Academic Scientific JournalsFirst record of the common sun star Crossaster papposus (L., 1767) in the Baltic Sea in over 100 years
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.26881/oandhs-2022.2.02Keywords:
Crossaster papposus, Fehmarn Belt, protected species, monitoring data, underwater imaging approachAbstract
The rare in the German North and Baltic Sea waters and strictly protected sea star Crossaster papposus was found in 2019 and 2021 during monitoring activities in a marine protected area. This unique observation was achieved by using towed camera platform imagery along a transect in the Fehmarn Belt, which allows monitoring of a much larger area of the seafloor compared to traditional invasive grab and dredge sampling. The last time C. papposus was documented in this area was in 1871, indicating the rarity of this species in the Baltic Sea. Possible explanations for such rare records of the occurrence of this presumably native species in the study region are briefly discussed, including uncommon survival due to salinity conditions caused by prior inflows of saline water from the North Sea.
Downloads
References
BArtSchV (German Federal Ordinance on the Conservation of Species). (2005). Ordinance on the protection of wild fauna and flora - Annex 1 (to § 1). Federal Law Gazette 1, Germany. (In German)
Beisiegel, K., Darr, A., Gogina, M., & Zettler, M. L. (2017). Benefits and shortcomings of non-destructive benthic imagery for monitoring hard-bottom habitats. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 121(1-2), 5–15. https://doi.org/10.1016/j. marpolbul.2017.04.009 PMID:28502451.
BfN (Federal Agency for Nature Conservation) (Ed.). (2020). Marine protected areas in the German exclusive economic zone of the Baltic Sea - description and status assessment. BfN-Skripten 553: 497 pp. (In German) https://www.bfn.de/fileadmin/BfN/service/Dokumente/skripten/Skript553.pdf.
Carlson, H. R., & Pfister, C. A. (1999). A seventeen-year study of the rose star Crossaster papposus population in a coastal bay in southeast Alaska. Marine Biology, 133(2), 223–230. https://doi.org/10.1007/s002270050461.
Clark, A. M., & Downey, M. E. (1992). Starfishes of the Atlantic. Chapman & Hall.
de Kluijver, M. J. (1991). Sublittoral hard substrate communities off Helgoland. Helgoländer Meeresuntersuchungen, 45, 317–344. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02365523.
Diesing, M., & Schwarzer, K. (2006). Identification of submarine hard-bottom substrates in the German North Sea and Baltic Sea EEZ with high-resolution acoustic seafloor imaging. In von Nordheim H., Boedeker D., Krause J.C. (eds), Progress in Marine Conservation in Europe (111-125). Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/3-540-33291-X_7.
Djakonov, A. M. (1950). Sea stars (Asteroids) of the seas of the USSR. [In Russian]. Keys to the Fauna of the USSR, 34, 3–199.
Gaymer, C. F., Dutil, C., & Himmelman, J. H. (2004). Prey selection and predatory impact of four major sea stars on a soft bottom subtidal community. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology, 313(2), 353–374. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jembe.2004.08.022.
Gonschior, H. (2016). Littorina-Research Cruise L16-10: Chief Scientist Report – FK Littorina Kattegat 13. -17. Juni 2016. Kiel, Germany: GEOMAR. http://oceanrep.geomar.de/id/ eprint/33156.
Grainger, E. H. (1966). Sea stars (Echinodermata: Asteroidea) of arctic North America. Fisheries Research Board of Canada, 152, 1–70.
Harms, J. (1993). Check list of species (algae, invertebrates and vertebrates) found in the vicinity of the island of helgoland (North Sea, German Bight) - a review of recent records. Helgoländer Meeresuntersuchungen, 47, 1–34. https://doi. org/10.1007/BF02366182.
Hayward, P. J., & Ryland, J. S. (Eds.). (1990). The marine fauna of the British Isles and North-West Europe: 1. Introduction and protozoans to arthropods. Oxford University Press.
Himmelman, J. H., & Dutil, C. (1991). Distribution, population structure and feeding of subtidal seastars in the northern Gulf of St Lawrence. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 76, 61– 72. https://doi.org/10.3354/meps076061.
Lambert, P. (1981). The sea stars of British Columbia (Handbook 3). British Columbia Provincial Museum.
