Rita Poikāne

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Rita Poikāne

Senior researcher, Hydrochemistry laboratory of the Marine monitoring department

Senior researcher, Hydrochemistry laboratory of the Marine monitoring department

Rita Poikāne has worked at LHEI Marine monitoring department since 1998. She started out as a chemist working on sea and harbour sediment research. At the moment she is responsible for planning, leading and executing local and international science projects and monitoring. Responsible for creation and maintenance of LHEI data storage system “LATMARE” and providing data to different European environmental organizations for environmental status assessments and strategic planning. Through her work on national monitoring programme and scientific research Rita Poikāne has accumulated experience and expertise in collecting, pre-treatment and preparation of water, sediment and biota samples for further analysis, quantitative analysis of nutrients and hazardous substances, including metals, in water, sediment and biota, and interpretation of results in scientific articles, monitoring and scientific grant/project reports. Rita Poikāne trains new staff in practical skills for aquatic environmental research.

E-mail: rita.poikane[at]lhei.lv

ResearchGate

  1. Heredia, N.A., Suhareva, N., Poikane, R., Aigars, J., Zagars, M. (2025) Ecological adaptability: Size-dependent foraging of European perch at the coastal-freshwater interface of the Baltic Sea. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science, Vol. 319, 109294, DOI:10.1016/j.ecss.2025.109294
  2. Barone, M., Dimante-Deimantovica, I., Busmane, S., Koistinen, A., Poikane, R., Saarni, S., Stivrins, N., Tylmann, W., Uurasjärvi, E., Viksna, A. (2024) What to monitor? Microplastics in a freshwater lake – from seasonal surface water to bottom sediments. Environmental Advances. 100577. DOI: 10.1016/j.envadv.2024.100577
  3. Suhareva, N., Aigars, J., Poikane, R., Heredia, N.A., Tunens, J., Fedorovska, A., Baraskova, L. (2024) Trophic magnification of Hg, PBDE and PCB in population of European perch with varying feeding ecology in the Baltic Sea. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science. Vol. 301, 108727, ISSN 0272-7714, doi.org/10.1016/j.ecss.2024.108727
  4. Tunens, J., Aigars, J., Poikane, R., Jurgensone, I., Labucis, A., Labuce, A., Liepina-Leimane, I., Busa, L., Viksna, A. (2022) Stable Carbon and Nitrogen Isotope Composition in Suspended Particulate Matter Reflects Seasonal Dynamics of Phytoplankton Assemblages in the Gulf of Riga, Baltic Sea. Estuaries and Coasts. doi.org/10.1007/s12237-022-01071-z
  5. Suhareva, N., Aigars, J., Poikane, R., Tunens, J. (2021) The influence of feeding ecology and location on total mercury cooncentrations in Eurasian perch (Perca fluviatilis). Environmental Sciences Europe. Vol. 33. DOI: 10.1186/s12302-021-00523-w
  6. Suhareva, N., Aigars, J., Poikane, R., Jansons, M. (2020) Development of fish age normalization technique for pollution assessment of marine ecosystem, based on concentrations of mercury, copper, and zinc in dorsal muscles of fish. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, Vol. 192. DOI: 10.1007/s10661-020-08261-x
  7. Henning, H., Putna-Nimane, I., Kalinowski, R., Perkola, N., Bogusz, A., Kublina, A., Haiba, E., Barda, I., Karkovska, I., Schütz, J., Mehtonen, J., Siimes, K., Nyhlén, K., Dzintare, L., Äystö, L., Sinics, L., Laht, M., Lehtonen, M., Stapf, M., Stridh, P., Poikane, R., Hoppe, S., Lehtinen, T., Kõrgma, V., Junttila, V., Leisk, Ü. (2020). Pharmaceuticals in the Baltic Sea Region – emissions,consumption and environmental risks. Report no. 2020:28, Länsstyrelsen Östergötland, Linköping. ISBN 978-91-985918-8-0. https://www.lansstyrelsen.se/4.f2dbbcc175974692d268b9.html
  8. Aigars, J., Suhareva, N., Poikane, R. (2017) Distribution of polybrominated diphenyl ethers in sewage sludge, sediments, and fish from Latvia. Environments (MDPI), 4 (1), art. no. 12, pp. 1-16. doi.org/10.3390/environments4010012
  9. Aigars, J., Poikane, R., Dalsgaard, T., Eglite, E., Jansons, M. (2015) Biogeochemistry of N, P and SI in the Gulf of Riga surface sediments: Implications of seasonally changing factors. Continental Shelf Research, 105, pp. 112-120. DOI: 10.1016/j.csr.2015.06.008
  10. Aigars, J., Poikane, R., Jurgensone, I., Jansons, M. (2014) Impact of eutrophication and climate change on Cd and other trace metal dynamic in the Gulf of Riga, Baltic Sea. Proceedings of the Latvian Academy of Sciences, Section B: Natural, Exact, and Applied
    Sciences, 68 (1-2), pp. 112-117. DOI: 10.2478/prolas-2014-0010
  11. Eglite, E., Lavrinovics, A., Müller-Karulis, B., Aigars, J., Poikane, R. (2014) Nutrient turnover at the hypoxic boundary: Flux measurements and model representation for the bottom water environment of the Gulf of Riga, Baltic Sea. Oceanologia, 56 (4), pp. 711-735. doi.org/10.5697/oc.56-4.711
  12. Purina, I., Barda, I., Rimsa, E., Poikane, R., Jansons, M. (2013) Concentrations of metallothionein in the bivalve molluscs Anodonta spp. and Unio spp. from Latvian lakes with different anthropogenic pressure. E3S Web of Conferences, 1, art. no. 34005. doi.org/10.1051/e3sconf/20130134005
  13. Bogans, E., Gavare, Z., Svagere, A., Poikane, R., Skudra, J. (2011) Mercury Pollution Exploration in Latvia with High-Sensitivity Zeeman Atomic Absorption Spectrometry. Environmental and Climate Technologies. Vol. 7, Issue 1, 39 – 45. DOI:10.2478/v10145-011-0026-y
  14. Yurkovskis, A., Poikane, R. (2008) Biogeochemical, physical and anthropogenic transformations in the Daugava River estuary and plume, and the open Gulf of Riga (Baltic Sea) indicated by major and trace elements, Journal of Marine Systems, Volume 70, Issues 1–2, 2008, Pages 77-96, ISSN 0924-7963, doi.org/10.1016/j.jmarsys.2007.03.003.
  15. Poikane, R., Carstensen, J., Dahllöf, I., Aigars, J. (2005) Distribution patterns of particulate trace metals in the water column and nepheloid layer of the Gulf of Riga. Chemosphere, Vol. 60, 2, Pages 216-225, DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2004.12.043
  16. Müller-Karulis, B., Poikane, R., Seglins, V. (2003) Heavy metals in the Ventspils Harbour: normalization based on a multi-parameter dataset. Env Geol 43, 445–456. https://doi.org/10.1007/s002540100377
  • Contamination of aquatic environments, transfer and bioaccumulation of hazardous substances in the food chain. The role of sediments and suspended particles in the transport of hazardous substances in the Gulf of Riga.
  • Preparing and conducting lectures at the Faculty of Chemistry of University of Latvia within the lecture course “Sample Preparation for Chemical Analyses” for Master students in 2006 – 2022. Supervision of Master and Bachelor students
  • Consulting Bachelor and Master students
  • Consulting experts and stakeholder groups
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