Nitrogen-fixing cyanobacterial blooms worldwide have been shown to support production in primary consumers such as zooplankton and benthic invertebrates, but there have been few estimates on how much of the cyanobacterial nitrogen ends up in secondary consumers, such as fish. Using compound specific analysis of δ¹⁵N in amino acids (CSIA-AA), we have investigated if cyanobacterially fixed (diazotrophic) nitrogen (N) can be traced in higher trophic level organisms such as zooplankton and mysids, and observed in juvenile Atlantic herring (Clupea harengus). At the eutrophied station, the biovolume of N fixing cyanobacteria was higher than at the reference station and the autotrophic population was comprised of a higher proportion of cyanobacteria palatable to zooplankton. The δ¹⁵N ‰ of source amino acids in juvenile herring significantly decreased over the season at the eutrophied station. Bayesian mixing models were used to calculate the percent of diazotrophically-fixed N found in herring muscle tissue in relation to pre-bloom N, and results showed that herring at the eutrophied station had a higher percent (~34 %) of diazotrophically-fixed N in their muscle tissue than fish at the reference station (~18%). A significant relationship was found between the percentage diazotrophically-fixed N in herring muscle tissue and the biovolume of N fixing cyanobacteria in the environment two months prior to the capture date of the fish. This study adds to the mounting evidence that cyanobacteria blooms, a global occurrence, support production at higher trophic levels, including fish.

We have compared 16 years of fish catch data, primarily for perch (Perca fluviatilis) from two archipelago areas in the Baltic Sea, one strongly impacted by coastal development and the other a reference area. Comparisons were also done with five years of data from a third area, where the coastline is only modestly modified. In addition, data from a smaller study is included, in which one of the three areas is extremely impacted and probably without any natural shores left. There were no general differences in catches of perch between heavily developed and the much less impacted areas.

Diel vertical migration (DVM) is common in aquatic organisms. The trade-off between reduced predation risk in deeper, darker waters during the day and increased foraging opportunities closer to the surface at night is a leading hypothesis for DVM behaviour. Diel vertical migration behaviour has dominated research and assessment frameworks forMysis, an omnivorous mid-trophic level macroinvertebrate that exhibits strong DVM between benthic and pelagic habitats and plays key roles in many deep lake ecosystems. However, some historical literature and more recent evidence indicate that mysids also remain on the bottom at night, counter to expectations of DVM. We surveyed the freshwaterMysisliterature using Web of Science (WoS; 1945-2019) to quantify the frequency of studies on demographics, diets, and feeding experiments that considered, assessed, or includedMysisthat did not migrate vertically but remained in benthic habitats. We supplemented our WoS survey with literature searches for relevant papers published prior to 1945, journal articles and theses not listed in WoS, and additional references known to the authors but missing from WoS (e.g. only 47% of the papers used to evaluate in situ diets were identified by WoS). Results from the survey suggest that relatively little attention has been paid to the benthic components ofMysisecology. Moreover, the literature suggests that reliance onMysissampling protocols using pelagic gear at night provides an incomplete picture ofMysispopulations and their role in ecosystem structure and function. We summarise current knowledge ofMysisDVM and provide an expanded framework that more fully considers the role of benthic habitat. Acknowledging benthic habitat as an integral part ofMysisecology will enable research to better understand the role ofMysisin food web processes.

Perch (Perca fluviatilis) and roach (Rutilus rutilus) are among the more common coastal fish species in the Baltic Sea. They are often targeted in environment monitoring programs as well as in ecological research, in which knowledge of their basic biology, including migration and feeding ranges, are needed in the sampling design and for interpretation of data. Body condition (length-mass relationship) differences between stations separated by at most a few kilometres show that both species are reasonably sedentary even in areas without obvious migration barriers. Collecting representative samples, even from a reasonably small water body, may thus require careful planning.

The application of remote video technologies can provide alternative views of in situ behavior and distribution of aquatic organisms that might be missed with traditional net‐based techniques. We describe a remote benthic video camera system designed to quantify epibenthic density of the macroinvertebrate Mysis diluviana. We deployed the camera multiple times during the day and night at a 60‐m depth site in Lake Champlain and quantified Mysis density from the footage using basic methods and readily available software. Density estimates from the video were on average 43 times higher than concurrent estimates from benthic sled tows, suggesting sleds may be inefficient at sampling mysids. Deployment caused initial scattering of individuals, resulting in low densities immediately after deployment that slowly increased. On some occasions, Mysis densities on video fluctuated greatly over several hours, consistent with organisms that have a patchy distribution on the lake bottom. The camera system provided novel insights on behavior and distribution of Mysis on benthic habitats, demonstrating potential for use as a tool to study partial diel vertical migration and predator–prey interactions.

Seals and fish-eating birds have increased in the Baltic Sea and there is concern that they compete with fisheries. Using data from around year 2010, we compare consumption of different fish species by seals and birds to the catch in the commercial and recreational fishery. When applicable this is done at the geographical resolution of ICES subdivisions. Predation by birds and mammals likely has limited impact on the populations of the commercially most important species (herring, sprat, and cod). In the central and southern Baltic, seals and birds consume about as much flatfish as is caught by the fishery and competition is possible. Birds and seals consume 2-3 times as much coastal fish as is caught in the fishery. Many of these species are important to the fishery (e. g. perch and whitefish) and competition between wildlife and the fishery is likely, at least locally. Estimated wildlife consumption of pike, sea trout and pikeperch varies among ICES subdivisions and the degree of competition for these species may differ among areas. Competition between wildlife and fisheries need to be addressed in basic ecosystem research, management and conservation. This requires improved quantitative data on wildlife diets, abundances and fish production.

Mysids are known for benthic-pelagic diel vertical migration (DVM), where the population is benthic by day and pelagic by night. However, historical and recent observations in members of the Mysis relicta complex suggests populations exhibit partial DVM, with some remaining benthic at night. We used pelagic net and benthic sled tows to assess diel habitat use by Mysis diluviana at two stations (60 and 100 m deep) in Lake Champlain, USA, during June-November 2015. At both stations, mysids were on the bottom both day and night, but the extent of pelagic habitat use by Mysis varied by site depth. At 60-m, pelagic densities were an order of magnitude lower during the day compared to at night, indicative of benthic-pelagic DVM. Contrary to expectations, we found no diel difference between pelagic and benthic sled density estimates at 100-m, suggesting an equal number of Mysis are benthic day and night, and an equal number are pelagic-day and night at deeper sites. Mean body length of benthic-caught mysids was greater than pelagic-caught individuals, a pattern that was evident both day and night at 100-m. Our findings indicate Mysis partial DVM is common across seasons and influenced by body size and depth.

As discussions and debates are crucial to science, we appreciate the comments by Heikinheimo et al. (in press) on our article on competition for Baltic Sea fish resources between fishery and wildlife. We cannot see that the comments by Heikinheimo et al. changes the general conclusion derived in our original article—that there are cases of competition between wildlife and fisheries in the Baltic Sea, although not for all species and not to the same extent everywhere. Our responses are structured in the same order as the comments by Heikinheimo et al.

Using the widespread Eurasian perch Perca fluviatilis as a model organism, feeding ranges were investigated using stable-isotope ratios (N-15 and C-13) and body condition. Differences were found between closely located sampling sites in a littoral area without obvious migration barriers, indicating that individual fish had small feeding ranges. Body condition differences between sampled stations were consistent over 4 years. Such sedentary behaviour is important to consider in, e.g. fisheries management and environmental monitoring, as local catch regulations may be meaningful or geographic stability in sampling locations may reduce noise in data.

Partial migration, whereby only a portion of a population migrates, has just recently received attention in aquatic systems. Partial diel vertical migration (DVM) has received even less attention but could significantly influence our understanding of trophic interactions and nutrient movement in open water systems. Recent work in the Baltic Sea shows differences in isotope composition between benthic and pelagic Mysis salemaai sampled at night, suggesting that partial DVM may be fixed at the individual level. Historic observations of North American M. diluviana suggest partial DVMin this species, but this behavior has largely been ignored in the literature. We used length, occurrence of gravid females, and body delta C-13, delta N-15, delta S-34, and C:N ratio as markers to test for differences among adult M. diluviana collected from benthic and pelagic habitats at night in Lake Champlain, USA. We found differences in body length and occurrence of gravid females between pelagic- and benthic-caught M. diluviana and differences in C: N between pelagic-and benthic-caught non-gravid individuals, consistent with life stage and body condition hypotheses for partial migration. Partial DVM of M. diluviana could have significant impacts on population assessments which could bias food web models used in basic research and management.