The mysterious aquatic leaf beetle Macroplea pubipennis has become quite familiar to us these last two summers. Not a lot is known about these beetles. Two years ago, we didn’t even know they existed in Sweden and they were known to occur only in Finland and China (of all places). As observation sites in the … Continue reading Searching for Macroplea pubipennis
Pike is an ambush predator who counts on its camouflage colors for safety. If you approach slowly, they will let you get quite close before darting quickly away. Photo Manuel Deinhardt, Metsähallitus. Most of the fish in the Bothnian Bay are terrified of divers. As soon as they either hear or feel the diver’s air … Continue reading Fish that can be seen
Many species of water mosses can be found in the northern Bothnian Bay. Here most of the species are Fissidens fontanus, with some Oxyrrhyncium speciosum thrown in to the right upper corner. Polyps (hydra) cling on to the lower water moss "branches". Photos: Metsähallitus Mosses are funny macrophytes. Most often people think of Sphagnum bogs … Continue reading Water mosses
When thinking about the sea one probably first thinks about the sound of waves and after that, the calls of seabirds. Birds are a large part of the nature at sea, but seldom a thought is given to how they are a part of the underwater ecology. So, let’s give some thought to how birds … Continue reading Seabirds – a part of the sea
One of the aims of the project is combining the data from Sweden and Finland and seeing what we can glean from the full data. One thing you notice very quickly from a full dataset is an absence of a species from one country, when it is present in the other. Especially if it’s a … Continue reading Modeling of potential habitats for Fourleaf mare’s tail
The nature in the northern Bothnian Bay in the SEAmBOTH area is in many ways similar on the Swedish and on the Finnish side. Sure, the Finnish side is more flat and the shores do not slope as fast as on the Swedish side, but both have large river estuaries, many lagoons and bays, with … Continue reading We have it, you don’t
The northern Bothnian Bay is shared by Finland and Sweden, and in many ways the sea is the same. In other ways, differences occur in underwater nature between both sides of the border, although this border only is a human concept and does not affect marine life. One thing that has puzzled our colleagues on … Continue reading Braun’s stonewort (Chara braunii)
Waterweeds (Elodea spp.) are species of aquatic plants that originate in North America. Now, because of human interference, two different waterweed species are spreading globally, causing havoc as they outcompete local flora. Canadian waterweed, Elodea canadensis, is no new acquaintance here, as this species was first found in both Finland and Sweden in the 1870s. … Continue reading Nuttall’s waterweed – an invasive species
Filamentous algae are those thin fussy-looking, sometimes slimy, algae may find growing on hard substrates where they cover rocks and stones.Some of them though grow on soft bottoms. Examples of these algae that specialize in growing on soft sediments are species of the genus Vaucheria. Vaucheria are yellow-green algae that grow long, tube formed and … Continue reading Special species: Vaucheria
Indicator species means a species which tells something important about its environment or the environmental conditions where it thrives. Bladder wrack Fucus vesiculosus deteriorates in turbid water and the plants move towards the surface to catch more light, blue mussels need at least 4-5 per mill salinity to survive, and Vaucheria sp filamentous algae grow … Continue reading Indicators
SEAmBOTH 