Journal ArticleDOI
Changes in biodiversity of phytoplankton, zooplankton, fishes and macrobenthos in the Southern Caspian Sea after the invasion of the ctenophore Mnemiopsis Leidyi
Aboulghasem Roohi,Ahmet E. Kideys,Ameneh Sajjadi,Abdolla Hashemian,Reza Pourgholam,Hasan Fazli,Ali Ganjian Khanari,Elif Eker-Develi +7 more
TLDR
Monitoring for 6 years showed that the population explosion of the alien ctenophore Mnemiopsis leidyi in the southern Caspian Sea coincided with a decline in the abundance and species number of mesozooplankton, and some changes in the macrobenthic fauna were also conspicuous after the increase of this ctenophile.Abstract:
Monitoring for 6 years (2001–2006) showed that the population explosion of the alien ctenophore Mnemiopsis leidyi in the southern Caspian Sea coincided with a decline in the abundance and species number of mesozooplankton. While this decline appeared to have reduced the nourishment of sprat (also known as kilka), it seemed to have affected phytoplankton favorably mainly due to the decrease in grazing pressure. During 2001–2002, when M. leidyi abundance and biomass were at their highest levels, abundance of dinoflagellates and cyanophytes exceeded that of diatoms. Before the invasion (1996) and in some years after the invasion (2003, 2004 and 2006) diatom abundance was higher than the abundance of other groups. In September 2005, an unprecedented bloom of the toxic cyanophyte Nodularia sp. was observed in the southern Caspian Sea. Disappearance of edible zooplankton such as Eurytemora spp. was among the first changes observed after the expansion of M. leidyi in the area. Some changes in the macrobenthic fauna were also conspicuous after the increase of this ctenophore. While the biomass of some deposit feeders, such as the polychaete Nereis diversicolor and oligochaete species increased, benthic crustaceans decreased sharply in abundance during 2001–2003 and completely disappeared during 2004–2006. Iranian catches of kilka, the most abundant and widespread zooplanktivorous fish, decreased significantly in the southern Caspian Sea after 1999. Iranian landings of kilka dropped ~70% from 69,070 ± 20,270 t during 1995–2000 to 23,430 ± 12,240 t during 2001–2006, resulting in a loss of at least 125 million US dollars to the economy. There were also changes in the total catches of large predators such as the kutum and mullet, which mainly feed on kilka, between 1991 and 2006.read more
Citations
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Journal ArticleDOI
Increasing jellyfish populations: trends in Large Marine Ecosystems
Lucas Brotz,William W. L. Cheung,William W. L. Cheung,Kristin M. Kleisner,E. A. Pakhomov,Daniel Pauly +5 more
TL;DR: Of the 66 LMEs defined thus far that cover the world’s coastal waters and seas, trends of jellyfish abundance after 1950 (increasing, decreasing, or stable/variable) were identified for 45, with variable degrees of confidence.
Journal ArticleDOI
Ctenophore relationships and their placement as the sister group to all other animals
Nathan V. Whelan,Nathan V. Whelan,Kevin M. Kocot,Tatiana P. Moroz,Krishanu Mukherjee,Peter Williams,Gustav Paulay,Leonid L. Moroz,Kenneth M. Halanych +8 more
TL;DR: Newly sequenced transcriptomes are combined with existing data to establish Ctenophora as the sister group to all other animals and suggest a radiation around 350 Ma as well as multiple transitions from a pelagic to benthic lifestyle within ctenophores.
Journal ArticleDOI
Transitions of Mnemiopsis leidyi (Ctenophora: Lobata) from a native to an exotic species: a review
TL;DR: The foundations of the ctenophore’s invasive success, which include the source-sink dynamics that characterize Mnemiopsis populations in temperate coastal waters, are reviewed, and the variables most likely to determine whether introduction of Mnemiops to a novel community results in an inconspicuous addition or a disruptive invasion are reviewed.
Journal ArticleDOI
Stealth predation and the predatory success of the invasive ctenophore Mnemiopsis leidyi
TL;DR: It is demonstrated that the predatory success of the lobate ctenophore Mnemiopsis leidyi lies in its use of cilia to generate a feeding current that continuously entrains large volumes of fluid, yet is virtually undetectable to its prey.
Journal ArticleDOI
Invasive copepods in the Lower Columbia River Estuary: Seasonal abundance, co-occurrence and potential competition with native copepods
Stephen M. Bollens,Joanne K. Breckenridge,Jeffery R. Cordell,Gretchen Rollwagen-Bollens,Olga Kalata +4 more
TL;DR: In this article, the authors conducted a multi-year field study to investigate plankton dynamics in the Lower Columbia River Estuary (LCRE), and conducted monthly sampling of the mesozooplankton (> 73 μm) at a station near Astoria, Oregon.
References
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Journal ArticleDOI
Laboratory studies of ingestion and food utilization in lobate and tentaculate ctenophores 1
M.R. Reeve,M. A. Walter,T. Ikeda +2 more
Journal ArticleDOI
Ctenophore-zooplankton-phytoplankton interactions in Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island, USA, during 1972–1977
Journal Article
A newly acclimated species in the Black Sea: The ctenophore Mnemiopsis leidyi (Ctenophora: Lobata)
Journal ArticleDOI
Is the comb jelly really to blame for it all? Mnemiopsis leidyi and the ecological concerns about the Caspian Sea
Martin Bilio,Ulrich Niermann +1 more
TL;DR: More consistent and comparable investigations in the Caspian and Black Seas are necessary to improve the protec- tion, management and exploitation of the stocks of small pelagic fishes, in order to increase their capacity to resist and survive unforeseeable disturbances of their ecosystem by invaders such as M. leidyi.
Book ChapterDOI
Timing and size of blooms of the ctenophore Mnemiopsis leidyi in relation to temperature in Narragansett Bay, RI
TL;DR: Changes in the seasonal pattern and abundance of this predator are likely to have important effects on planktonic ecosystem dynamics of Narragansett Bay, including reduction of zooplankton abundance in spring followed by increases in size and frequency of summer phytoplankon blooms.