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Planktonic cnidarian distribution and feeding of Pelagia noctiluca in the NW Mediterranean Sea

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Abstract

Pelagic cnidarians are important consumers of zooplankton and ichthyoplankton in the world’s oceans, and thus harm fisheries as competitors and predators of fish. This study examined the inshore-offshore distribution of pelagic cnidarians and the trophic ecology of Pelagia noctiluca ephyrae (<12 mm diameter) and larger medusae in late spring 1995 in the NW Mediterranean Sea. The distribution of pelagic cnidarians was closely related to the presence of the shelf-slope front with most species mainly concentrated close to the front. Meroplanktonic antho- and leptomedusae predominated in coastal waters and more holoplanktonic trachy- and narcomedusae occurred both in shelf and open sea waters. P. noctiluca was more abundant than other medusae, including hydromedusae. Siphonophores, particularly Muggiaea atlantica, outnumbered medusae at most stations. The diet of P. noctiluca ephyrae contained mainly copepods, but ~12% of the prey were fish larvae. P. noctiluca exhibited positive prey selection for chaetognaths and mollusc larvae in day and night samples, but fish larvae were positively selected only at night. These differences may be related to the diel vertical distributions of P. noctiluca and their prey. Most of the ingested fish larvae belonged to the family Myctophidae, but anchovy and sparid larvae also were found in the gastric pouches. The size of ingested fish larvae increased as ephyra diameter increased; however, in the larger medusae (>12 mm) the number of prey increased with medusa size rather than the size of the larvae. The temporal and spatial co-occurrence of P. noctiluca with early life stages of fish suggests that P. noctiluca may be an important predator on summer ichthyoplankton.

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Acknowledgements

We greatly appreciate the assistance of the crew of the R/V García del Cid and all the participants during the “FRONTS” cruise. We thank Dr. T. K. Doyle for constructive comments on an earlier version of the manuscript. This study was supported by the projects AMB94-0853 and REN 2002-01339/MAR.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institut de Ciències del Mar, CSIC, P. Marítim 37-49, 08003, Barcelona, Spain

    Ana Sabatés, Francesc Pagès, Dacha Atienza, Verónica Fuentes & Josep-María Gili

  2. Shannon Point Marine Center, Western Washington University, 1900 Shannon Point Rd, Anacortes, WA, 98221, USA

    Jennifer E. Purcell

  3. Coastal and Marine Resources Centre, University College Cork, Naval Base, Haulbowline Island, Cobh, Co. Cork, Ireland

    Jennifer E. Purcell

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  1. Ana Sabatés
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  2. Francesc Pagès
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  3. Dacha Atienza
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  4. Verónica Fuentes
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  5. Jennifer E. Purcell
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  6. Josep-María Gili
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Correspondence to Ana Sabatés.

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Guest editors: J. E. Purcell & Dror Angel / Jellyfish Blooms: New Problems and Solutions

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Sabatés, A., Pagès, F., Atienza, D. et al. Planktonic cnidarian distribution and feeding of Pelagia noctiluca in the NW Mediterranean Sea. Hydrobiologia 645, 153–165 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-010-0221-z

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