The influence of invaders on the zooplankton and zoobenthos assemblages structure in the Vistula Lagoon of the Baltic Sea
The paper examines the role of biological invasions of aquatic invertebrates in Vistula Lagoon of the Baltic Sea. The influence of planktonic invasive cladocerans Cercopagis pengoi (Ostroumov), polychaete Marenzelleria neglecta (Sikorski and Bick) and bivalves Rangia cuneata (G. B. Sowerby) on the native zooplankton and zoobenthos communities in the recipient ecosystem environment was investigated. It was found that the introduction of C. pengoi, M. neglecta и R.cuneata into the Vistula Lagoon caused a structural parameters change in the zooplankton and bottom-dwelling communities. An increasing trend of predation pressure of cercopagis on zooplankton in the Vistula Lagoon, as well as the forage reserve deterioration for planktivorous and bethphage fish were revealed