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Three-spined sticklebacks are intriguing fish. They have an elaborate breeding biology including 1) intense male breeding colouration that attracts females, 2) they are highly territorial and build nests, and 3) stickleback fathers are the ones taking care of eggs and fry. Outside the breeding season, they are social and live in large shoals that migrate between the open sea and the inner archipelago.
Sticklebacks also have an effect on the ecological status of coastal ecosystems through complex food web dynamics. Abundant populations of sticklebacks can control the abundance of smaller animals that graze on algae. Therefore, high abundance of sticklebacks is one reason for the increased problem with ephemeral algae in the Baltic Sea, as the sticklebacks feed on those organisms that control the biomass of annual filamentous algae. The big population size of sticklebacks again, is among others, caused by overfishing of mainly perch and pike that normally should control the abundance of smaller fish. This is a good example of how complicated the natural balance is and how far-reaching the consequences can be when the intricate balance of nature is disturbed. As the example shows, overfishing of top fish predators may through complex interactions have unexpected consequences, such as overgrowth of algae.
On this page, we publish every month a photograph aiming at introducing the Baltic Sea to people who are interested in the sea. Our aim is to show the seascapes and the species to the general public and to combine the footage with research data. This project is done in cooperation with Svenska kulturfonden and Tvärminne Zoological Station. ... Lue lisääPiilota teksti
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