Article
Oceanography
A. C. Nocera, M. S. Dutto, V. C. D'Agostino, I. R. Schloss, R. J. Goncalves
Summary: This study provides the first report on the distribution of jellyfish abundance, richness, and diversity in the Nuevo Gulf, Argentine Patagonia. The study found that the most abundant species was Eucheilota ventricularis, followed by other Leptothecata species. Abundance and diversity were higher in spring than in summer, influenced by seasonality and environmental variables. The study emphasizes the importance of intensifying sampling throughout the year to increase knowledge about jellyfish distribution patterns in northern Patagonian gulfs.
CONTINENTAL SHELF RESEARCH
(2023)
Article
Agriculture, Dairy & Animal Science
Vesselina Mihneva, Violin Raykov, Dimitar Petkov Dimitrov
Summary: This study conducted scientific pelagic trawl surveys in the Western Black Sea between 2019 and 2022 to monitor the biomass and spatial variability of sprat and moon jellyfish. The research revealed that gelatinous plankton can have a weak-to-moderate effect on the spatial distribution of sprat assemblages in coastal areas. The study also highlighted the need for a better understanding of biomass fluctuations and interactions between jellyfish and small pelagic fish.
Article
Limnology
Pengpeng Wang, Fang Zhang, Song Sun, Shuguo Lue
Summary: This study reports on the feeding behavior and prey selection patterns of the common jellyfish Cyanea nozakii in offshore China, as well as its intraguild predation on Aurelia coerulea. The results show that C. nozakii preys preferentially on gelatinous organisms, with higher efficiency for smaller prey, and the clearance rate increases with the size of C. nozakii. However, the clearance rate decreases when preying on larger A. coerulea.
JOURNAL OF OCEANOLOGY AND LIMNOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Marine & Freshwater Biology
J. C. Gutierrez-Estrada, I. Pulido-Calvo, A. Peregrin, A. Garcia-Galvez, J. C. Baez, J. J. Bellido, L. Souviron-Priego, J. M. Sanchez-Laulhe, J. A. Lopez
Summary: This study utilized data from the Infomedusa mobile app to model the relationship between jellyfish abundance on beaches and local environmental conditions using artificial intelligence procedures and GAM models. Analysis showed that the TN algorithm could accurately discriminate messages with information on jellyfish presence/absence, aiding in predicting onshore jellyfish arrival.
ESTUARINE COASTAL AND SHELF SCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Rosie L. Oakes, Catherine V. Davis, Jocelyn A. Sessa
Summary: Pteropods are considered as the canary in the coal mine for ocean acidification, but questions remain regarding their life history and the environmental parameters reflected in their shell isotopic composition. This study in the Cariaco Basin, Venezuela, provides the first annual record of the stable isotopic composition of pteropod shells, revealing insights into their calcification depth and potential differences in isotopic composition between juvenile and adult specimens. The findings suggest that pteropods may serve as reliable paleoceanographic proxies in the future.
FRONTIERS IN MARINE SCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Pierre William Froneman
Summary: Predator diversity plays an important role in regulating predator-prey interactions. A mesocosm study conducted in a temperate southern African estuary showed that the presence of predators led to a decrease in zooplankton abundances and an increase in chlorophyll-a concentrations, consistent with the expectations of a trophic cascade. However, there were no significant differences in chlorophyll-a concentrations or zooplankton abundances between different predator treatments, suggesting that increasing predator diversity did not contribute to increased prey risk or the strength of the trophic cascade.
Review
Fisheries
Michael J. Miller
Summary: This article reviews H.G. Moser's research on the Elopomorpha, particularly his study on leptocephali. Descriptions and microscope photographs reveal unique pigmentation patterns and diverse body shapes in leptocephali, some of which mimic gelatinous zooplankton. Recent studies show that leptocephali have evolved predator avoidance strategies through transparency, shape change mimicry, and morphological features, similar to other fish larvae.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
C. Skinner, A. C. Mill, M. D. Fox, S. P. Newman, Y. Zhu, A. Kuhl, N. V. C. Polunin
Summary: Coral reef food webs are heavily subsidized by planktonic production, with offshore pelagic sources playing a significant role in sustaining reef predators. This highlights the importance of allochthonous energetic subsidies throughout the reef ecosystem.
Article
Limnology
Elizabeth D. Hetherington, Alejandro Damian-Serrano, Steven H. D. Haddock, Casey W. Dunn, C. Anela Choy
Summary: Siphonophores are understudied colonial hydrozoans that play an important role in oceanic ecosystems. This study reveals their diverse diet and potential trophic differences between depth habitats, emphasizing the importance of gelatinous zooplankton in shaping the food web structure.
LIMNOLOGY AND OCEANOGRAPHY LETTERS
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Wieteke A. Holthuijzen, Elizabeth N. Flint, Stefan J. Green, Jonathan H. Plissner, Daniel Simberloff, Dagmar Sweeney, Coral A. Wolf, Holly P. Jones
Summary: The study used next-generation sequencing and stable isotope analysis to investigate the diet of house mice on Sand Island. The results showed that the mice mainly consumed arthropods and also fed on detrital-feeding arthropods in and around seabird carcasses. Most of the arthropods and plants consumed by the mice were non-native. The study also found that the mouse diet composition varied among habitat types but remained stable throughout the year.
Article
Fisheries
Adam T. Greer, Luciano M. Chiaverano, Laura M. Treible, Christian Briseno-Avena, Frank J. Hernandez
Summary: Using in situ imagery, researchers discovered a variety of ecological interactions among marine zooplankton, including parasitism, predation, and spatial structuring of different life stages. The study revealed patterns of parasitism, predation, and patchy distribution of zooplankton groups, encouraging the use of hybrid approaches for more comprehensive analysis of plankton images. The findings highlight the rich potential of plankton images for providing new ecological information and generating hypotheses for further quantitative examination.
ICES JOURNAL OF MARINE SCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Zoology
Euichi Hirose, Daisuke Sakai, Akane Iida, Yumiko Obayashi, Jun Nishikawa
Summary: The ultrastructural comparison of the exumbrellar surfaces of six pelagic cnidarians from three classes revealed their structural diversity in relation to their gelatinous, transparent bodies. The epidermal cells' shapes were remarkably different among species, with Ch. yamaguchii and M. papua possessing an array of microvilli that may reduce light reflectance. The array of microvilli was supported by simulation to reduce light reflectance.
ZOOLOGICAL SCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Sophie G. Pitois, Carolyn A. Graves, Hayden Close, Christopher Lynam, James Scott, Julian Tilbury, Jeroen van der Kooij, Phil Culverhouse
Summary: Zooplankton, located between primary producers and fish, play a crucial role in marine food webs. Changes in zooplankton community size structure can impact food web structure and food quality for planktivorous fish. Zooplankton mean size is found to be a key indicator of ecosystem health and environmental variability, reflecting the state of the food web and emphasizing the importance of monitoring zooplankton size as a routine practice.
ECOLOGICAL INDICATORS
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Young-Shin Go, Chung-Sook Kim, Won Chan Lee, Dong-Hun Lee
Summary: The stable carbon and nitrogen isotopic compositions of sedimentary organic matter in fish farms were studied to quantify the deposition dynamics of aquaculture-derived organic matter in the sediment. The isotopic compositions of mixed organic matter in surface sediments differed significantly from reference sites, indicating an increased deposition of fish feces or uneaten feed. The contribution of fish feces during farming activities was significantly higher than that of other natural sources.
MARINE POLLUTION BULLETIN
(2023)
Article
Marine & Freshwater Biology
Jose Ricardo Paula, Derek Sun, Vasco Pissarra, Pauline Narvaez, Rui Rosa, Alexandra S. Grutter, Paul C. Sikkel
Summary: In the Great Barrier Reef, dead coral is a more suitable microhabitat for gnathiid isopods compared to live coral, and a decrease in coral cover may lead to an increase in gnathiid abundance.
Article
Limnology
Areti Balkoni, Maite S. Guignard, Maarten Boersma, Karen Helen Wiltshire
Summary: To avoid biased results, it is important to consider the mathematical properties of nutrient ratios when choosing an averaging method. This study estimated the ratios of dissolved inorganic nitrogen to dissolved inorganic phosphorus using long-term ecological data from three sites in the German Bight and compared different measures of central tendency. The results showed that the arithmetic mean of raw data exaggerated the importance of phosphorus-deficient conditions, while the geometric mean and the arithmetic mean of log-transformed ratios were reliable calculations. However, the median was the most robust method for averaging nutrient ratios for skewed data.
FUNDAMENTAL AND APPLIED LIMNOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Marine & Freshwater Biology
Florian Lueskow, Maarten Boersma, Pablo J. Lopez-Gonzalez, Evgeny A. Pakhomov
Summary: This study examined the organic content, elemental composition and energy content of freshwater hydrozoan jellyfish and compared them with their marine counterparts and other co-occurring zooplankton. Molecular analysis revealed two closely related sequences in North America. The results showed that freshwater jellyfish are stoichiometrically and energetically different from marine jellyfish, highlighting their higher importance in freshwater food webs.
JOURNAL OF PLANKTON RESEARCH
(2023)
Article
Fisheries
Arne M. Malzahn, Andrea Villena-Rodriguez, Oscar Monroig, Asmund Johansen, L. Filipe C. Castro, Juan C. Navarro, Andreas Hagemann
Summary: This study evaluated the effects of rearing temperature and mixtures of aquaculture and biogas side streams on the biomass production and fatty acid composition of the polychaete Hediste diversicolor. The results showed that temperature significantly affected the biomass production, with higher temperatures promoting higher growth rates but lower survival rates. The diet had a significant effect on the fatty acid composition of the polychaetes. Therefore, optimizing the production temperature can enhance the growth of H. diversicolor without compromising the fatty acid composition and quality.
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Noe Espinosa-Novo, Luis Gimenez, Maarten Boersma, Gabriela Torres
Summary: The invasive Asian shore crab Hemigrapsus sanguineus competes with the native European shore crab Carcinus maenas. Warming has the potential to exacerbate the negative effects of food limitation on survival and growth of crab larvae, but high temperature seems to mitigate the negative effects of food limitation on H. sanguineus larvae.
BIOLOGICAL INVASIONS
(2023)
Editorial Material
Limnology
Herwig Stibor, Maarten Boersma, Barbara Santer, Ulrich Sommer, Lawrence J. Weider
FUNDAMENTAL AND APPLIED LIMNOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Fisheries
J. Di Pane, M. Boersma, R. Marques, M. Deschamps, U. Ecker, C. L. Meunier
Summary: This study examined the temporal dynamics of the mesozooplankton community structure over the last five decades at Helgoland Roads, considering all taxa (holo- and meroplankton) sampled. Two tipping years were identified, indicating stable changes in the planktonic community across different organisms.
ICES JOURNAL OF MARINE SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Cedric L. Meunier, Maarten Boersma, Steven A. J. Declerck, Cecilia Laspoumaderes
Summary: Understanding the nutritional requirements and sensitivity of herbivores and carnivores to suboptimal resource quality is crucial in ecology. Herbivores are more affected by variations in resource quality than carnivores, leading to differences in coping mechanisms. Our study predicts that herbivores can maintain stoichiometric homeostasis over a broader range of resource stoichiometry compared to carnivores. It also suggests that the threshold elemental ratio and knife-edge response differ between herbivores and carnivores, indicating a higher sensitivity to diet quality in carnivores and herbivores. Documenting the impact of resource quality on consumer fitness can enhance our understanding of community composition and food web functioning.
Article
Fisheries
M. M. Deschamps, M. Boersma, C. L. Meunier, I. Kirstein, K. H. Wiltshire, J. Di Pane
Summary: This study examines the changes in copepod functional community in the North Sea over the past five decades and finds that the functional structure has shifted, possibly due to higher water temperatures, lower dinoflagellate abundances, and lower nutrient concentrations. These changes could have significant ecological impacts on adjacent trophic levels.
ICES JOURNAL OF MARINE SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Fisheries
R. Marques, S. A. Otto, J. Di Pane, M. Boersma, C. L. Meunier, K. H. Wiltshire, C. Moellmann, J. Renz
Summary: The North Sea is undergoing rapid changes, with fishing intensity, eutrophic conditions, and climate change acting synergistically to modify marine communities. This study focused on large-sized zooplankton and found that the entire community underwent significant restructuring in 2006, shifting from hydrozoans and holoplankton taxa to an increasing abundance of decapods over the long term. The study also identified temperature and top-down processes as the key factors driving community dynamics.
ICES JOURNAL OF MARINE SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Limnology
Susanne Menden-Deuer, Julia C. Mullarney, Maarten Boersma, Hans-Peter Grossart, Ryan Sponseller, Sarah Ann Woodin
Summary: Climate change is causing rapid and intense changes in aquatic communities and habitats. Previous research has focused on direct effects, while indirect and interactive effects have been overlooked. This overview of a special issue in Limnology and Oceanography addresses this knowledge gap, covering diverse habitats and emphasizing the importance of maintaining time-series data to identify indirect effects. Species-specific characteristics and habitat changes are also highlighted as key factors in understanding aquatic ecosystem responses. The results provide valuable insights for tackling the combined impacts of climate change and human activities on biodiversity and ecosystem functioning.
LIMNOLOGY AND OCEANOGRAPHY
(2023)
Article
Microbiology
Jan D. Bruewer, Luis H. Orellana, Chandni Sidhu, Helena C. L. Klip, Cedric L. Meunier, Maarten Boersma, Karen H. Wiltshire, Rudolf Amann, Bernhard M. Fuchs
Summary: This study combined fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) and dilution culture experiments to determine cell division and mortality rates of four bacterial taxa during phytoplankton blooms. The results showed a tight coupling between cell division and mortality rates for all four taxa, and indicated that 90% of bacterial production is recycled within 1 day. Determining taxon-specific cell division rates provides valuable insights into microbial growth strategies and ecological controls.
Article
Fisheries
Verena Merk, Tanja Hausen, Timon Ameis, Berenger Colsoul, Maarten Boersma, Bernadette Pogoda
Summary: This study tested three different concentrations and immersion times of calcein for growth marking and potential negative effects on European oyster shells. The results showed that calcein is a reliable marker for measuring oyster growth, with no negative effects observed on growth and survival when used at a concentration of 100 mg l(-1) or higher and immersion times of 6 hours or more.
AQUATIC LIVING RESOURCES
(2023)
Article
Limnology
Hugo Duarte Moreno, Sebastian Rokitta, Nelly Tremblay, Maarten Boersma, Elisabeth Gross, Helena C. L. Klip, Karen H. Wiltshire, Cedric L. Meunier
Summary: This study investigates the individual and combined effects of temperature, pCO(2), and N:P ratio on the physiology of the diatom Phaeodactylum tricornutum. The results show that temperature is the most influential factor, causing oxidative stress and lower activity of antioxidant enzymes. Additionally, higher photosynthetic rate, lower dark respiration rate, and higher DOC exudation were observed under warmer conditions and higher pCO(2), resulting in cells with lower carbon content.
LIMNOLOGY AND OCEANOGRAPHY
(2023)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Le Liu, Hui Zhang, Xia Liu, Yun Li, Maarten Boersma, Libin Zhou, Feizhou Chen
Summary: The growth of herbivore consumers in freshwater ecosystems is influenced by food quality and quantity, specifically the seston concentration, seston phosphorus, and seston carbon: phosphorus ratio. Higher seston concentration and phosphorus levels, along with a lower carbon: phosphorus ratio, are associated with higher growth rates. The growth rate is also affected by the biomass of cryptophyte algae, indicating the importance of food composition. Low carbon: phosphorus ratio should be considered carefully when assessing the development of herbivore consumers in natural lakes.
ECOLOGICAL INDICATORS
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Rebecca Piontek, Cornelia Jaspers, Maarten Boersma, Alexander Arkhipkin
Summary: Zooplankton communities and their seasonal variations off the Falkland Islands have not been previously studied. This research provides the first assessment of mesozooplankton biomass in the region and highlights the importance of zooplankton composition and biomass for fish communities and fisheries yields. The study also reveals seasonal patterns and ontogenetic behavior of certain species, which are significantly influenced by temperature.
REGIONAL STUDIES IN MARINE SCIENCE
(2023)