Skip Navigation


JPR Advance Access originally published online on September 20, 2007
Journal of Plankton Research 2007 29(11):949-965; doi:10.1093/plankt/fbm071
This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow All Versions of this Article:
29/11/949    most recent
fbm071v1
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in ISI Web of Science
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Sullivan, L. J.
Right arrow Articles by Gifford, D. J.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow Articles by Sullivan, L. J.
Right arrow Articles by Gifford, D. J.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

© The Author 2007. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org

Growth and feeding rates of the newly hatched larval ctenophore Mnemiopsis leidyi A. Agassiz (Ctenophora, Lobata)

Lindsay J. Sullivan*,{dagger} and Dian J. Gifford

Graduate School of Oceanography, University of Rhode Island, Narragansett, RI 02882, USA

* Corresponding Author: ljswr{at}sfsu.edu

Received on August 2, 2007; accepted on September 14, 2007


  Abstract

Mnemiopsis leidyi: larvae depend on microplankton (<200 µm) prey during the first few days following hatching until larvae are >0.5 mm in length and can successfully capture and consume mesozooplankton prey. Feeding and growth rates of newly hatched M. leidyi larvae were measured in controlled laboratory experiments. When fed natural microplankton assemblages, newly hatched larvae consumed significant quantities of both autotrophic and heterotrophic prey, including diatoms, phototrophic, heterotrophic and mixotrophic dinoflagellates, euglenoid flagellates, aloricate and tintinnid ciliates, and rotifers. Average per capita clearance rates were 1.99–7.59 mL individual–1 h–1 (X = 4.01 mL individual–1 h–1; SD = 1.95) and total per capita ingestion was 0.01–4.70 µg C individual–1 day–1 x 102 (X = 0.83 µg C individual–1 day–1 x 102; SD = 1.89). Larval growth rates were –0.13 to 0.56 mm individual–1 day–1 (equivalent to –1.72 to 4.33 µg C individual–1 day–1) over a range of larval sizes from 0.5 (<0.5 µg C) to 5 mm (85 µg C). A diet consisting entirely of microplankton prey supported larval growth for >2 weeks, and growth rate decreased when larvae reached 4–5 mm in length, corresponding to the beginning of their morphological transition from tentaculate to lobate feeding mode. The gross growth efficiency of larvae fed natural microplankton assemblages was ~3%.

{dagger}Present Address: Romberg Tiburon Center, San Francisco State University, 3152 Paradise Drive, Tiburon, Ca 94920, Usa

Communicating editor: K.J. Flynn


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?




Disclaimer:
Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.