Department of Fisheries Oceanography and Marine Ecology

About the department

The basic activity of the Department of Fisheries Oceanography and Marine Ecology is research in the South Baltic Sea area as well as its lagoons (Szczecin Lagoon, Vistula Lagoon) in:

• Biology, ecology and taxonomy of the following groups of organisms:
  • phytoplankton
  • zooplankton
  • ichthyoplankton
  • macrozoobenthos
  • meiobenthos
  • young fish
• Assessment of the state of fish food supplies;
• Mapping of marine and freshwater fish spawning areas;
• Examinations of fish larvae with the application of otolith microstructure;
• Ecology of the invasive species;
• Assessment of the marine environment condition with a particular attention paid to:
  • assessment of the size of biogenic components inflow to the Baltic Sea from various sources on the territories of Poland;
  • assessment of the level of marine environment pollution with antropogenic waste, with particular attention paid to microplastics.

Apart from the research work, the Department conducts the following expert activities:

• Complex biological studies of the marine environment, including the studies conducted in connection with the construction and operation of marine infrastructure (submarine installations, wind farms, hydrotechnical structures);
• Complex assessment of the impact of human activities and ventures conducted in the sea areas on the marine environment;
• Mapping of bottom habitats in marine areas;
• Defining natural determinants in spatial development plans of marine areas;
• Analyses of spatial data in the Geographic Information Systems (GIS);
• Ecological modelling.

