Ecological network indicators of ecosystem status and change in the Baltic Sea

Maciej T Tomczak, Johanna J Heymans, Johanna Yletyinen, Susa Niiranen, Saskia Otto, Thorsten Blenckner

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

67 Citations (Scopus)
64 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

Several marine ecosystems under anthropogenic pressure have experienced shifts from one ecological state to another. In the central Baltic Sea, the regime shift of the 1980s has been associated with food-web reorganization and redirection of
energy flow pathways. These long-term dynamics from 1974 to 2006 have been simulated here using a food-web model forced by climate and fishing. Ecological network analysis was performed to calculate indices of ecosystem change. The
model replicated the regime shift. The analyses of indicators suggested that the system¿s resilience was higher prior to 1988 and lower thereafter. The ecosystem topology also changed from a web-like structure to a linearized food-web.
Original languageEnglish
Number of pages11
JournalPLoS ONE
Volume8
Issue number10
Early online date8 Oct 2013
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 8 Oct 2013

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