Predation by the scyphozoan Pelagia noctiluca on Mnemiopsis leidyi ctenophores in the NW Mediterranean Sea

Autor: Macarena Marambio, Alejandro Olariaga, Veronica Fuentes, Uxue Tilves, Jennifer E. Purcell, Antonio Canepa
Rok vydání: 2012
Předmět:
Zdroj: Digital.CSIC. Repositorio Institucional del CSIC
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ISSN: 1464-3774
0142-7873
DOI: 10.1093/plankt/fbs082
Popis: 7 pages, 2 figures, 2 tables, supplementary data can be found online athttp://plankt.oxfordjournals.org/content/35/1/218/suppl/DC1
The invasive ctenophore Mnemiopsis leidyi, which now may be established in the NW Mediterranean, is a voracious predator of zooplankton and ichthyoplankton. Pelagia noctiluca, an abundant scyphomedusa there, eats other gelatinous species. We measured predation, digestion and escape when different sizes of medusae fed on ctenophores. Clearance rates increased with predator size and ingestion rates increased with prey concentration. Digestion times were longer when medusae were smaller than the ctenophores. All large ctenophores escaped from the medusae, but small ctenophores were ingested completely. Pelagia noctiluca is potentially an important predator of M. leidyi that may help control populations of this ctenophore. © 2012 The Author 2012. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved
The experimental work was conducted as part of the “Medusa project”, supported by the Catalan Water Agency (ACA) and the LIFE CUBOMED project (www.cubomed.eu)
Databáze: OpenAIRE