HELCOM ZEN QAI Period : 2011-2013 Proposed by : Z ooplankton E xpert - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

HELCOM MONAS 14/2011 Q uality A ssurance and I ntegration of Zooplankton Monitoring in the Baltic Sea HELCOM ZEN QAI Period : 2011-2013 Proposed by : Z ooplankton E xpert N etwork Chair/Contracting party : Elena Gorokhova, Sweden

Importance of zooplankton assessment • Zooplankton - a main link in food webs and nutrient cycling • Understanding zooplankton dynamics is crucial for an ecosystem approach to management • This approach is a cornerstone to HELCOM, Baltic Sea Action Plan, Marine Strategy Framework Directive and EU Common Fisheries Policy

Current status and need for development • Currently, ZEN is a part of Intersessional activities ; • The project status of ZEN would provide – funding joint activities, e.g., training workshops, intercalibration exercises and seminars, – facilitate quality assurance assessment, both within each participating laboratory and between laboratories involved in HELCOM monitoring.

Quality Assessment - Ring Tests • In 2006-2009, 23 participants from 15 testing laboratories in 9 HELCOM Member States participated in the Ring Test – species identification, counting and biomass determination of Baltic Sea zooplankton. • Organized by ZEN and the Baltic Sea Regional Project (BSRP) and funded by BSRP and the Federal Environment Agency Dessau- Roßlau/Berlin.

The Ring Test indicated a clear need for taxonomic training • only 17% of experts were able to correctly identify >90% of the test species, • ≈50% of the experts identified <75% of the test species! • it is of particular concern that common and ecologically important Baltic species created considerable identification difficulties.

Also, there is an urgent need for standardized quality assurance assessment • current quality assurance requirements vary between the testing laboratories, • there is no consistent approach This lack of certainty is one of the major obstacles to the assessment of accuracy, in integrated use of zooplankton data to support reproducibility and repeatability core water quality programs and to improve long- in zooplankton analysis, term zooplankton data analysis • HELCOM COMBINE Manual does not provide an adequate support for these issues.

Aims of ZEN QAI proposal • To insure and maintain high quality standard of the Baltic regional zooplankton monitoring within the HELCOM COMBINE; • To assure data comparability and their effective usage ; • To assist in development of regional target values for good environmental status based on zooplankton-related variables

Activities • Organizing training courses/workshops; • Revising and updating the COMBINE manual; • Maintaining intercalibrations; • Updating taxonomic lists; • Evaluating applicability of zooplankton-based indices as environmental indicators; • Revising recommendations for zooplankton biomass assessment.

Training courses & Workshops • 3 Workshops (2011, 2012, and 2013) – To maintain continuity and quality in zooplankton identification and enumeration; – To follow changes in taxonomy of problematic species; – To upgrade expertise for identification of alien species; – To further unify sampling and counting methods between the laboratories; – To harmonize general methodology by evaluating differences related to variations in counting procedure and equipment; – To improve quality control in participating laboratories.

Expert name Country Affiliation Eva Friis Møller Denmark NERI, ZEN participants Aarhus University Arno Põllumäe Estonia Estonian Marine Institute, University of Tartu Maiju Lehtiniemi Finland SYKE • 16 experts, Siru Tasala Finland SYKE Lutz Postel Germany Leibniz Institute for Baltic Sea Research, IOW • 8 countries Anda Ikauniece Latvia Latvian Institute of Aquatic Ecology Solvita Strake Latvia Latvian Institute of Aquatic Ecology Piotr Margonski Poland Sea Fisheries Institute Budget requested Alina Krajewska Poland Sea Fisheries Institute Bozenna Kaczmaruk Poland Department of Oceanography and Baltic Sea Monitoring • Project management Irena Telesh Russia Zoological Institute, RAS and meeting facilitation: Elena Gorokhova Sweden Stockholm University 15 000 EUR Lisa Mattsson Sweden Stockholm University Johanna Crona Sweden Umeå University Marie Johansson Sweden SMHI Lars Johan Hansson Sweden SMHI

Expected results • Annual reports to HELCOM MONAS; • Intercalibration reports to HELCOM; • Revised biomass assessment guidelines and taxonomic lists of Baltic zooplankton species • Contribution to the CORESET report regarding use of zooplankton in environmental status assessment; • Final report (2011-2013).

Zooplankton Expert Network: First Intercalibration Workshop , Aranda, 2006 Let’s go uniform!