Trap nets are a large, stationary, and fixed type of passive fishing gear that has traditionally been used for catching fish in shallow coastal environments. Despite their large size, catches are often retrieved using small boats, making them less energy demanding compared to active gear types. This, along with the stationary nature of the trap, allows for fishing with relatively low environmental impact due to minimal disturbance of the benthic community. The combination of minimal benthic impact, live catch, low fuel, and selectivity offers great potential for the development of sustainable coastal fisheries. Here, we describe the development of the hovering pontoon trap, a fishing gear with a robust design to resist strong waves and currents, and usable in both shallow and deep waters to catch both pelagic and benthic species. We present results from early case studies targeting benthic Baltic Sea species, including perch (Percha fluventaliis), Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) and vendace (Coregonus albula), showing similar or improved catches in relation to earlier studies. Further, we show that the hovering pontoon trap was able to withstand harsher conditions than previous bottom-set models, making it a possible solution for the targeting of benthic fish communities in coastal environments. 

Native wild boar (Sus scrofa) populations are expanding across Europe. This is cause for concern in some areas where overabundant populations impact natural ecosystems and adjacent agronomic systems. To better manage the potential for impacts, managers require more information about how the species may affect other organisms. For example, information regarding the effect of wild boar on soil fungi for management application is lacking. Soil fungi play a fundamental role in ecosystems, driving essential ecological functions; acting as mycorrhizal symbionts, sustaining plant nutrition and providing defense; as saprotrophs, regulating the organic matter decomposition; or as plant pathogens, regulating plant fitness and survival. During autumn (Sep–Nov) 2018, we investigated the effects of wild boar (presence/absence and rooting intensity) on the abundance (number of individuals) of fungal sporocarps and their functional guilds (symbiotic, saprotrophic and pathogenic). We selected eleven forested sites (400–500 × 150–200 m) in central Sweden; six with and five without the presence of wild boar. Within each forest, we selected one transect (200 m long), and five plots (2 × 2 m each) for sites without wild boar, and ten plots for sites with boars (five within and five outside wild boar disturbances), to determine the relationship between the intensity of rooting and the abundance of sporocarps for three fungal guilds. We found that the presence of wild boar and rooting intensity were associated with the abundance of sporocarps. Interestingly, this relationship varied depending on the fungal guild analyzed, where wild boar rooting had a positive correlation with saprophytic sporocarps and a negative correlation with symbiotic sporocarps. Pathogenic fungi, in turn, were more abundant in undisturbed plots (no rooting) but located in areas with the presence of wild boar. Our results indicate that wild boar activities can potentially regulate the abundance of fungal sporocarps, with different impacts on fungal guilds. Therefore, wild boar can affect many essential ecosystem functions driven by soil fungi in boreal forests, such as positive effects on energy rotation and in creating mineral availability to plants, which could lead to increased diversity of plants in boreal forests.

Monitoring European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) populations using suitable methods is crucial, especially in those areas in which endangered predators remain and rabbits occur at low densities. We first counted the number of rabbits, the number of scattered pellets, and the number of latrines counted within 16 plots established in areas of low rabbit density, showing that the number of rabbits counted inside the plots was more closely correlated with the number of pellets counted than with the number of latrines. In addition, no latrines were found in 8 plots. In 53 walking transects, the number of pellets m−2 and the number of latrines km−1 had a positive relationship, but no significant correlation was obtained between the two methods when only the transects with a low rabbit abundance were selected. These results suggest that although counting latrines can be useful to compare areas with different abundances, it may underestimate rabbit abundance at low abundances where counting scattered pellets is, therefore, the most accurate alternative. © 2019, Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.

In a context of the growing concern about the impact of biological invasions, our objective is to review the role of those non-native species that have primarily been introduced for angling purposes in at least one European country. We are particularly interested in: (1) the relative role of sport fish species in the context of non-native species introductions; (2) assessing the relative importance of different fish taxa; (3) identifying similarity patterns in the composition of the angling fish species introduced throughout the continent, and (4) assessing the underlying factors that drive their diversity in Europe. According to our results, 23.6% of the freshwater fish introduced into Europe during the last century were released primarily for angling purposes. The species composition differed among countries, with a higher diversity of introduced angling species in larger countries and in those with a greater GDP per capita, along with a lower latitude. This review stresses that angling was a significant pathway for the introduction of invasive fish species into Europe in the last century. Furthermore, some of the introduced angling species had severe environmental impacts on many European regions. However, introductions of non-native angling species are still occurring. Therefore, existing EU regulations need better enforcement as well as to increase public awareness regarding invasive fish. This will help to preserve biodiversity and improve the sustainability of current angling schemes in increasingly managed European freshwater ecosystems. However, non-native fish could make angling sustainable, although not for biodiversity generally.

Hunting activities are responsible for the translocation and restocking of millions of animals throughout Europe, including the introduction of alien species. In a context of the growing use of game translocations and of increasing concern about the impact of biological invasions, our goal is to review the role of alien species introduced primarily for hunting purposes on the European scale. In particular, we explore: (1) the relative importance of game species in the context of alien species introductions; (2) the temporal evolution of the number of species introduced for hunting purposes; (3) the contribution of different taxa; (4) the pattern of introduced game species composition across countries (in terms of similarity), and (5) the underlying human demographic factors driving the diversity of introduced game species per country. According to our results, 24.3% of the mammals and 30.2% of the birds introduced into Europe during the last century were released primarily for hunting purposes, in total, 93 species (63 birds and 36 mammals), the most important taxa being Artiodactyls, Anseriformes and Galliformes. The species composition differed among countries, with a higher diversity of introduced game species in larger countries and in those with a higher human population density and proportion of hunters. This review stresses that hunting was a significant pathway for the introduction of invasive species into Europe in the last century. Since some of the game species introduced have had severe environmental impacts on many European regions, and introductions of non-native game species are still occurring, it is essential to improve regulations and increase public awareness regarding invasive game animals. This will help to preserve biodiversity and improve the sustainability of current hunting schemes in increasingly managed European ecosystems.

The wild boar has, over the past few decades, undergone an expansion in Europe, which may have negatively affected ground-nesting bird populations and particularly those of wading birds. The aim of this study was to evaluate predation on waders’ nests by wild boar in Sweden, where this species has been increasing since its reintroduction. This was done by placing artificial nests in seven different study areas. A comparison was then made of predation rates of the nests placed on control plots (areas in which no wild boar were present but other predators were) and plots containing different abundances of wild boar. Contrary to our expectations, the proportion of nests predated was significantly lower in those areas in which wild boar were present, with a predation rate of 54 %, whereas the predation rate was 87.5 % in the others. The wild boar was identified as the second most important nest predator in the plots in which it was present, accounting for 18 % of the predated nests. The main predator on both types of plots was the red fox, which was responsible for 28 and 38.5 % of the predated nests on plots with/without wild boar, respectively. Interestingly, predation by badgers occurred principally in areas in which the wild boar was absent (34.5 % of the predated nests), whereas only one nest was predated by this predator in areas containing wild boar. It is not, however, possible to state whether predation by badgers was lower because of the presence of wild boar or whether this was owing to the fact that badgers do not select those particular patches because of habitat features.

Reversed size dimorphism is common in birds of prey, owls and in waders. Not much attention has been paid to the evolution of morphological characters such as wing morphology and variables related to flight agility. The aim of this study was to investigate if the morphological variables in shorebirds, related to flight performance, such as wing length, wing area, wing loading, and factors such as aspect ratio, are related to the display-flights performed by these different species of shorebirds. Data on morphological variables, e.g. body mass, wing length, wing area etc. was collected at the British Museum of Natural History, London, UK.

Data on behavioral variables, e.g. duration of a display flight or height of display flight was extracted from the published literature. There was a significant difference in wing length dimorphism (t = 2.51, p= 0.0402), when comparing between species within the same genus that had higher versus lower level of flight performance. There was also a significant difference in wing area dimorphism (t = 2.84, p= 0.025), for higher versus lower level of flight performance. However, there was no such difference for weight dimorphism, nor for tarsus dimorphism, or for wing loading or aspect ratio, when comparing between species for higher versus lower level of flight performance. Further analyses will be presented and a suggestive explanation for the evolution of reversed sexual dimorphism will be discussed at the congress. The hypotheses for increased food- or incubation efficiency is with several arguments irrelevant to shorebirds (which will be discussed).

High bycatches of undersized herring constitute a major problem in the Baltic Sea herring trap fishery. In an attempt to reduce these bycatches, this field study evaluates the efficiency of rigid selection grids encircling a herring pontoon trap. The results show that 54-72% of the undersized herring were removed from the catch. The introduction of such grids would therefore represent a significant step towards a more efficient and sustainable herring fishery in the Baltic Sea. © 2011 Elsevier B.V.

A sustainable fishery in the Baltic and Bothnian Seas requires the development and introduction of fishing gear which fishes selectively and at the same time excludes raiding seals. The purpose of this study was twofold: firstly to test and evaluate rigid grids as a method for retaining only larger herring in a pontoon trap, and secondly to analyze which factors were influencing the selection process. The results demonstrate that it is indeed possible to sort herring by size in a pontoon fish chamber. The efficiency of excluding undersized herring was at best 27%, using a selection grid covering just over 0.1% of the fish chamber wall. The factors which have most effect on the selection were the quantity of fish in the trap, the season of the year, the time of day and the presence of seals. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.