Staff

List of selected, major projects implemented at the Department since 2010

List of selected, major publications of the Department since 2014

1. Piwosz K. 2019. Weekly dynamics of abundance and size structure of specific nanophytoplankton lineages in coastal waters (Baltic Sea). Limnol Oceanogr. doi:10.1002/lno.11177
2. Pawlikowski K., Kornijów R. 2019. Role of macrophytes in structuring littoral habitats in the Vistula Lagoon (southern Baltic Sea). Oceanologia 61. 26—37
   https://doi.org/10.1016/j.oceano.2018.05.003
3. Friedland, R., Schernewski, G., Gräwe, U., Greipsland, I., Palazzo, D., Pastuszak M. January 2019. Managing eutrophication in the Szczecin Lagoon  – development, present state and future perspectives. Frontiers in Marine Science – Marine Ecosystem Ecology. DOI 10.3389/fmars.2018.00521. Vol 5, Article 521
4. Field, R., Crawford, R., Enever, R., Linkowski, T., Martin, G., Morkūnas, J., Morkūnė, R., Rouxel, Y., Oppel, S., 2019.  High contrast panels and lights do not reduce bird bycatch in Baltic Sea gillnet fisheries. Global Ecology and Conservation , doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gecco.2019.e00602
5. Fey D.P., Jakubowska M., Greszkiewicz M., Andrulewicz E., Otremba Z., Urban-Malinga B. 2019. Are magnetic and electromagnetic fields of anthropogenic origin a potential threats to early life stages of fish? Aquatic Toxicology 209 (2019) 150–158 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aquatox.2019.01.023
6. Stankeviciute M, Jakubowska M., Pazusien˙e J, Makaras T, Otremba Z, Urban-Malinga B, Fey D.P., Greszkiewicz M, Sauliute G, Barsiene J, Andrulewicz E., 2019. Genotoxic and Cytotoxic Effects of 50 Hz 1 mT Electromagnetic Field on Larval Rainbow Trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss), Baltic Clam (Limecola balthica) and Common Ragworm (Hediste diversicolor), Aquatic Toxicology 208 (2019) 109–117 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aquatox.2018.12.023
7. Kornijów R., Markiyanova M. & Lange E. 2019. Feeding by two closely related species of Chironomus (Diptera: Chironomidae) in south Baltic lagoons, with implications for competitive interactions and resource partitioning. Aquatic Ecology. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10452-019-09691-7
8. Eero M., Hinrichsen H-H., Hjelm J., Huwer B., Hüssy K., Köster F.W., Margonski P., Plikshs M., Storr-Paulsen M., Zimmermann C. 2019. Designing spawning closures can be complicated: Experience from cod in the Baltic Sea. Ocean & Coastal Management 169, 129-136
9. Pastuszak M., Bryhn, A. C., Håkanson , L., Stålnacke, P.,  Zalewski, M., Wodzinowski , T. 2018. Reduction of nutrient emission from Polish territory into the Baltic Sea (1988-2014) confronted with real environmental needs and international requirements. Oceanological and Hydrobiological Studies, Vol 47, Issue 2, pp. 140-166
10. Pastuszak M., Kowalkowski, T., Kopiński, J.,  Doroszewski, A., Jurga, B., Buszewski, B. 2018. Long-term changes in nitrogen and phosphorus emission into the Vistula and Oder catchments. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, DOI 10.1007/s11356-018-2945-7, 25:29734-29751
11. Urban-Malinga B, T. Wodzinowski, B. Witalis, M. Zalewski, K. Radtke, W. Grygiel, 2018. Marine litter on the sea floor of the southern Baltic. Mar Poll Bull., 127: 612-617 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2017.12.052
12. Kornijów R., Pawlikowski K., Drgas A., Rolbiecki L., Rychter A. 2018. Mortality of post-settlement clams Rangia cuneata (Mactridae, Bivalvia) at an early stage of invasion in the Vistula Lagoon (South Baltic) due to biotic and abiotic factors. Hydrobiologia, 811: 207–219.  https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-017-3489-4
13. Kornijów, R. 2018. Ecosystem of the Polish part of the Vistula Lagoon from the perspective of alternative stable states concept, with implications for management issues. Oceanologia, 60:  390-404. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.oceano.2018.02.004
14. Reusch T. B. H., Dierking J., Andersson H. C., Bonsdorff E., Carstensen J., Casini M., Czajkowski M., Hasler B., Hinsby K., Hyytiäinen K., Johannesson K., Jomaa S., Jormalainen V., Kuosa H., Kurland S., Laikre L., MacKenzie B. R., Margonski P., Melzner F., Oesterwind D., Ojaveer H., Refsgaard J. C., Sandström A., Schwarz G., Tonderski K., Winder M., and Zandersen M. 2018. The Baltic Sea as a Time Machine for the Future Coastal Ocean. Science Advances, 4 (5)
