JPR Advance Access originally published online on August 22, 2005
Journal of Plankton Research 2005 27(8):811-823; doi:10.1093/plankt/fbi055
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Trophic interactions of the freshwater jellyfish Craspedacusta sowerbii


Institute of Environmental Research (Biology V), Rwth Aachen University, Worringer Weg 1, D-52056 Aachen, Germany
Present Address: Water Resources Department, Swiss Federaz Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology (EAWAG), Überlandstrasse 133, CH-8600 Dübendorf Switzerland
Present Address: Research Institute for Ecosystem Analysis and Assessment Gaiac, Rwth Aachen University, Worringer Weg 1, D-52056 Aachen, Germany
* Corresponding Author: thomas.jankowski{at}eawag.ch
Received April 25, 2005; accepted in principle July 26, 2005; accepted for publication August 15, 2005; published online August 22, 2005
The predatory impact and the trophic role of the freshwater jellyfish, Craspedacusta sowerbii, was studied using microcosm and enclosure experiments as well as a 3-year pond survey. The results showed a significant decrease of small herbivorous crustaceans, i.e. Bosmina longirostris and juvenile cyclopoid copepods, in the medusa treatments of the microcosms and the enclosure experiments. Chlorophyll concentrations in the enclosure experiment were significantly increased in the medusa treatment, suggesting that C. sowerbii may cause cascading effects in the food chain. A comparison of daily zooplankton losses during the pond survey caused by medusae and fish (roach, Rutilus rutilus), and their food selectivities suggest food separation of these two predators and reveal a strong negative impact of medusae on the copepod pond community. In the case of a jellyfish bloom, our results show that both food chains can co-occur in lakes because of a weak interaction between these top predators, fish and jellyfish, with simultaneous impacts on the zooplankton structure.
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