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HELCOM to publish a comprehensive checklist of Baltic Sea species
Put a Check in front of the Checklist
In 2009, HELCOM was tasked with creating a comprehensive Red List of Baltic Sea species showing which ones are under threat of extinction. In order to do this another question had to be answered first: which species can be found in the Baltic Sea to start with?
To answer this question, expert teams on macrophytes, benthic invertebrates, fish and lamprey species, water birds and marine mammals took on a Herculean task: to prepare checklists covering the entire Baltic Sea. This unique Checklist is now being polished up for release.
What lies beneath?
To date, most checklists have concentrated on a particular group of species, usually those belonging to a specific family or order, found in a defined region, most commonly within national borders.
“The HELCOM checklist of Baltic Sea species goes further than other existing lists in that it aims to cover all macro-species simultaneously and the Baltic Sea in its entirety. In this sense the HELCOM checklist is unique,” says Jannica Haldin, RED LIST Project Coordinator from HELCOM.
The HELCOM Checklist contains a staggering 2732 species. The majority, altogether 1898 species, belong to the benthic invertebrate group (figure 1). Of the remaining 834 species, macrophytes, vascular plants and bryophytes make up a substantial proportion, followed by the fish and lamprey group. The bird checklist focuses on birds breeding in the Baltic and so contains relatively few species compared to the overall number of species that can be found in or around the Baltic Sea. The Baltic Sea does not support a very large mammalian fauna but all five Baltic marine mammals, the harbour porpoise, grey, ringed and harbour seal, as well as the otter, are included in the list.
A clear trend in biodiversity can be seen for all groups, where the amount of species located in an area decreases on a south to north gradient (figure 2). An exception to this rule is the Gulf of Finland where the steep salinity gradient and shallow waters provide a varied living environment with influx of freshwater species and insect larvae from the River Neva estuary.
It is important to note the fact that the inclusion of a species on the HELCOM checklist does not automatically mean it is present in the Baltic Sea today. The period used for the checklist is the last 200 years and some observations are historical. The only way to confirm the current presence of a species is to undertake new inventories in the area of its previous occurrence.
What is a checklist?
Checklists have a longstanding tradition stretching back to the early naturalists. The list functions as a living document; species being added or, in some cases, removed as time passes and new species are discovered or established species become extinct. As science progresses there are also changes in taxonomy, especially following the major advances in genetic research and species are merged or separated. All of this information is added to the checklists and enables researchers to track the occurrence of a species through historic literature.
”I’m very happy that the project has resulted in a much needed checklist, and hope that it will be of use for all working with the Baltic Sea. We hope that the checklist will generate more data and knowledge about the Baltic Sea invertebrate fauna in the future,” says Anna Karlsson, HELCOM RED LIST project chair.
“I wish to highlight that the list will assist in the continuous and persistent efforts in implementing the Baltic Sea Action Plan. Many things have been set into a good start since 2007 and continuous monitoring will guarantee the best results in ensuring thriving and balanced communities of plants and animals,” says Maria Laamanen, Professional Secretary from HELCOM.
The purpose of the HELCOM checklist is to compile information on taxonomic group, scientific name and author, synonyms, a minimum of one valid taxon code in global taxonomic databases or other taxonomic reference, geographic distribution data and a minimum of one reference confirming the occurrence (historic and/or present) of the species in the Baltic Sea. Sub-basins have been used in order to make the checklist more exact when presenting the distributional data.
I want one!
The Checklist can soon be found free for downloading on the HELCOM webpage. It will be a part of the Baltic Sea Environment Proceedings series, and can be found both in the form of a printable PDF and a digital checklist in the form of a spread sheet.
In order to maximise the effectiveness of the Checklist there will be an initial period for public stakeholder review 1 March-1 April 2012 during which the wider scientific community is invited to supply comments and suggestions. All comments should be sent to Project Coordinator Ms. Jannica Haldin at the HELCOM Secretariat. After this the spread sheet will be kept up to date by a regular review at a minimum of every three years. New data will be included as they become available and changes in taxonomy and distribution will be recorded. The digital checklist will contain a log of the updates made to the checklist since its original publication and the date on the downloaded file will indicate the date of the last update.
After the initial review period, suggestions, changes or additions to the Checklist are still warmly welcomed and should be sent to the HELCOM Secretariat, after which their validity will be reviewed by expert teams. Anyone wishing to make sure they are part of the review process is kindly asked to send their e-mail information to the project coordinator on the address: jannica.haldin@helcom.fi.
