We describe the effect of gelatinous plankton – Aurelia aurita and invaders Mnemiopsis leidyi and Beroe ovata – on fish (eggs, larvae, feeding, and stocks) in the Black Sea and Sea of Azov, based on field data and the relevant literature. Representatives of three ecological groups of fish were chosen as examples: planktivorous anchovy typical of warm-water conditions, planktivorous sprat of tem...

Phycotoxins produced by various species of toxigenic microalgae occurring in the plankton are a global threat to the security of seafood resources and the health of humans and coastal marine ecosystems. This has necessitated the development and application of advanced methods in liquid chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (LC-MS) for monitoring of these compounds, particularly in plankto...

Red-billed gulls (Lams scupzdinus) and southern black-backed gulls (Lams dominicams) exploited a large and highly visible food source provided by beaching of euphausiids (Nyctiphanes australis) and galatheid crab larvae (Munida gregaria) in Otago Harbor. The plankton strandings occurred predominantly in summer, and provided a food source of -270 t dry weigh1 over 170 d along 12 km of shoreline....

Increasing concentrations of atmospheric carbon dioxide are projected to lead to an increase in sea surface temperatures, potentially impacting marine ecosystems and biogeochemical cycling. Here we conducted an indoor mesocosm experiment with a natural plankton community taken from the Baltic Sea in summer. We induced a plankton bloom via nutrient addition and followed the dynamics of the diffe...

Unprecedented basin-scale ecological changes are occurring in our seas. As temperature and carbon dioxide concentrations increase, the extent of sea ice is decreasing, stratification and nutrient regimes are changing and pH is decreasing. These unparalleled changes present new challenges for managing our seas, as we are only just beginning to understand the ecological manifestations of these cl...

Unprecedented basin-scale ecological changes are occurring in our seas. As temperature and carbon dioxide concentrations increase, the extent of sea ice is decreasing, stratification and nutrient regimes are changing and pH is decreasing. These unparalleled changes present new challenges for managing our seas, as we are only just beginning to understand the ecological manifestations of these cl...