15. Jaspers C., B. Huwer, E. Antajan, A. Hosia, H-H. Hinrichsen, A. Biastoch, D. Angel, R. Asmus, C. Augustin, S. Bagheri, S. E. Beggs, T. J. S. Balsby, M. Boersma, D. Bonnet,  J. T. Christensen, A. Dänhardt, F. Delpy, T. Falkenhaug, G. Finenko, N. E. C. Fleming, V. Fuentes, B. Galil, A. Gittenberger, D. C. Griffin, H. Haslob, J. Javidpour,  L. Kamburska, S. Kube, V. T. Langenberg, M. Lehtiniemi, F. Lombard, A. Malzahn, M. Marambio, V. Mihneva,  L. F. Møller, U. Niermann, M. I. Okyar, Z. B. Özdemir, S. Pitois, T. B. H. Reusch , J. Robbens, K. Stefanova, D. Thibault,  H. W. van der Veer, L. Vansteenbrugge, L. van Walraven, A. Woźniczka  2018. Ocean current connectivity propelling the secondary spread of a marine invasive comb jelly across western Eurasia. Global Ecol Biogeogr. 2018;00:1–14. https://doi.org/10.1111/geb.12742
16. Wasmund N., Kownacka J., Göbel J., Jaanus A., Johansen M., Jurgensone I., Lehtinen S. and Powilleit M. 2017. The Diatom/Dinoflagellate Index as an Indicator of Ecosystem Changes in the Baltic Sea 1. Principle and Handling Instruction. Front. Mar. Sci. 4:22. doi: 10.3389/fmars.2017.00022
17. Szczucka J, Hoppe Ł, Schmidt B, Fey D.P., 2017. Acoustical estimation of fish distribution and abundance in two Spitsbergen fjords, Oceanologia  59(4),585-591; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.oceano.2017.04.007
18. Köster, F. W., Huwer, B., Hinrichsen, H.-H., Neumann, V., Makarchouk, A., Eero, M., Dewitz, B. V., Hüssy, K., Tomkiewicz, J., Margonski, P., Temming, A., Hermann, J-P., Oesterwind, D., Dierking, J., Kotterba, P., Plikshs, M. 2017. Eastern Baltic cod recruitment revisited—dynamics and impacting factors. ICES Journal of Marine Science, 74 (1): 3-19,  DOI: 10.1093/icesjms/fsw172
19. Woźniczka A, Wawrzyniak-Wydrowska B, Radziejewska T, Skrzypacz A, 2016. The quagga mussel (Dreissena rostriformis bugensis Andrusov, 1897) – another Ponto-Caspian dreissenid bivalve in the southern Baltic catchment: the first record from the Szczecin Lagoon. Oceanologia 58 (2), 154-159 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.oceano.2015.12.002
20. Tomczak, M.T., Szymanek, L., Pastuszak, M., Grygiel, W., Zalewski, M., Gromisz, S., Ameryk, A., Kownacka, J., Psuty, I., Kuzebski, E., Grzebielec, R., Margoński, P. 2015. Evaluation of trends and changes in the Gulf of Gdansk ecosystem – an integrated approach. Estuaries and Coasts.Vol. 73, Issue 4, pp. 1779-1788.
21. Bulczak A.I., Rak D., Schmidt B., Beldowski J. 2015, Observations of near-bottom currents in Bornholm Basin, Slupsk Furrow and Gdansk Deep, Deep-Sea Research II http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.dsr2.2015.02.021
22. Hosseini-Shekarabi S. P., T. Valinassab, Z. Bystydzieńska and T. Linkowski. 2015. Age and growth of Benthosema pterotum (Alcock, 1890) (Myctophidae) in the Oman Sea. J. Appl. Ichthyol. 31 (2015), 51–56
23. Knights, A.M., G. J. Piet, R. Jongbloed, J. E. Tamis, T. Churilova, V. Fleming-Lehtinen, B. S. Galil, F. Goodsir, M. Goren, P. Margonski, S. Moncheva, K. N. Papadopoulou, O. Setälä, C. Smith, K. Stefanova, F. Timofte, L. J. White, and L. A. Robinson. 2015. An exposure-effect approach for evaluating ecosystem-wide risks from human activities. ICES Journal of Marine Science, 72: 1105-1115, doi:10.1093/icesjms/fsu245
24. Marchowski D, Neubauer G, Ławicki Ł, Woźniczka A, Wysocki D, Guentzel S, et al., 2015. The Importance of Non-Native Prey, the Zebra Mussel Dreissena polymorpha, for the Declining Greater Scaup Aythya marila: A Case Study at a Key European Staging and Wintering Site. PLoS ONE 10(12): e0145496. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0145496
25. Urban-Malinga B., Drgas A., Gromisz S., Barnes N., 2014. Species-specific effect of macrobenthic assemblages on meiobenthos and nematodes from shallow sandy habitat. Marine Biology. 161, 195-212; DOI: 10.1007/s00227-013-2329-y 
26.  Urban-Malinga B. Meiobenthos in marine coastal sediments. 2014 Sedimentary Coastal Zones from High to Low Latitudes: Similarities and Differences, Geological Society, London, Special Publications (EDs. I.P. Martini and H.R. Wanless), 388:59-78, 2013,doi:10.1144/SP388.9
27. Freire-Gibb LC, Koss R, Margonski P, Papadopoulou N. 2014. Governance strengths and weaknesses to implement the marine strategy framework directive in European waters. Marine Policy, 44: 172–178, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.marpol.2013.08.025i