Limnologica 29 (1999) 322-324 L I MNOL OGI C A

http://www.urbanfischer.de/joumals/limno
by Urban & Fischer Verlag
Coastal Research and Planning Institute, Klaipdda University, Lithuania
Bi odi versi ty and Soci o-Envi ronmental Probl ems of the
South-Eastern Baltic Coastal Zone
SERGEJ OLENIN
With one Table
Key words: Biodiversity, benthic biotopes, conservation, anthropogenic threats
Abstract
The diversity of life occurs at several hierarchical levels of biologi-
cal organisation, including the biotope (habitats) diversity. The
knowledge of the coastal habitat diversity and its sensitivity to the
anthropogenic impact is one of the most important preconditions for
the sustainable use and development of the coastal regions. This
paper gives a brief overview of a recent study, which was aimed to
classify the Lithuanian coastal zone underwater habitats and identify
anthropogenic threats to the area.
Introduction
The di ver si t y of l i f e occur s at sever al hi er ar chi cal l evel s of
bi ol ogi cal or gani sat i on (NoRsE 1993). Bes i des t he genet i c,
speci es and e c os ys t e m l evel s (NoRsE 1993) al so phyl et i c,
f unct i onal and habi t at di ver si t y is di st i ngui shed (GRAY 1997).
The later, in opposi t e to t he speci es di ver si t y, is l ar gel y un-
known in t he Bal t i c Sea r egi on. Thi s makes a chal l enge to t he
Bal t i c mar i ne and coast al s ci ence si nce t he habi t at di ver si t y
t ends to be par t i cul ar l y l ar ge i n t he coast al zone, wher e, in
turn, pol l ut i on and over expl oi t at i on have been mos t dest r uc-
t i ve (HEDLUND et al. 1995). Thus, our knowl e dge of t he
coast al habi t at di ver si t y and its sensi t i vi t y to t he ant hr o-
pogeni c i mpact is one of t he mos t i mpor t ant pr econdi t i ons for
t he sust ai nabl e use and de ve l opme nt of t he coast al r egi ons.
I n this paper t he at t empt is ma de to cl as s i f y under wat er
habi t at s of t he Li t huani an coast al zone, and i dent i f y ant hr o-
poge ni c t hreat s to t he bi ol ogi cal di ver s i t y at di f f er ent hi er ar -
chi cal l evel s.
Material, Methods and Terminology
The study area is situated at the Lithuanian coast of the Baltic Sea,
north of Klaip6da city. It was investigated by remote underwater
video during the field seasons 1993-1995 from the shore to the
depth of 20 m, SCUBA divers examined benthic biotopes and
collected samples of bottom fauna and flora from the shore down to
15 m. Major visible geomorphological and biological/biogenic fea-
tures, like sediment type and its heterogeneity, presence of bottom
vegetation, blue mussel and barnacle colonies, tubes and holes in the
soft sediment, etc., were evaluated according to a uniform semi-
quantitative scale: 1 point - a feature is of minor importance, it cov-
ers less than 10% of a visible area; 2 points - coverage 10-40%; 3 -
40-60%; 4 - 60-90%; 5 - more than 90%; 0 - absence of a feature.
In addition grabs and benthic trawls were used at the depth from 3 to
30 m, the samples of macrofauna were treated according to (HEL-
COM 1988). Other sources of information (scientific literature, un-
published environmental reports, nautical charts, geomorphological
maps, etc.) were analysed. The materials of field observations and
laboratory works together with results of the literature analysis were
formalised and computer data bases were developed.
In this study the terms "underwater habitat" and "marine bio-
tope" are used as synonyms. They indicate a given area of the sea
bottom with more or less uniform geomorphological, lithodynamic
and hydrological environment. There is a strong relationship be-
tween the physical nature of a habitat and composition of its biologi-
cal community, especially in such extreme environments like ex-
posed sandy coasts of the Eastern Baltic. Even slight, nearly un-
touchable differences in "physics" are often reflected in quite visible
deviations in biological features, therefore they were used in the
biotopes classification together with physical characteristics. In gen-
eral, this approach has a long history (cf. GURJANOVA et al. 1924). At
the modem theoretical level it was recently used in several European
coastal zone projects (LAFFOLEY & HISCOCK 1993; BELLAN-SANr~M
et al. 1994; CONNOa 1995).
Results and Discussion
Regional context
An e xpos e d coast wi t h dunes, wi de sandy beaches and gent l y
i ncl i ni ng under wat er sl ope is char act er i st i c f or a l ar ge Bal t i c
322 0075- 9511/ 99/ 29/ 03- 322 $ 12. 00/ 0
r egi on f r om the Pomer ani an Bay in t he sout h-west to t he
Gul f of Ri ga in t he nort h-east . The Li t huani an coast r epr e-
sents a t ypi cal part of this regi on.
