC+clay), (ii) clay, and (iii) crushed limestone. Ecological effects on the benthic community and species-feeding guilds were studied 1 and 14 months after capping, and a total of 158 species were included in the analyses. The results show that clay and limestone had only minor effects on the benthic community, while AC+clay caused severe perturbations. AC+clay reduced the abundance, biomass, and number of species by up to 90% at both 30 and 95 m depth, and few indications of recovery were found during the period of this investigation. The negative effects of AC+clay were observed on a wide range of species with different feeding strategies, although the suspension feeding brittle star Amphiura filiformis was particularly affected. Even though activated carbon is effective in reducing sediment-to-water fluxes of dioxins and other organic pollutants, this study shows that capping with powdered AC can lead to substantial disturbances to the benthic community.

    Läs mer om Response of marine benthic fauna to thin-layer capping with activated carbon in a large-scale field experiment in the Grenland fjords, Norway
  • Fueling of a marine-terrestrial ecosystem by a major seabird colony

    2020. J. Hentati-Sundberg (et al.). Scientific Reports 10 (1)

    Artikel

    Seabirds redistribute nutrients between different ecosystem compartments and over vast geographical areas. This nutrient transfer may impact both local ecosystems on seabird breeding islands and regional biogeochemical cycling, but these processes are seldom considered in local conservation plans or biogeochemical models. The island of Stora Karlsö in the Baltic Sea hosts the largest concentration of piscivorous seabirds in the region, and also hosts a large colony of insectivorous House martins Delichon urbicum adjacent to the breeding seabirds. We show that a previously reported unusually high insectivore abundance was explained by large amounts of chironomids—highly enriched in δ15N—that feed on seabird residues as larvae along rocky shores to eventually emerge as flying adults. Benthic ammonium and phosphate fluxes were up to 163% and 153% higher close to the colony (1,300 m distance) than further away (2,700 m) and the estimated nutrient release from the seabirds at were in the same order of magnitude as the loads from the largest waste-water treatment plants in the region. The trophic cascade impacting insectivorous passerines and the substantial redistribution of nutrients suggest that seabird nutrient transfer should be increasingly considered in local conservation plans and regional nutrient cycling models.

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  • Salinity drives meiofaunal community structure dynamics across the Baltic ecosystem

    2019. Elias Broman (et al.). Molecular Ecology 28 (16), 3813-3829

    Artikel

    Coastal benthic biodiversity is under increased pressure from climate change, eutrophication, hypoxia, and changes in salinity due to increase in river runoff. The Baltic Sea is a large brackish system characterized by steep environmental gradients that experiences all of the mentioned stressors. As such it provides an ideal model system for studying the impact of on‐going and future climate change on biodiversity and function of benthic ecosystems. Meiofauna (animals < 1 mm) are abundant in sediment and are still largely unexplored even though they are known to regulate organic matter degradation and nutrient cycling. In this study, benthic meiofaunal community structure was analysed along a salinity gradient in the Baltic Sea proper using high‐throughput sequencing. Our results demonstrate that areas with higher salinity have a higher biodiversity, and salinity is probably the main driver influencing meiofauna diversity and community composition. Furthermore, in the more diverse and saline environments a larger amount of nematode genera classified as predators prevailed, and meiofauna‐macrofauna associations were more prominent. These findings show that in the Baltic Sea, a decrease in salinity resulting from accelerated climate change will probably lead to decreased benthic biodiversity, and cause profound changes in benthic communities, with potential consequences for ecosystem stability, functions and services.

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  • Economic value of small-scale sea cucumber fisheries under two contrasting management regimes

    2020. Maria Eggertsen (et al.). Ecology & society 25 (2)

    Artikel

    Small-scale fisheries supplying tropical sea cucumbers to Asian markets frequently overharvest stocks, incurring unknown loss of economic value. An indication of such value loss can provide economic incentives for better conservation and management. However, before and after time-series by which loss could be calculated are generally not available for most sea cucumber fisheries. In this study we provide a snapshot comparison of stocks of three characteristic sea cucumber species in two islands in the Western Indian Ocean: Zanzibar (open-access fishery) and Mayotte (stocks protected since 2004). Our aim is to provide an indication of reference economic value of holothurian populations under two contrasting management regimes. Comparisons were made from stock appraisals using transects, linked to the species-specific market value, and compared between similar habitats from both locations. Surveyed habitats in Mayotte held sea cucumber stocks with a mean economic value of USD556.90 +/- 110.30/ha, compared with USD1.73 +/- 0.58/ ha in Zanzibar. A 5% harvest of sea cucumbers from surveyed areas in Mayotte would yield about 20 times greater income than harvesting the total surveyed stock in Zanzibar. By illustrating the economic value when strong management measures are implemented, this study highlights existing economic values and shows that sea cucumber fisheries in the tropics are a resource worth investing in and with high potential for social-economic benefits if properly managed.

