Anna Törnroos

Åbo Akademi University · Department of Biosciences

Non-indigenous species (NIS) pose a major threat to biodiversity and the structure and functioning of ecosystems worldwide. However, our understanding of the underlying assembly processes acting on NIS, as well as the relationship with native species is limited, especially in marine ecosystems. To overcome this knowledge gap we here developed a tra...

Marine benthic habitats in continental shelf regions are increasingly impacted by hypoxia caused by the combination of eutrophication and climate warming. Many regions that have the potential for hypoxic conditions are being fished by mobile bottom-contacting fishing gears. The combined effects of trawling and hypoxia may be synergistic and disprop...

Abstract Biological traits analysis (BTA) links community structure to both ecological functions and response to environmental drivers through species’ attributes. In consequence, it has become a popular approach in marine benthic studies. However, BTA will reach a dead end if the scientific community does not acknowledge its current shortcomings a...

This article expands the discussion of Baltic Sea environmental governance by examining the implications of climate change on governance. It scrutinizes the physical challenges posed by climate change and analyses how the existing governing system can meet these challenges. The findings indicate that the present governing system is limited and cann...

The physical impact of bottom towed fishing gears does not only reduce the abundance and biomass of species, but also alter the overall species composition and, through this, the functioning of benthic communities. The vulnerability of a species is determined by its individual combination of morphological, behavioural and life history traits. In tu...

Mineral deposits containing commercially exploit-able metals are of interest for seabed mineral extraction in both the deep sea and shallow sea areas. However, the development of seafloor mining is underpinned by high uncertainties on the implementation of the activities and their consequences for the environment. To avoid unbridled expansion of ma...

This experimental field study provides first insights into the impact of a widely spread non-native fish species, round goby Neogobius melanostomus (Pallas 1814), on the diversity of native epifaunal macroinvertebrate communities in the Baltic Sea. A cage experiment was conducted in a macrophyte habitat in the Åland islands located in the northern...

Seabed mining is approaching the commercial mining phase across the world's oceans. This rapid industrialization of seabed resource use is introducing new pressures to marine environments. The environmental impacts of such pressures should be carefully evaluated prior to permitting new activities, yet observational data is mostly missing. Here, we...

The vulnerability to trawling on a species level is determined by a species' individual combination of biological traits that is related to the ecosystem functions. Trait-based indices of physical resistance RI and reproductive potential RPI were developed and combined into an overall vulnerability index on a species level, the RRI or Resistance an...

Throughout much of the world's oceans, life is organized around seasonal cycles of feast and famine. Here we seek to understand the life-history strategies by which marine organisms contend with seasonal variations through a range of adaptations and traits, including overwintering stages, dormancy, investment in reserves, and migration. Our perspec...

The aim of this study was to examine how the presence of a predator and an interspecific competitor influence the habitat use of adult perch (Perca fluviatilis; size: 15.1 ± 0.5 cm) when given the choice between two adjacent habitats. By means of aquarium experiments, the habitat occupancy of P. fluviatilis was documented in presence and absence of...

Benthic animals, such as mussels, crabs and worms, have major effects on the ecology, function and services of marine ecosystems. With their overwhelming biodiversity, they create diverse living habitats for other marine organisms, occupy a key link in marine foodwebs and participate in biogeochemical flows. However, one of the great scientific cha...

Bottom trawling disturbance and hypoxia are affecting marine benthic habitats worldwide. We present an approach to predict their effects on benthic communities, and use the approach to estimate the state, the biomass relative to carrying capacity, of the Baltic Sea at the local, habitat, and regional scale. Responses to both pressures are expected...

Coastal habitats are used by a great variety of organisms during some or all stages of their life cycle. When assessing the link between biological communities and their environment, most studies focus on environmental gradients, whereas the comparison between multiple habitats is rarely considered. Consequently, trait-based aspects of biodiversity...

The rate at which biological diversity is altered on both land and in the sea, makes temporal community development a critical and fundamental part of understanding global change. With advancements in trait‐based approaches, the focus on the impact of temporal change has shifted towards its potential effects on the functioning of the ecosystems. Ou...

