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Cascading effects of the ctenophore Mnemiopsis leidyi on the planktonic food web in a nutrient-limited estuarine system

2012; Inter-Research; Volume: 460; Linguagem: Inglês

10.3354/meps09770

1616-1599

Julie Dinasquet, Josefin Titelman, LF Møller, Outi Setälä, Lena Granhag, Tom Andersen, Ulf Båmstedt, Matilda Haraldsson, Aino Hosia, T Katajisto, Theis Kragh, Jorma Kuparinen, ML Schrøter, Martin Søndergaard, Peter Tiselius, Lasse Riemann,

Marine Ecology and Invasive Species

MEPS Marine Ecology Progress Series Contact the journal Facebook Twitter RSS Mailing List Subscribe to our mailing list via Mailchimp HomeLatest VolumeAbout the JournalEditorsTheme Sections MEPS 460:49-61 (2012) - DOI: https://doi.org/10.3354/meps09770 Cascading effects of the ctenophore Mnemiopsis leidyi on the planktonic food web in a nutrient-limited estuarine system J. Dinasquet1,2, J. Titelman3, L. F. Møller4, O. Setälä5, L. Granhag4, T. Andersen3, U. Båmstedt6, M. Haraldsson4, A. Hosia7, T. Katajisto5, T. Kragh8, J. Kuparinen5, M.-L. Schrøter1, M. Søndergaard8, P. Tiselius4, L. Riemann1,2,* 1Department of Natural Sciences, Linnaeus University, Kalmar, 39182 Kalmar, Sweden 2Marine Biological Section, University of Copenhagen, 3000 Helsingør, Denmark 3Department of Biology, University of Oslo, 0316 Oslo, Norway 4Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences−Kristineberg, University of Gothenburg, 405 30 Gothenburg, Sweden 5Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Helsinki, 00014 Helsinki, Finland 6Department of Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Umeå University, 901 87 Umeå, Sweden 7Institute of Marine Research, 5817 Bergen, Norway 8Freshwater Biological Laboratory, University of Copenhagen, 3400 Hillerød, Denmark *Corresponding author. Email: lriemann@bio.ku.dk ABSTRACT: Increasing biomasses of gelatinous zooplankton presumably have major implications for the structure and function of marine food webs at large; however, current data on lower trophic levels are scarce, as most studies have focused on the immediate effects on zooplankton and fish larvae only. We examined the short-term impact of larvae and adults of the invasive ctenophore Mnemiopsis leidyi on a summer planktonic food web in the estuarine southern Baltic Sea, with special emphasis on the microbial loop. Grazing by M. leidyi reduced the mesozooplankton biomass, followed by increased dinoflagellate biomass in treatments with M. leidyi. While chlorophyll a increased most in the treatments with M. leidyi, small phytoplankton and ciliates decreased in all treatments. M. leidyi had a slight effect on bacterial abundance, but not on bacterial production, ectoenzymatic activities, or community composition. Undetectable levels of phosphate and a gradual accumulation of dissolved organic carbon during the experiment suggested a malfunctioning microbial loop scenario. The experiment shows that direct and indirect short-term effects of M. leidyi on the estuarine food web are limited to higher trophic levels and indicates that top-down and bottom-up consequences of M. leidyi expansions on the microbial loop will likely depend on local nutrient conditions. KEY WORDS: Bacterioplankton · Nanoflagellates · Microbial loop · Trophic levels · Ciliates · Baltic Sea Full text in pdf format PreviousNextCite this article as: Dinasquet J, Titelman J, Møller LF, Setälä O and others (2012) Cascading effects of the ctenophore Mnemiopsis leidyi on the planktonic food web in a nutrient-limited estuarine system. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 460:49-61. https://doi.org/10.3354/meps09770 Export citation RSS - Facebook - Tweet - linkedIn Cited by Published in MEPS Vol. 460. Online publication date: July 24, 2012 Print ISSN: 0171-8630; Online ISSN: 1616-1599 Copyright © 2012 Inter-Research.