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  • Functional Performance of Three Invasive Marenzelleria Species Under Contrasting Ecological Conditions Within the Baltic Sea

    2018. Cintia O. Quintana (et al.). Estuaries and Coasts

    Artikel

    A 4-week laboratory experiment investigated the behaviour (survival and bioirrigation) and impact of the invasive polychaetes Marenzelleria viridis, M. neglecta and M. arctia on sediment-water solutes exchange, porewater chemistry, and Fe and P interactions in high-salinity sandy sediment (HSS) and low-salinity muddy sediment (LSM) from the Baltic Sea. M. viridis showed deep burrowing with efficient bioirrigation (11 L m−2 day−1) and high survival (71%) in HSS, while M. arctia exhibited shallow burrowing with high bioirrigation (12 L m−2 day−1) and survival (88%) in LSM. M. neglecta behaved poorly in both ecological settings (bioirrigation, 5–6 L m−2 day−1; survival, 21–44%). The deep M. viridis bioirrigation enhanced total microbial CO2 (TCO2) production in HSS by 175% with a net efflux of NH4+ and PO43−, at rates 3- to 27-fold higher than for the other species. Although the shallow and intense bioirrigation of M. arctia in LSM stimulated microbial TCO2 production to some extent (61% enhancement), the nutrient fluxes close to zero indicate that it effectively prevented the P release. Porewater Fe:PO43− ratios revealed that the oxidizing effect of M. arctia bioirrigation increased the PO43− adsorption capacity of LSM twofold relative to defaunated controls while no buffering of PO43− was detected in M. viridis HSS treatment. Therefore, the different behaviour of the three species in various environments and the sharp contrast between M. viridis and M. arctia effects on C, N and P cycling must be considered carefully when the ecological role of Marenzelleria species in the Baltic Sea is evaluated.

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  • Effects of re-oxygenation and bioturbation by the polychaete Marenzelleria arctia on phosphorus, iron and manganese dynamics in Baltic Sea sediments

    2018. Åsa Danielsson (et al.). Boreal environment research 23, 15-28

    Artikel

    Sediments underlying hypoxic or anoxic water bodies constitute a net source of phosphorus to the bottom water. This source has the potential to enhance eutrophication. Benthic fluxes of dissolved phosphorus, iron and manganese were measured from hypoxic, normoxic, and normoxic bioturbated by the invasive polychaete Marenzelleria arctia sediment in a mesocosm experiment. The highest benthic phosphorus efflux was detected in mesocosms with the hypoxic treatment. Normoxic, bioturbated sediments led to weaker retention of phosphorus compared to oxic, defaunated sediments. Both iron and manganese fluxes increased under bioturbated conditions compared to defaunated sediments. This study shows that re-oxygenation of previously anoxic coastal sediments enhance phosphorus retention in the sediments. Colonisation by M. arctia induce strong mobilisation of iron and manganese due to its intense bioirrigation, which facilitates organic matter degradation and decreases the phosphorus retention by metal oxides in sediment.

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  • Large-scale field study on thin-layer capping of dioxin contaminated sediments in the Grenland fjords, Norway

    Göran S. Samuelsson (et al.).

