Document Type

Article

Publication Date

1984

DOI

10.3354/meps019039

Publication Title

Marine Ecology Progress Series

Volume

19

Issue

1-2

Pages

39-47

Abstract

The abundance of 4 levels of the lower Chesapeake Bay food chain (Chlorophyll a, herbivores, ctenophore Mnemiopsis leidyi, and Scyphomedusa Chrysaora quinquecirrha) were moni­tored twice weekly at 4 stations from May 10 through Sep 30, 1982 in the Lafayette and Elizabeth Rivers (Virginia). The herbivore standing stock, largely copepods, declined sharply in late May when M. Jeidyi appeared, but rebounded a month later when C. quinquecirrha medusae reduced the ctenophore population. Despite the additional presence of Aurelia aurita (Scyphomedusa) from Jul onward, herbivore abundance remained at moderate levels until the end of the study period. Phytoplankton abundance fluctuated and may have been responsible for brief periods of food shortage; however, the major periods of low herbivore abundance do not seem to have been kept low by food limitation. M. Jeidyi made a modest resurgence in late Aug when the C. quinquecirrha population underwent its seasonal decline. Our data suggest that C. quinquecirrha contributes to the secondary productivity of the lower Chesapeake Bay by controlling M. leidyi during summer.

Rights

Publisher's PDF may be posted on the Author's personal or institutional website or deposited into the Author's institutional Open Access repository any time after publication only if the article is published with 'Gold' Open Access. For other articles, the Publisher’s PDF may be posted or deposited once the article becomes Free Access, 5 years after publication.

© Inter-Research/hinted in F. R. Germany.

Original Publication Citation

Feigenbaum, D., & Kelly, M. (1984). Changes in the lower Chesapeake Bay food-chain in presence of the sea nettle Chrysaora-quinquecirrha (Scyphomedusa). Marine Ecology Progress Series, 19(1-2), 39-47. doi:10.3354/meps019039

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