Bounds on Biomass Estimates and Energetic Consequences of Ctenophora in the Northeast U.S. Shelf Ecosystem

Previous descriptions have noted that the stomach samples of spiny dogfish, Squalus acanthias, showed a major increase in the overall occurrence and hence implied abundance of Ctenophora. This apparent and persistent gelatinous zooplankton outbreak is increasingly more common in the world’s oceans. We briefly explore the energetic ramifications of ctenophores in the spiny dogfish diet, inferring that the presence of gelatinous zooplankton represents an ambient feeding strategy. Relative to other prey, ctenophores are not a high energy density prey item. However, given varying assumptions of the amount of ctenophores consumed, they may be an important staple in the diet of spiny dogfish. We also examine the utility of using spiny dogfish as a gelatinous zooplankton sampling device. Using five calculation methodologies, we provide bounds on potential abundance and biomass estimates of ctenophores in the Northeast U.S. shelf ecosystem. We then contextualize these findings relative to the implications for the Northeast U.S. and any large marine ecosystem.

• Publication year

  2014

• Venue

  International Journal of Oceanography

• Publication date

  2014-01-29

• Fields of study

  Biology, Environmental Science

• Identifiers
  DOI 10.1155/2014/851809
• External record

  Open on Semantic Scholar

• Source metadata

  Semantic Scholar

• No claims are published for this paper.

• No concepts are published for this paper.

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