    The Grenland fjords on the South East Coast of Norway are heavily contaminated with dioxins and furans after emissions from past industrial activities. Thin layer capping with a 1.1 to 3.7 cm cap was tested as a remediation option in a large-scale in situ study in two different parts of the fjord system, in the Ormefjord at 25-30 meters depth and in the Eidangerfjord at 80-100 meters depth. Three different capping materials: Limestone gravel, Clay, and powdered activated carbon (AC) mixed into clay (AC+clay) was compared to untreated reference fields in order to evaluate their effects on contaminant sequestering and possible effects on the benthic communities. Sediment to water fluxes of contaminants were significantly reduced by the capping materials, especially with AC-clay and is reported in a companion study.This study discusses the ecological effects of the remediation 1 and 14 months post treatment. Capping with Clay and Lime had minor and short-lasting effects on benthic fauna. Capping with AC+clay, however, had led to profound and more long-lasting perturbations of the macrofauna. An initial massive decline in filter feeders and suspension feeders was observed after 1 month in the shallower Ormefjord. The negative effects got worse after 14 months and resulted in dramatic reductions of all feeding guilds. The number of species, organism abundances and biomass in the AC+clay field were ca 80-90 % lower compared to the reference fields after 14 months.The negative effects were less pronounced at the deeper (80-100 meters) location in the Eidangerfjord and were also stable with time, suggesting that the benthic community the deeper habitat was more resilient to the capping compared to the shallower community in Ormefjord.The differences in response of the two communities are hypothesized to be due to the higher macrofaunal diversity in the deeper location, as well as to differences in abiotic factors such as available food and temperature. Results from this study show that amendment with powdered AC can lead to serious perturbations of the benthic community, at least initially, i.e. one year post capping in this study. These results stresses that further long-term monitoring of these benthic communities is necessary before capping with AC+clay could be advocated as a potential remediation option.

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  • Effect of reoxygenation and Marenzelleria spp. bioturbation on Baltic Sea sediment metabolism

    2013. Stefano Bonaglia (et al.). Marine Ecology Progress Series 482, 43-55

    Artikel

    Nutrient reduction and the improvement of bottom water oxygen concentrations are thought to be key factors in the recovery of eutrophic aquatic ecosystems. The effects of reoxygenation and bioturbation of natural hypoxic sediments in the Baltic Sea were studied using a mesocosm experiment. Anoxic sediment box cores were collected from 100 m depth in Kanholmsfjärden (Stockholm Archipelago) and maintained in flow-through mesocosms with 3 treatments: (1) hypoxic: supplied with hypoxic water; (2) normoxic: supplied with oxic water; and (3) Marenzelleria: supplied with oxic water and the polychaete Marenzelleria spp. (2000 ind. m–2). After a 7 wk long conditioning period, net fluxes of dissolved O2, CH4, Fe2+, Mn2+, NH4+, NO2-, NO3-, PO43- and H4SiO4, and rates of nitrate ammonification (DNRA), denitrification and anammox were determined. Phosphate was taken up by the sediment in all treatments, and the uptake was highest in the normoxic treatment with Marenzelleria. Normoxic conditions stimulated the denitrification rate by a factor of 5. Denitrification efficiency was highest under normoxia (50%), intermediate in bioturbated sediments (16%), and very low in hypoxic sediments (4%). The shift from hypoxic to normoxic conditions resulted in a significantly higher retention of NH4+, H4SiO4 and Mn2+ in the sediment, but the bioturbation by Marenzelleria reversed this effect. Results from our study suggest that bioturbation by Marenzelleria stimulates the exchange of solutes between sediment and bottom water through irrigation and enhances bacterial sulfate reduction in the burrow walls. The latter may have a toxic effect on nitrifying bacteria, which, in turn, suppresses denitrification rates.

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  • Sediment med nyckelroll i näringsväven

    2014. Volker Brüchert, Stefano Bonaglia, Caroline Raymond. Havsutsikt 2014 (1), 20-21

    Artikel

    I sedimenten sker processer som kan vara helt avgörande för näringsbalansen i havsvattnet. Omvandlingen av fosfor till olika former är relativt väl känd, medan detaljerna i kvävets kretslopp är betydligt mindre kända. Mer än hälften av den årliga tillförseln av kväve till Östersjön beräknas omsättas till kvävgas i sedimentet, vilket sedan går förlorat för de flesta marina organismer.

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  • Regional miljöövervakning av mjukbottenfauna i Östergötlands skärgård år 2011

    2012. Ola Svensson (et al.).

    Rapport

    Denna rapport presenterar resultaten av 2011 års undersökning av mjukbottenfaunan i Östergötlands skärgård. Undersökningen är en del av det regionalt-nationellt samordnade miljöövervakningsprogrammet som startade år 2007. 20 stationer belägna på djup mellan 10 och 38 meter undersöks årligen avseende bottenfauna och sedimentkvalité. Av dessa 20 stationer ligger hälften i S:t Annas skärgård (kluster REG St Anna) och hälften i Gryts skärgård (kluster REG Gryt) (Fig. 1). Stationerna är belägna i 5 olika vattenförekomster enligt SMHI:s indelning. Av stationerna i S:t Annas skärgård ligger 9 st i vattenförkomsten Kärrfjärden, medan 1 station ligger i Finnfjärden. Av stationerna i Gryts skärgård ligger 5 st i Hesselöfjärden, 3 st i Orren och 2 st i Ytteröområdet. Två stationer har provtagits tidigare på uppdrag av Motala Ströms Vattenvårdsförbund (Stn Bf 34b och stn Bf 32). Data från dessa redovisas även separat för att illustrera långtidsförändringar.

