STI's Marine Inventory

A substantial part of the biodiversity of Sweden is found beneath the surface of the sea. Knowledge of marine species is nonetheless still fragmentary. This is why the STI has carried out an inventory of the benthic fauna of the Swedish part of the North Sea.

The inventory started in 2006 and ended in 2009. The goal was to map the marine benthic fauna along the Swedish west coast. The project has also revisited some 50 localities sampled in the 1920’s and 30’s by L. Jägerskiöld. This gives us a very good opportunity to compare today’s diversity with that of the beginning of the 20th century. The collected material is deposited at The Gothenburg Museum of Natural History, together with Jägerskiöld’s material. We are now in the process of analyzing how the marine biodiversity has changed during the last 80 years. The results have already proven useful, e.g. for the county councils in their work with protection of marine areas.

So far some 1150 species have been found, 55 of these new to Sweden. The project includes most of the animals that can be seen by the naked eye as well as the microscopic Foraminifera.