The mai n pecul i ar i t y of our coast al zone is the r unof f a
hi ghl y eut r ophi ed and most l y freshwat er body, t he Curoni an
Lagoon. Its wat er i nt eract s wi t h t he sout h-east ern Bal t i c
wat er mass wi t h mean sal i ni t y of 7-8%o. Due to i nt ensi ve
mi xi ng a vert i cal sal i ni t y gr adi ent is weak (i f any) in the
coast al zone (OLEMN 1994). The aver age t emper at ur e of t he
i nshore wat ers vari es f r om - 0. 3 to 24 C duri ng a year
(AgMONTAS 1994), showi ng a t ypi cal bor eal seasonal pattern.
In J ul y- Augus t t he summer t er mocl i ne is f or med at t he
dept h of 20- 30 m (Koas~E~KO 1991), so near l y the ent i re
coast al zone is i nf l uenced by t he war m water, whi ch is situat-
ed above the t er mocl i ne. In wi nt er a fast ice al ong t he shore-
l i ne is nor mal phenomena; its wi dt h vari es f r om 20- 30 m to
several hundr ed met ers and its t hi ckness f r om 10-15 to
40- 50 cm. The i ce cover makes no vi si bl e damage to the ma-
ri ne bot t om fauna and per enni al r ed and br own macr oal gae,
si nce t hei r col oni es do not occur in t he upper most sandy part
of t he under wat er sl ope (see bel ow). Bei ng under per manent
i nf l uence of wi nds, waves and wat er current s t he area is
char act er i sed by ver y act i ve hydr odynami c, t herefore t here
is no oxygen def i ci ency and t he oxygen based gradi ent s in
di st r i but i on of biota. The zone of act i ve waves effect ext ends
down to 25- 30 m (GuDELIS 1993).
A mar i ne boundary o f the coas t al z o ne
The Li t huani an coast al zone is a compl ex l andform, whi ch
i ncl udes bot h t errest ri al and mar i ne (i nshore wat ers and an
under wat er sl ope) parts. The mar i ne (offshore) boundar y of
the coast al zone was det er mi ned at the dept h of 20- 30 m by
several hydr ol ogi cal , geomor phol ogi cal and bi ol ogi cal cri t e-
ria: 1) summer t er mocl i ne posi t i on, 2) l ower boundar y of
t he Curoni an Lagoon wat ers penet r at i on into t he Sea
(PUSTELNIKOV1990; JoKgaS 1995), 3) act i ve waves effect,
4) l ower l i mi t of di st ri but i on of t he coar se sandy- gr avel sed-
i ment s (PuSTELNIKOV 1990), 5) appr oxi mat e boundar y of
the euphot i c zone and l ower boundar y of bent hi c veget at i on
(OLENIN et al. 1996), 6) st eep decr ease (or compl et e di sap-
pear ance) of communi t i es of t he bi val ve mol l usc- f i l t r at or s
(OLENIN 1997).
Fact ors s hapi ng di ve r s i t y o f bent hi c bi ot ope s
i n the coas t al z o n e
Ther e are t wo physi cal fact ors, whi ch show di st i nct gradi -
ents i n t he coast al zone: t he bot t om subst rat e (1 - boul ders;
2 - pebbl es/ gr avel ; 3 - sands; 4 - mud) and wave exposur e
(1 - swash; 2 - surf; 3 - breakers; 4 - offshore zones); for de-
t ai l s see KARTER (1991) and GUDELIS (1993). Theor et i cal l y
t hese fact ors may be combi ned in a 4 x 4 mat ri x, showi ng
si xt een possi bl e combi nat i ons, l i ke: boul der s in t he swash
zone, boul ders in the breakers zone, sand in the surf zone,
sand in t he offshore zone, etc. Thi s mat r i x forms a "t em-
pl at e" for bi ot i c communi t i es, and each of t hem fi t s into a
cert ai n combi nat i on (a mat r i x cell). Some of combi nat i ons,
however, do not occur in nat ure: t here is no muddy sedi ment
in t he act i ve (swash, surf and br eaker s) hydr odynami c zones.
Fr om anot her side, some of t he bi ol ogi cal feat ures can suit to
mor e t han one of the mat r i x cel l s, for i nst ance: col oni es of
t he bar nacl e Balanus improvisus are charact eri st i c for bot h
boul der s and pebbl es/ gr avel in the breakers zone.
