Balticsea 2020

Thiamine deficiency in mussels and eider in the Baltic Sea - cause studies

Previous studies of the Baltic Sea have shown that several species of fish, and now more recently in many species of birds, is suffering from a vitamin B1 (thiamin) deficiency. The shortage is causing behavioral and reproductive disorders and also leads to excess mortality among both fish and birds. Overall, the impacts of thiamin deficiency cause a decrease of the affected species' populations, which in turn lead to impossible sustainable management of the affected species in the Baltic Sea region.

Background
The fact that many species in different animal groups and different ecological niches are affected makes it reasonable to assume that there is a common underlying cause. It is also very likely that the cause is chemical, because the morbidity and mortality of this kind and of this scale could never be considered natural.

Objectives
The projects primary objective is to determine which chemical factor causes the thiamine deficiency in birds. The project group intends to focus on the eider (Somateria mollissima) because the species is one of the most distinctive species in the Baltic Sea which is affected by thiamine deficiency.

Furthermore, since the blue mussel (Mytilus edulis) is a very important species for both the entire Baltic Sea as an inland sea and as well as the main food of eider, the project group intend to use this organism as an indicator of thiamine for various local/regional areas of the Baltic Sea. To characterize changes in the amount of thiamine during the annual cycle in different regions by examining the level of thiamine in mussels in the entire area will be an important goal of this project. The results obtained during this project will be able to provide important information about the chemical factors that may be the cause of thiamine deficiency.

The project is essentially, and in equal shares, financed by Baltic Sea 2020 and Signhild Engkvist’s Foundation.