    Huvudfokus för undersökningen är statusbedömning av bottensamhället med hjälp av Benthic Quality Index (BQI). Statusen för klustret REG St Anna bedöms år 2011 som måttlig efter tre år med god status. I klustret REG Gryt bedöms statusen alltjämt som god. År 2011 beräknades BQI-värdet (20:e percentilen) för klustret REG St Anna till 3,6. Detta är en försämring sedan 2010 (20:e percentilen av BQI=4,5) men värdet är högre än det som noterades för 2007 (2,8), dvs vid programmets start. I klustret REG Gryt har BQI-värdet ökat från 5,9 till 6,2 sen förra året. Vid en jämförelse med värdet för 2007 har områdets BQI-värde minskat från ett mycket högt BQI-värde på 8,2.

    Den biologiska mångfalden, uttryckt som totalt antal taxa, har minskat något sedan föregående år inom båda klustren. Medelantalet taxa har också minskat i REG St Anna, medan en svag ökning kan noteras för REG Gryt. Just det minskade antalet taxa i REG St Anna utgör den största orsaken till områdets lägre BQI-värde. De taxa som försvunnit har tidigare endast förekommit med ett fåtal individ och på enstaka stationer. Den största förändringen i bottenfaunasammansättningen sedan förra året är en markant ökning av den för Östersjön relativt nya havsborstmasken Marenzelleria spp. i REG Gryt.

    Sammanfattningsvis har statusen försämrats till måttlig i REG St Anna men i REG Gryt är statusen fortsatt god.

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  • Regional miljöövervakning av mjukbottenfaunai Askö-Landsortsområdet år 2011

    2012. Ola Svensson (et al.).

    Rapport

    Denna rapport redovisar resultaten av 2011 års undersökning av mjukbottenfaunan i Askö-Landsortsområdet. 20 stationer belägna på djup mellan 9 och 60 meter undersöks årligenavseende bottenfauna och sedimentkvalité. Undersökningen är en del av det regionalt-nationelltsamordnade miljöövervakningsprogrammet som startade år 2007. Stationerna ingick mellan 1981 och 2006 i den nationella miljöövervakningen. Fyra av dem har besökts varje år sedan 1970-talet inom tidigare forskningsprojekt, och långtidsförändringar för dessa redovisas separat.

    Huvudfokus för undersökningen är statusbedömning av bottensamhället med hjälp av Benthic Quality Index (BQI). Statusen för Asköområdet har minskat signifikant sedan 1970-talet. Denna minskning beror huvudsakligen på ett skifte från ett bottensamhälle dominerat av vitmärlorna Monoporeia affinis och Pontoporeia femorata till ett dominerat av östersjömusslan Macoma balthica. Sedan mitten av 2000-talet förekommer nu också ett för Östersjön nytt släkte av havsbortmaskar Marenzelleria spp. Både östersjömusslan och den introducerade havsbortsmasken Marenzelleria spp. är tåligare mot låga syrehalter än vitmärlorna och har lägrekänslighetsvärden i BQI-indexet. Detta ger området en lägre status än vid mätningarna under 1970- och början av 1980-talet.

    År 2011 beräknades BQI-värdet (20:e percentilen) för området till 5,8, en försämring sedan 2010 (20:e percentilen av BQI=6,8). Vid en jämförelse över längre tid har områdets BQI-värdenminskat. Den nedåtgående trenden förefaller emellertid ha brutits och från 2001 kan ensignifikant ökning av BQI observeras. Den biologiska mångfalden, uttryckt som antal taxa, följer samma mönster som BQI, med enuppgång sedan 2001. En del av förklaringen till den ökade biologiska mångfalden beror påförekomsten av havsborstmasken Marenzelleria spp. Uppmätta värden av bottenfaunans biomassa ligger nu på ungefär samma nivå som på 1980-talet, efter att under perioden 1996 till2006 ha legat på en högre nivå.

    Sammanfattningsvis visar 2011 års undersökning att miljötillståndet för Asköområdets mjukabottnar förbättrats sedan programmets början 2007, och att den ekologiska statusen har ökat signifikant sedan 2001.

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Visa alla publikationer av Caroline Raymond vid Stockholms universitet