A climate vulnerability assessment of the fish community in the Western Baltic Sea

Marine fisheries are increasingly impacted by climate change, affecting species distribution and productivity, and necessitating urgent adaptation efforts. Climate vulnerability assessments (CVA), integrating expert knowledge, are vital for identifying species that could thrive or suffer under chang...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Scientific reports Vol. 14; no. 1; pp. 16184 - 14
Main Authors:	Moll, Dorothee, Asmus, Harald, Blöcker, Alexandra, Böttcher, Uwe, Conradt, Jan, Färber, Leonie, Funk, Nicole, Funk, Steffen, Gutte, Helene, Hinrichsen, Hans-Harald, Kotterba, Paul, Krumme, Uwe, Madiraca, Frane, Meier, H. E. Markus, Meyer, Steffi, Moritz, Timo, Otto, Saskia A., Pinto, Guilherme, Polte, Patrick, Riekhof, Marie-Catherine, Sarrazin, Victoria, Scotti, Marco, Voss, Rudi, Winkler, Helmut, Möllmann, Christian
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	London Nature Publishing Group UK 13-07-2024 Nature Publishing Group Nature Portfolio
Subjects:	631/158 631/158/2165 631/158/2445 631/158/2446 631/158/670 631/158/672 631/158/853 Adaptation Animals Aquatic ecosystems Biodiversity Brackish ecosystems Climate Change Climate effects Climate vulnerability assessment Coastal ecosystems Commercial fishing Conservation of Natural Resources Denmark Ecosystem Endangered species Environmental changes Environmental conditions Eutrophication Fish Fish community Fisheries Fishes - physiology Fishing Freshwater ecosystems Geographical distribution Germany Humanities and Social Sciences Invasive species Life history Marine ecosystems Marine fish multidisciplinary Oceans and Seas Overfishing Science Science (multidisciplinary) Trait-based sensitivity Western Baltic Sea Denmark Germany Baltic Sea Western Baltic Sea Climate change Trait-based sensitivity Climate vulnerability assessment Fish community
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Summary:	Marine fisheries are increasingly impacted by climate change, affecting species distribution and productivity, and necessitating urgent adaptation efforts. Climate vulnerability assessments (CVA), integrating expert knowledge, are vital for identifying species that could thrive or suffer under changing environmental conditions. This study presents a first CVA for the Western Baltic Sea's fish community, a crucial fishing area for Denmark and Germany. Characterized by a unique mix of marine, brackish, and freshwater species, this coastal ecosystem faces significant changes due to the combined effects of overfishing, eutrophication and climate change. Our CVA involved a qualitative expert scoring of 22 fish species, assessing their sensitivity and exposure to climate change. Our study revealed a dichotomy in climate change vulnerability within the fish community of the Western Baltic Sea because traditional fishing targets cod and herring as well as other species with complex life histories are considered to face increased risks, whereas invasive or better adaptable species might thrive under changing conditions. Our findings hence demonstrate the complex interplay between life-history traits and climate change vulnerability in marine fish communities. Eventually, our study provides critical knowledge for the urgent development of tailored adaptation efforts addressing existing but especially future effects of climate change on fish and fisheries in the Western Baltic Sea, to navigate this endangered fisheries systems into a sustainable future.
Bibliography:	ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23
ISSN:	2045-2322 2045-2322
DOI:	10.1038/s41598-024-67029-2