One of the major causes of heterogeneity on the seabed is the biology. The presence of organisms creates voids and frameworks within and on the sediment, and their behavior may layer or sort the entire seafloor. Making use of the biological information would be powerful for improving acoustics. Likewise, embracing, to a greater degree, acoustic tec...

Identification and quantification of pressure‐state links of biodiversity indicators is one of the major scientific challenges ahead. This task aimed at identifying and quantifying the pressure-state links of selected biodiversity indicators, their relevance and response to management measures. Relevant indicators have been selected based on their...

As the world’s social-environmental problems increasingly extend across boundaries, both disciplinary and political, there is a growing need for interdisciplinarity, not only in research per se, but also in doctoral education. We present the common pitfalls of interdisciplinary research in doctoral education, illustrating approaches towards solutio...

One of the major causes of heterogeneity on the seabed is the biology. The presence of organisms creates voids and frameworks within and on the sediment, and their behavior may layer or sort the entire seafloor. Making use of the biological information would be powerful for improving acoustics. Likewise, embracing, to a greater degree, acoustic tec...

The deliverable shed light on the direct and indirect food-web effects of increasing abundance and expanding ranges of certain invasive non-indigenous species on native populations and ecosystem functioning. The results support predictions about impact of invasive and non-indigenous species performed in WP3 and WP4. Focus was given on the invasive...

Benthic-pelagic coupling is manifested as the exchange of energy, mass, or nutrients between benthic and pelagic habitats. It plays a prominent role in aquatic ecosystems and it is crucial to functions from nutrient cycling to energy transfer in food webs. Coastal and estuarine ecosystem structure and function is strongly affected by anthropogenic...

The presence and survival of the species in a community depend on their abilities to maximize fitness in a given environment. The study of the processes that control survival and co-existence, termed ‘assembly rules’, follows various mechanisms, primarily related to biotic or abiotic factors. To determine assembly rules, ecological similarities of...

Oceans are exposed to anthropogenic climate change shifting marine systems toward potential instabilities. The physical, biological and social implications of such shifts can be assessed within individual scientific disciplines, but can only be fully under- stood by combining knowledge and expertise across disciplines. For climate change related pr...

Identifying resource use and functional traits of non-indigenous species are promising means to increase the ability to predict ecological consequences of invasions. One of the most widely spread brachyuran crab species, and a recent invader in the northern Baltic Sea, is the North American Harris mud crab, Rhithropanopeus harrisii (Gould, 1841). A...

This report presents a brief overview of ecologically or economically important species of different habitats and trophic levels in the Baltic. It supplies the modeling groups within BIO C3 with species specific information on environmental tolerances and preferences and identifies some gaps in knowledge. Where possible, information was provided...

To understand the consequences of changes in diversity we need to consider the functional characteristics (traits) of species, as well as the trophic setting the taxa are part of. These two approaches have rarely been conducted in an integrated manner, although we know that trophic structure is an important driver of community functioning, and that...

Coastal areas harbour high biodiversity, but are simultaneously affected by rapid degradations of species and habitats due to human interactions. Such alterations also affect the functioning of the ecosystem, which is primarily governed by the characteristics or traits expressed by the organisms present. Marine benthic fauna is nvolved in numerous...

Due to human impact, there is extensive degradation and loss of marine habitats, which calls for measures that incorporate taxonomic as well as functional and trophic aspects of biodiversity. Since such data is less easily quantifiable in nature, the use of habitats as surrogates or proxies for biodiversity is on the rise in marine conservation and...

Studies focusing on the linkage between numerical and functional trait diversity frequently consider functional diversity indices but rarely evaluate them empirically or evaluate the use of other than continuous traits such as body size. Here, we present an extensive compilation on functional knowledge of benthic macrofauna using the categorical tr...

The EC Water Frame Directive (WFD) states that all coastal water bodies must achieve ‘good ecological status’ by the year 2015. A range of different classification methods have been developed and used to define ecological status to support the WFD. The aim of this study was to compare the effects of using two different mesh sizes of sieve (1.0 and...

Seagrass meadows harbour diverse faunal assemblages, but the relative importance of landscapes attributes, settlement processes and biological traits of individual species for recruitment patterns is poorly understood. To quantify the influence of habitat heterogeneity on larval, juvenile and adult post-larval dispersal, invertebrates (N125 μm) wer...