Jellyfish blooms result in a major microbial respiratory sink of carbon in marine systems.

ABSTRACT: Jellyfish blooms occur in many estuarine and coastal regions and may be increasing in their magnitude and extent worldwide. Voracious jellyfish predation impacts food webs by converting large quantities of carbon (C), fixed by primary producers and consumed by secondary producers, into gelatinous biomass, which restricts C transfer to higher trophic levels because jellyfish are not readily consumed by other predators. In addition, jellyfish release colloidal and dissolved organic matter (jelly-DOM), and could further influence the functioning of coastal systems by altering microbial nutrient and DOM pathways, yet the links between jellyfish and bacterioplankton metabolism and community structure are unknown. Here we report that jellyfish released substantial quantities of extremely labile

SUBMITTER: Condon RH 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3121804 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature