Living in the Baltic Sea

Habitat
Grows on rocks and stones, but also on other types of algae. It can be found in shallow water and originally in depths down to 40 m. It is very UV insensitive and can make belts down depths of 7-22 m.
Nutrition
Thrives in nutrition rich water and needs less sunlight than many other marine algae.
Reproduction
Neuter spores spread out in the water in the summer time. They eventually sink and stick to hard material and start growing easily. In favorable conditions this species spread rapidly.

Human impact and Status
To study the depths of algae growth is a very useful tool to measure the environmental effects. A decrease of Sphacelaria Arctica is a sign of eutrophication. The species can survive thick and heavy sediment accumulation due to its strong stem but would most likely disappear eventually if the layers got to dense and covered the top growths. Variations in sediment loads is an important constraint for the species' local distributions and abundances.

Since 1920 there has been a tenfold increase in the organic carbon matter concentration of surface sediments in the Baltic Sea proper resulting in serious general deterioration from oxygen stress. This evolution leads to decreased occurrence of perennial red and brown algae, and increased occurrence of fast-growing filamentous green algae and loose-laying algal mats causing anoxia, an abnormally low amount of oxygen. An increase of these floating algae also reduces light, resulting in less deep belts of Sphacelaria Arctica. CLOSE