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BINPAS in use
Aleksas Narščius, 2011-01-12
Aleksas Narščius, 2011-01-12
New publications are available. Last updated: 2011-01-05.
Zaiko A., Lehtiniemi M., Narščius A., Olenin S. 2011. Assessment of bioinvasion impacts on a regional scale: a comparative approach. Biol Invasions. DOI 10.1007/s10530-010-9928-z
This paper presents an overall bioinvasion impact assessment on the scale of a large marine region—the Baltic Sea, as defined by the Helsinki Commission. The methodology is based on a classification of the abundance and distribution range of alien species and the magnitude of their impacts on native communities, habitats and ecosystem functioning aggregated in a ‘‘Biopollution Level’’ index (BPL) which ranges from ‘no impact’ (BPL = 0) to ‘massive impact’ (BPL = 4). The assessment performed for nine Baltic sub-regions revealed that documented ecological impact is only known for 43 alien species out of 119 registered in the Sea. The highest biopollution (BPL = 3, strong impact) occurs in coastal lagoons, inlets and gulfs, and the moderate biopollution (BPL = 2)—in the open sea areas. The methodology was also used to classify species into alien (BPL = 0) versus ‘impacting’ species (BPL[0), which can be divided into ‘potentially invasive’ (BPL = 1) and ‘invasive’ (BPL[1) ones. No clear correlation between the number of established alien and impacting species was found in the sub-regions of the Baltic Sea. The methodology, although requiring a substantial research effort, proved to be useful for interregional comparisons and evaluating the bioinvasion effects of individual alien species.
Olenina, I., Wasmund, N., Hajdu, S., Jurgensone, I., Gromisz, S., Kownacka, J., Toming, K., Vaiciute, D., Olenin, S. 2010. Assessing impacts of invasive phytoplankton: The Baltic Sea case. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 60, 1691–1700. Click here to view used data.
There is an increasing understanding and requirement to take into account the effects of invasive alien species (IAS) in environmental quality assessments. While IAS are listed amongst the most important factors threatening marine biodiversity, information on their impacts remains unquantified, especially for phytoplankton species. This study attempts to assess the impacts of invasive alien phytoplankton in the Baltic Sea during 1980 to 2008. A bioinvasion impact assessment method (BPL – biopollution level index) was applied to phytoplankton monitoring data collected from eleven sub-regions of the Baltic Sea. BPL takes into account abundance and distribution range of an alien species and the magnitude of the impact on native communities, habitats and ecosystem functioning. Of the twelve alien/cryptogenic phytoplankton species recorded in the Baltic Sea only one (the dinoflagellate Prorocentrum minimum) was categorized as an IAS, causing a recognizable environmental effect.
Zaiko A., Lehtiniemi M., Narščius A., Olenin S. 2011. Assessment of bioinvasion impacts on a regional scale: a comparative approach. Biol Invasions. DOI 10.1007/s10530-010-9928-z
This paper presents an overall bioinvasion impact assessment on the scale of a large marine region—the Baltic Sea, as defined by the Helsinki Commission. The methodology is based on a classification of the abundance and distribution range of alien species and the magnitude of their impacts on native communities, habitats and ecosystem functioning aggregated in a ‘‘Biopollution Level’’ index (BPL) which ranges from ‘no impact’ (BPL = 0) to ‘massive impact’ (BPL = 4). The assessment performed for nine Baltic sub-regions revealed that documented ecological impact is only known for 43 alien species out of 119 registered in the Sea. The highest biopollution (BPL = 3, strong impact) occurs in coastal lagoons, inlets and gulfs, and the moderate biopollution (BPL = 2)—in the open sea areas. The methodology was also used to classify species into alien (BPL = 0) versus ‘impacting’ species (BPL[0), which can be divided into ‘potentially invasive’ (BPL = 1) and ‘invasive’ (BPL[1) ones. No clear correlation between the number of established alien and impacting species was found in the sub-regions of the Baltic Sea. The methodology, although requiring a substantial research effort, proved to be useful for interregional comparisons and evaluating the bioinvasion effects of individual alien species.
Olenina, I., Wasmund, N., Hajdu, S., Jurgensone, I., Gromisz, S., Kownacka, J., Toming, K., Vaiciute, D., Olenin, S. 2010. Assessing impacts of invasive phytoplankton: The Baltic Sea case. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 60, 1691–1700. Click here to view used data.
There is an increasing understanding and requirement to take into account the effects of invasive alien species (IAS) in environmental quality assessments. While IAS are listed amongst the most important factors threatening marine biodiversity, information on their impacts remains unquantified, especially for phytoplankton species. This study attempts to assess the impacts of invasive alien phytoplankton in the Baltic Sea during 1980 to 2008. A bioinvasion impact assessment method (BPL – biopollution level index) was applied to phytoplankton monitoring data collected from eleven sub-regions of the Baltic Sea. BPL takes into account abundance and distribution range of an alien species and the magnitude of the impact on native communities, habitats and ecosystem functioning. Of the twelve alien/cryptogenic phytoplankton species recorded in the Baltic Sea only one (the dinoflagellate Prorocentrum minimum) was categorized as an IAS, causing a recognizable environmental effect.
BINPAS cited
Project team meeting
New version of BINPAS will be released by the beginning of 2011. It will be based on the results of project team meeting and feedback of the users.