Burst feeding of Pelagia noctiluca ephyrae on Atlantic bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus) eggs.

ABSTRACT: This study investigates the predation of P. noctiluca ephyrae on Atlantic Bluefin tuna (ABFT) eggs under different experimental conditions. The specific factors considered in the experimental design were: a) water mix conditions to explore predation under two-dimensional (2D) and three-dimensional (3D) prey distributions, b) prey density to investigate the ingestion rate capacity, and c) incubation time to inspect gut saturation. The eggs and jellyfish ephyrae were collected during the 2012 ABFT spawning survey off Ibiza (Balearic Isl., Western Mediterranean). The results showed that the proportion of feeding ephyrae increased with size. The mean clearance rate of feeding ephyrae, 4.14 L h(-1), was the highest ever recorded for ephyrae. Under calm conditions the eggs floated at the surface

SUBMITTER: Gordoa A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3777989 | biostudies-literature | 2013

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature