Pelagic population dynamics of Aurelia sp in French Mediterranean lagoons

The pelagic dynamics of the cosmopolitan scyphozoan Aurelia sp. was investigated in three French Mediterranean lagoons, Thau, Berre and Bages-Sigean, which harbour resident populations. The annual cycles showed a common univoltine pattern in all lagoons where the presence of pelagic stages in the wa...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of Plankton Research
Main Authors: Marques, Raquel, Albouy-Boyer, Severine, Delpy, Floriane, Carre, Claire, Le Floc'h, Emilie, Roques, Cecile, Molinero, Juan-Carlos, Bonnet, Delphine
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Oxford University Press 2015
Subjects:
Ctenophore Mnemiopsis-Leidyi
Moon jellyfish
Common jellyfish
Aurita Cnidaria
Thau Lagoon
Calanus-Finmarchicus
Seasonal-changes
Prey selection
Growth-rate
Kiel-Bight
Calanus finmarchicus
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/10400.1/11957
https://doi.org/10.1093/plankt/fbv059
Description
Summary:The pelagic dynamics of the cosmopolitan scyphozoan Aurelia sp. was investigated in three French Mediterranean lagoons, Thau, Berre and Bages-Sigean, which harbour resident populations. The annual cycles showed a common univoltine pattern in all lagoons where the presence of pelagic stages in the water column lasted similar to 8 months. Field observations showed a release of ephyrae in winter time followed by pronounced growth between April and July, when individuals reached the largest sizes, before disappearing from the water column. Maximum abundance of ephyrae and medusae were registered in Thau. Medusae abundance attained a maximum of 331 ind 100 m(-3) in Thau, 18 ind 100 m(-3) in Berre and 7 ind 100 m(-3) in Bages-Sigean lagoons. Temperature and zooplankton abundance appeared as leading factors of growth, where Bages-Sigean showed the population with higher growth rates (2.66 mm day(-1)) and maximum size (32 cm), followed by Thau (0.57-2.56 mm day(-1); 22.4 cm) and Berre (1.57-2.22 mm day(-1); 17 cm). The quantification of environmental windows used by the species showed wider ranges than previously reported in the Mediterranean Sea, which suggests a wide ecological plasticity of Aurelia spp. populations in north-western Mediterranean lagoons. GELAMED project; Total foundation [189 - "Recherche" 18902 C]; EC2CO "Ecosphere Continentale et Cotiere" programme through the DYNAMO project; OSU-OREME

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