Di ve r s i t y and c ons e r vat i on val ue
o f bent hi c bi ot ope s
Ten bi ot opes were i dent i f i ed in t he coast al zone, whi ch show
a di st i ngui shabl e vert i cal zonat i on pat t ern (OLENIN 1994;
OL~NIN et al. 1996). Of t hem t he st ony bot t om bi ot ope wi t h
the red al gae Furcellaria lumbricalis in the offshore zone has
shown the hi ghest bi odi ver si t y at speci es l evel . It occur r ed at
the dept h f r om 4- 5 to 12- 14 m. The boul der s were cover ed
by dense (up to 800 g m -2) canopi es of F. lumbricalis. They
are r epor t ed as the best spawni ng subst rat e for the Bal t i c her-
ri ng Clupea harengus membras (GRAUMAN& LISHEVA
1990). Al so a wi de var i et y of faunal speci es occur r ed in this
bi ot ope, i ncl udi ng t he bl ue mussel Mytilus edulis, the bar na-
cl e B. improvisus, t he spongi an Electra crustulenta, seden:
t ary pol ychaet es, vari ous crust aceans, etc.: about 50 s peci es
in t ot al (up to 25 speci es per sampl e). For mal l y, this bi ot ope
shoul d have t he hi ghest conser vat i on val ue in compar i son to
t he ni ne others. However , t he whol e coast al zone represent s
an i ndi vi si bl e funct i onal i nt egri t y, and t he mosai c of habi t at s
(habi t at s di versi t y) is the mai n pr econdi t i on for mai nt ai ni ng
of its ri ch and di ver se l i vi ng resources.
Table 1. Classification of human-induced threats to the south-east-
em Baltic marine benthic biotopes and communities.
Scale Threat Evaluation
Global Increased frequency of storm events ++
Sea level rise ?
Global warming ?
Regional Eutrophication ++
Chemical pollution +
Invasion of exotic species ? (+)
Local Discharge of waste waters ++
Hydrotechnical constructions (++)
Oil spills + (++)
Disposal of dredged material ++
Overfishing ? (++)
Tourists impact on coastal habitats ? (+)
Amber mining by digging on the beaches +
+ Present, of low significance; ++ present, of high significance; ?
unclear, ( ) potential.
Li mnol ogi ca 29 (1999) 3 323
Present and pot ent i al threats to the area
An ant r opogeni c i mpact assessment on t he Bal t i c Sea coast al
wat ers was made i n a r ecent compr ehens i ve over vi ew ( HEL-
COM 1993). I n t hi s paper t he at t empt is made to cl assi f y t he
t hreat s i nt o gl obal , r egi onal ( basi n- wi de) and l ocal cat e-
gori es (Tabl e 1) wi t hout goi ng i nt o det ai l s about t hei r na-
t ur e/ or i gi n (physi cal , chemi cal , bi ol ogi cal , etc.).
Thi s cl assi f i cat i on is nei t her compl et e, nor exhaust i ve.
Howe ve r it gi ves an i dea about a l evel , at whi ch t he mea-
sures are to be under t aken i n or der to el i mi nat e (or mi ni mi s e)
a threat. It is especi al l y i mpor t ant si nce t he di f f er ent t hreat s
(or i mpact s) have a syner get i c effect. For i nst ance, t he i n-
creased f r equency of st or m event s dur i ng t wo r ecent decades
(KIRLYS 1990) t oget her wi t h t he decr eased - due to eut r ophi -
cat i on - euphor i c zone ( HELCOM 1993) have r esul t ed i n a
5- f ol d decl i ne i n t he Furcellaria st ock (OLENIN 1994).
Co n c l u s i o n
The habi t at di ver si t y is one of t he i mpor t ant bi odi ver si t y as-
pects. Due to ma n y r easons (pol i t i cal , economi cal , pur el y
t echni cal , etc.) t he sout h- east er n Bal t i c coast al wat ers have
been be yond i nt ens i ve mar i ne r esear ch for ma n y years. Now
t here is need to devel op t he cl assi f i cat i on of t he Bal t i c open
coast s and mar i ne bent hi c bi ot opes i n order to get t he f ul l
r ange of t he Bal t i c Sea habi t at di versi t y. Thi s is t he necessar y
pr econdi t i on as for sust ai nabl e devel opment of t he coast al
zone as for t he furt her deeper r esear ch on its f unct i oni ng.
Acknowl edgement s: Field studies in the south-eastern coastal
zone were supported by the WWF International Baltic Programme
and the Lithuanian Fishery Research Laboratory. I am grateful to F.
SCHWEIKERT and a team of the research yacht "Aldebaran" (Ger-
many) for fruitful co-operation performing underwater video survey
in 1993; to researchers and students of Klaip6da University for help
in collecting and analysing material.
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Aut hor ' s address: SERGEJ OLENIN, Coastal Research and Planning
Institute, Klaipgda University, H. Manto gat. 84, LT - 5808 Klaip6-
da, Lithuania; Fax: +370/398802; e-mail: s.olenin@samc.ku.lt.
324 Li mnol ogi c a 29 (1999) 3