Chemosensory Phenomena During Sexual Interactions in Gelatinous Zooplankton

Previous descriptions have noted that the stomach samples of spiny dogfish, Squalus acanthias, showed a major increase in the overall occurrence and hence implied abundance of Ctenophora. This apparent and persistent gelatinous zooplankton outbreak is increasingly more common in the world’s oceans. We briefly explore the energetic ramifications of ctenophores in the spiny dogfish diet, inferring that the presence of gelatinous zooplankton represents an ambient feeding strategy. Relative to other prey, ctenophores are not a high energy density prey item. However, given varying assumptions of the amount of ctenophores consumed, they may be an important staple in the diet of spiny dogfish. We also examine the utility of using spiny dogfish as a gelatinous zooplankton sampling device. Using five calculation methodologies, we provide bounds on potential abundance and biomass estimates of ctenophores in the Northeast U.S. shelf ecosystem. We then contextualize these findings relative to the implications for the Northeast U.S. and any large marine ecosystem.

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Gelatinous zooplankton community around a hydrothermally active deep-sea caldera: results from ROV video records

Plankton and Benthos Research ◽

10.3800/pbr.16.40 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 16 (1) ◽

pp. 40-58

Author(s):

Mitsuko Hidaka ◽

Jun Nishikawa ◽

Dhugal J. Lindsay

Keyword(s):

Deep Sea ◽

Zooplankton Community ◽

Gelatinous Zooplankton

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Tackling the jelly web: Trophic ecology of gelatinous zooplankton in oceanic food webs of the eastern tropical Atlantic assessed by stable isotope analysis

Limnology and Oceanography ◽

10.1002/lno.11605 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Xupeng Chi ◽

Jan Dierking ◽

Henk‐Jan Hoving ◽

Florian Lüskow ◽

Anneke Denda ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Stable Isotope ◽

Food Webs ◽

Stable Isotope Analysis ◽

Trophic Ecology ◽

Isotope Analysis ◽

Gelatinous Zooplankton ◽

Tropical Atlantic ◽

Oceanic Food Webs

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Mother–young cohabitation in Phronimella elongata and Phronima spp. (Amphipoda, Hyperiidea, Phronimidae)

Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom ◽

10.1017/s0025315413000143 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 93 (6) ◽

pp. 1553-1556 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Masakazu N. Aoki ◽

Chie Matsumoto-Ohshima ◽

Euichi Hirose ◽

Jun Nishikawa

Keyword(s):

Growth Stage ◽

Gelatinous Zooplankton ◽

Growth Stages ◽

Single Female ◽

Reproductive Characteristics

Reproductive characteristics of poorly studied hyperiid amphipods, especially Phronimella elongata, are described. Among nine species of hand-collected phronimids, females of Phronimella elongata, Phronima dunbari and Phronima sedentaria cohabited with their young in a ‘barrel' derived from gelatinous zooplankton. Five growth stages of young were identified in Phronimella elongata: young of stages I–IV were found with the mother in the barrel, but stage-V young clinged to the mother retaining no barrel. The cohabiting young in Phronimella elongata and Phronima sedentaria always consisted of single growth stage. In a single female of Phronima dunbari, however, two different stages of young coexisted in a barrel. In Phronimella elongata, the mother size significantly correlated with the number of brooded eggs or cohabiting young regardless of growth stages of young. Considerable variation in the number of eggs or young per female among phronimid species may attribute to the differences in the volumes of the brood pouches.

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Climatic and oceanic influences on the abundance of gelatinous zooplankton in the North Sea

Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom ◽

10.1017/s0025315409990488 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 90 (6) ◽

pp. 1153-1159 ◽

Cited By ~ 31

Author(s):

C.P. Lynam ◽

M.J. Attrill ◽

M.D. Skogen

Keyword(s):

North Sea ◽

Biological Response ◽

Winter Precipitation ◽

Gelatinous Zooplankton ◽

Aurelia Aurita ◽

Future Research ◽

Long Term Effects ◽

The North ◽

The North Sea ◽

Northern North Sea

Oceanographically based mechanisms are shown to explain the spatial variation in the climatic relationship between the abundance of medusae (Aurelia aurita and Cyanea spp. of the class Scyphozoa), in the North Sea between 1971 and 1986 during June–August, and the winter (December–March) North Atlantic Oscillation Index (NAOI). A scyphomedusa population to the west of Denmark shows a strong inverse relationship between medusa abundance and fluctuations in the NAOI; the NAOI correlates strongly (P < 0.001) with both annual sea surface temperature (SST) at 6.5°E 56.5°N (1950–2008) and with winter precipitation on the Danish coast at Nordby (1900–2008) suggesting a direct link between the influence of climate and medusae abundance. In contrast, scyphomedusa abundance and distribution in the northern North Sea appears to be influenced by oceanic and mixed water inflow, which may overwhelm or mask any direct climatic influence on jellyfish abundance. Similarly, advection can also explain much of the interannual variability (1959–2000) in the abundance of other gelatinous zooplankton taxa (Cnidaria, Ctenophora and Siphonophora) in the northern North Sea as identified by the capture of gelatinous tissue and nematocysts (stinging cells) in Continuous Plankton Recorder samples. Jellyfish (Scyphozoa) in the southern North Sea may benefit from low temperature anomalies and the long-term effects of global warming might suppress Aurelia aurita and Cyanea spp. populations there. However, the biological response to temperature is complex and future research is required in this area.

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