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The Baltic Sea Alien Species Database is an interactive tool, which includes the following information retrieving options: DATABASE SEARCH, BALTIC SUB-REGIONS and SPECIES DIRECTORY. The information comprised in the Database comes from: a) members of the Baltic Marine Biologists Working Group on Non-indigenous Estuarine and Marine Organisms and other researchers involved in invasive biology studies; b) published papers, environmental reports, “grey literature”, Internet sites; c) the Database Questionnaire.

The Database

The Database contains following information: Taxon Phylum/division or class an alien plant or animal species belongs to. Ecofunctional group Major ecological/taxonomic groups (PHYTOPLANKTON, ZOOPLANKTON, BENTHIC macrofauna and FISHES) are subdivided according to their dominant feeding type: Phytoplankton includes AUTO-, HETERO- and MIXOTROPHS Zooplankton includes SUSPENSION FEEDERS and PREDATORS Benthic macrofauna comprises SUSPENSION- and DEPOSIT FEEDERS, OMNIVORES, NECTOBENTHIC organisms and WOOD-BORERS Fishes are divided into PHYTOPHAGOUS, PLANKTIVOROUS, BENTHOPHAGOUS and PREDACIOUS ones. Such groups as MACROPHYTES, INVERTEBRATE PARASITES, BIRDS and MAMMALS presently are distinguished without division into sub-groups. Origin Known or probable donor area. Vector of introduction Known (1) or probable (2) way of species introduction into the Baltic Sea: 1) intentional introduction for STOCKING and/or ORNAMENTAL purposes; 2) unintentional introductions by SHIPPING (incl. ballast water of ships, boat hulls, rafts and flotsam moved via inland canals) or ASSOCIATED with aquaculture. The category “UNKNOWN” is applied if no one of the above vectors is thought to be relevant. Year of the first observation Year of the first observation in the Baltic Sea. Records marked by asterisk (*) indicate that only the decade of introduction (sometimes even the century) is known; “0” means unknown time of introduction. Ecological impact Known or likely impact on native biodiversity and ecosystem functioning: COMPETITION for food and/or space, HABITAT CHANGE, new FOOD-PREY for native species, PREDATION on native species, HERBIVORY, HYBRIDIZATION with native populations, PARASITISM, TOXICITY = excretion of phytotoxins, COMMUNITY DOMINANCE = quantitative changes in community structure, BENTIC-PELAGIC INTERACTION = new linkages between benthic and pelagic environment, BIOACCUMULATION = storage of toxic substances. Impacts on uses / resources Known or likely impact on HUMAN HEALTH and uses of the sea/natural resources: AQUACULTURE, AQUATIC TRANSPORT, FISHERIES, TOURISM, WATER ABSTRACTIONS and WATER QUALITY. Status Data on species establishment in the Baltic Sea or adjacent freshwater bodies: ESTABLISHED, NOT ESTABLISHED or STATUS UNKNOWN. Salinity range Data on species salinity ranges in the Baltic Sea and in the native region. The salinity intervals are distinguished accordingly to the Venice system: Linmetic <0.5 PSU ß-Oligohaline 0.5-3 PSU a-Oligohaline 3-5 PSU ß-Mesohaline 5-10 PSU a-Mesohaline 10-18 PSU Polymixohaline 18-30 PSU Euhaline 30-40 PSU Hyperhaline >40 PSU Baltic sub-regions Summary on alien species in the sub-regions of the Baltic Sea. References Bibliographic descriptions of all information sources used in the Database.

Database Search

Database Search option is a direct way to retrieve information according to the following features: TAXON, ECOFUNCTIONAL GROUP, ORIGIN, VECTOR OF INTRODUCTION, YEAR OF THE FIRST OBSERVATION, SALINITY RANGE IN THE BALTIC SEA, SALINITY RANGE IN NATIVE REGIONS, ECOLOGICAL IMPACT, IMPACTS ON USES / RESOURCES and STATUS. The search procedure includes 2 main steps and an additional, third step. Step 1: DATABASE SEARCH FORM It allows retrieving data by a single feature (i.e. by TAXON) or by combined features (i.e. TAXON and ORIGIN and ECOLOGICAL IMPACT). Use the Ctrl button for multiply selection of items within any feature. For instance, if you want to know which alien species belong to Crustacea and Mollusca you should choose these groups in TAXON using Ctrl button. If you want to know which of these Crustacea and Mollusca species originate from North America and Ponto-Caspian region you should choose these regions in ORIGIN (again, using Ctrl button). After the requested features have been selected, press the SEARCH button to proceed to the next step. Step 2: SEARCH RESULTS The Database will retrieve a list of alien species, which meet the selected criteria (i.e. species, which belong to Mollusca and originate from North America) as well as other information related to these species. Links to individual species entries and relevant references are available. If you want to confine SEARCH RESULTS for the species listed, then please mark the individual species and features you are interested in. Press CONFINE SEARCH RESULTS button to proceed to the next step. Step 3: CONFINED SEARCH RESULTS The Database will retrieve a list of the selected species and relevant information according to the marked features. Links to individual species entries and relevant references are available. Pressing buttons NEW SEARCH and BACK TO SEARCH RESULTS may repeat steps 1 and 2, respectively.

Species Directory

This page contains individual species entries. An entry comprises the taxonomy of a species and available comments, complementing and specifying the Database features (year of introduction, ecological impact, etc). Fore some species additional information on species synonyms and common names, identification, life history, rate of spread and methods involved, useful links to other Internet sources, etc. is also included.

Baltic Sub-Regions

The Baltic Sea is subdivided into several sub-regions according to their physical-geographical characteristics, major invasive corridors and available information on alien species. It is planned that in the future the Database will include more sub-regions, as new data will appear. Baltic Sub-regions might be selected from the list or by clicking the corresponding area on the interactive map. Each sub-region window will contain summary on environmental conditions and invasion history as well as data retrieved from the Database: the total number of alien species found in this sub-region; lists of introduction vectors involved, donor areas, ecological impacts, impacts on uses/resources as well as the numbers of species relevant to each of these features. Further you can click on the numbers and retrieve a list of relevant species and features as in SEARCH RESULTS (see DATABASE SEARCH option above).

Feedback

This page contains feedback remarks and comments from our guests.

Research Network

This page contains information on the BMB WG NEMO activity, its members and links to partner web sites.

References

This page comprises bibliographic descriptions of all information sources used in the Database. It should be noted that this list is not an exhaustive bibliography on the Baltic Sea alien species (otherwise it would include hundreds, or may be, thousands of titles).