Growth, reproduction and nutrition of some Barents Sea hydromedusae in natural aggregations
✍ Scribed by E. A. Zelickman; V. I. Gelfand; M. A. Shifrin
- Publisher
- Springer-Verlag
- Year
- 1969
- Tongue
- English
- Weight
- 814 KB
- Volume
- 4
- Category
- Article
- ISSN
- 0025-3162
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✦ Synopsis
Mass aggregations of the hydromedusae Tiaropsis multicirrata and J~athkea octopunctata have been studied in the Jarnyslmaya Fjord on the Kola Perminsul8 during the period of domination of the summer neritic plankton complex. The mass aggregations persist at least over periods of 2 months. No hydrometereological parameters could be established that would conceivably favour such aggregations. The factor most likely responsible for creating the aggregations is assumed to be related to the stable level of the summer zooplankton production in the study area. The vas~ iadividual numbers of hydromedusae as well as their polyphageous feeding behaviour and high growth rates suggest that the medusae represent the most substantial consumers of plankton in inshore waters. The low and highly variable percent of mednsae individuals which reveal food in their intestinal system lead the authors to assume additional food sources: nalmoplankton, bacteria, and dissolved organic matter.