Möbius, K. (1873). The invertebrates of the Baltic Sea (Die wirbellosen Thiere der Ostsee). [In German]. Bericht Der Commission Zur Wissenschaftlichen Untersuchung Der Deutschen Meere, 1, 97–144.
Mohrholz, V. (2018). Major Baltic inflow statistics - Revised. Frontiers in Marine Science, 5, 384, 1–16. https://doi. org/10.3389/fmars.2018.00384.
Mortensen, T. (1927). Handbook of the Echinoderms of the British Isles. Oxford University Press. https://doi. org/10.5962/bhl.title.6841.
Naumann, M., Gräwe, U., Mohrholz, V., Kuss, J., Kanwischer, M., Feistel, S., Hand, I., Waniek, J. J., & Schulz-Bull, D. E. (2020). Hydrographichydrochemical assessment of the Baltic Sea 2019. Meereswiss. Ber., Warnemünde 114 (2020). https:// doi.org/doi:10.12754/msr-2020-0114.
Rachor, E., Bönsch, R., Boos, K., Gosselck, F., Grotjahn, M., Günther, C.-P., Gusky, M., Gutow, L., Heiber, W., Jantschik, P., Krieg, H. J., Krone, R., Nehmer, P., Reichert, K., Reiss, H., Schröder, A., Witt, J., & Zettler, M. L. (2013). Rote Liste und Artenliste der bodenlebenden wirbellosen Meerestiere. In N. Becker, H. Haupt, N. Hofbauer, G. Ludwig & S. Nehring (Eds.), Rote Liste gefährdeter Tiere, Pflanzen und Pilze Deutschlands Band 2: Meeresorganismen (Naturschutz und Biologische Vielfalt 70 (2)) (pp. 81–176). Münster, Germany:Landwirtschaftsverlag.
Ringvold, H., & Moum, T. (2020). On the genus Crossaster (Echinodermata: Asteroidea) and its distribution. PLoS One, 15(1), e0227223. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0227223 PMID:31910238.
Schiewer, U. (2008). Ecology of Baltic Coastal Waters. Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-73524-3.
Snoeijs-Leijonmalm, P., & Andrén, E. (2017). Why is the Baltic Sea so special to live in? In P. Snoeijs-Leijonmalm, H. Schubert, & T. Radziejewska (Eds.), Biological Oceanography of the Baltic Sea (pp. 23–84). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-0668-2_2.
Southward, E. C., & Campbell, A. C. (2006). Echinoderms: Keys and Notes for the Identification of British Species. Field Studies Council.
Telesh, I., Schubert, H., & Skarlato, S. (2013). Life in the salinity gradient: Discovering mechanisms behind a new biodiversity pattern. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science, 135, 317–327. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecss.2013.10.013.
Theede, H. (1996). Tiere. [In German]. In G. Rheinheimer (Ed.), Meereskunde der Ostsee (2nd ed., pp. 209–216). Springer.
Wilson, E. (2008). Crossaster papposus Common sun star. In Tyler-Walters, H. & Hiscock, K. (Eds.), Marine Life Information Network: Biology and Sensitivity Key Information Reviews.F Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom. https://www.marlin.ac.uk/species/ detail/1192.
Zettler, M. L., Karlsson, A., Kontula, T., Gruszka, P., Laine, A., Herkül, K., Schiele, K., Maximov, A., & Haldin, J. (2014). Biodiversity gradient in the Baltic Sea: A comprehensive inventory of macrozoobenthos data. Helgoland Marine Research, 68, 49–57. http://link.springer.com/ article/10.1007%2Fs10152-013-0368-x https://doi.org/10.1007/s10152-013-0368-x.
Zettler, M.L., Beermann, J., Dannheim, J., Ebbe, B., Grotjahn, M., Günther, C.P., Gusky, M., Kind, B., Kröncke, I., Kuhlenkamp, R., Orendt, C., Rachor, E., Schanz, A., Schröder, A., Schüler, L., Witt, J. 2018: An annotated checklist of macrozoobenthic species in German waters of the North and Baltic Seas. Helgoland Marine Research 72: 5 (10pp). https://doi. org/10.1186/s10152-018-0507-5.
