Studies on Baltic Sea mysids

Mysid shrimps (Mysidacea, Crustacea) are efficient zooplanktivores in both marine and freshwater systems as well as lipid rich prey for many species of fish. Although some efforts have been made to study the role of mysids in the Baltic Sea, very few studies have been carried out in recent time and there are still knowledge gaps regarding various aspects of mysid ecology. This thesis aims to explore some of these gaps by covering a mixture of topics. Using multifrequency hydroacoustics we explored the possibility to separate mysids from fish echoes and successfully established a promising and effective method for obtaining mysid abundance/biomass estimates (paper I). An investigation of the current mysid community in a coastal area of the northern Baltic proper (paper II) demonstrated that the formerly dominant, pelagic mysid Mysis mixta had decreased substantially (~50%) in favor for phytoplanktivorous, juvenile Neomysis integer and Mysis relicta sp. By examining different aspects of mysid behavior, we studied the vertical size distribution of mysids in the field and found that size increased with depth/declining light, irrespective of temperature; indicating that their vertical size distribution primarily is a response to predation (paper II). In paper III, a combination of ecological and genetic markers was used to investigate intraspecific differences in migratory tendency. Both marker types indicated that some part of the Mysis salemaai population is sedentary on the bottom and that this strategy is a phenotypically plastic but persistent trait, analogous to the partial migrations seen in many birds and fishes. In paper IV a temperature and weight specific respiration model was developed for the littoral Praunus flexuosus. Routine respiration was moreover elevated by post-prandial effects (specific dynamic action) for longer times than previously suggested. Consequently, ignoring such effects could significantly bias respiration measurements. At the time of doctoral defence the following papers were unpublished and had a status as follows: Paper 2: Accepted; Paper 3: Submitted; Paper 4: Accepte