Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Effects of temperature and the presence of benthic predators on the vertical distribution of the ctenophore Pleurobrachia pileus

  • Research Article
  • Published:
Marine Biology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

This study details the investigations of the effect of temperature and the presence of predators on the vertical distribution of the ctenophore Pleurobrachia pileus. Previous studies had suggested that P. pileus moves to the sediment when exposed to colder temperatures as an energy saving strategy. Although we did observe an effect of temperature on the movement of the ciliate combs, the effect of temperature on the average depth of animals in the water column was not significant, but a significant interaction was found between temperature and exposure time. In the presence of benthic predators or of water previously inhabited by these predators P. pileus changed its vertical distribution significantly, and moved away from the sediment, thus reducing the risk of being predated. We conclude that P. pileus can sense the presence of its predators, and changes its behaviour accordingly.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Atema J (1995) Chemical signals in the marine environment—dispersal, detection, and temporal signal analysis. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 92:62–66

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Attrill MJ, Thomas RM (1996) Long-term distribution patterns of mobile estuarine invertebrates (Ctenophora, Cnidaria, Crustacea: Decapoda) in relation to hydrological parameters. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 143:25–36

    Google Scholar 

  • Bamstedt U (1998) Trophodynamics of Pleurobrachia pileus (Ctenophora, Cydippida) and ctenophore summer occurrence off the Norwegian north-west coast. Sarsia 83:169–181

    Google Scholar 

  • Bidigare RR, Biggs DC (1980) The role of sulfate exclusion in buoyancy maintenance by siphonophores and other oceanic gelatinous zooplankton. Comp Biochem Physiol A 66:467–472

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chen LH, Chen G, Li SJ, Guo DH (2003) Studies on feeding of ctenophore Pleurobrachia globosa in Xiamen Harbour. J Xiamen Univ Nat Sci 42:228–232

    Google Scholar 

  • CIESM (Commission Internationale pour l’Exploration Scientifique de la Mer Méditerranée) (2001) Gelatinous zooplankton outbreaks: theory and practice. Workshop series vol 14, CIESM, Monaco, pp 1–112

    Google Scholar 

  • Fine-Levy JB, Daniel PC, Girardot MN, Derby CD (1989) Behavioral resolution of quality of odorant mixtures by spiny lobster differential aversive conditioning of olfactory responses. Chem Senses 14:503–524

    Google Scholar 

  • Forward RB, Rittschof D (2000) Alteration of photoresponses involved in diel vertical migration of a crab larva by fish mucus and degradation products of mucopolysaccharides. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 245:277–292

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Fraser JH (1970) The ecology of ctenophore Pleurobrachia pileus in Scottish waters. J Cons Int Explor Mer 33:149–168

    Google Scholar 

  • Frid CLJ, Newton LC, Williams JA (1994) The feeding rates of Pleurobrachia (Ctenophora) and Sagitta (Chaetognatha), with notes on the potential seasonal role of planktonic predators in the dynamics of North Sea zooplankton communities. Neth J Aquat Ecol 28:181–191

    Google Scholar 

  • Greve W (1968) The ‘Planktonkreisel’, a new device for culturing zooplankton. Mar Biol 1:201–203

    Google Scholar 

  • Greve W (1971) Ecological investigations on Pleurobrachia pileus. 1. Field studies. Helgol Wiss Meeresunters 22:303–325

    Google Scholar 

  • Greve W (1972) Ecological investigations on Pleurobrachia pileus. 2. Laboratory investigations. Helgol Wiss Meeresunters 23:141–164

    Google Scholar 

  • Greve W, Reiners F (1988) Plankton time-space dynamics in German Bight North Sea: a systems approach. Oecologia 77:487–496

    Google Scholar 

  • Hardege JD, Bentley MG (1984) Spawning synchrony in Arenicola marina: evidence for sex pheromonal control. Proc R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 264:1041–1047

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Harvell CD (1998) Genetic variation and polymorphism in the inducible spines of a marine bryozoan. Evolution 52:80–86

    Google Scholar 

  • Hay ME, Fenical W (1988) Marine plant–herbivore interactions: the ecology of chemical defense. Annu Rev Ecol Syst 19:111–145

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kideys AE, Romanova Z (2001) Distribution of gelatinous macrozooplankton in the southern Black Sea during 1996–1999. Mar Biol 139:535–547

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kideys AE, Kovalev AV, Shulman G, Gordina A, Bingel F (2000) A review of zooplankton investigations of the Black Sea over the last decade. J Mar Syst 24:355–371

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kopacz U (1994) Evidence for tidally-induced vertical migration of some gelatinous zooplankton in the Wadden Sea area near Sylt. Helgol Meeresunters 48:333–342

    Google Scholar 

  • Kuipers BR, Gaedke U, Enserink L, Witte H (1990) Effect of ctenophore predation on mesozooplankton during a spring outburst of Pleurobrachia pileus. Neth J Sea Res 26:111–124

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lass S, Spaak P (2003) Chemically induced anti-predator defences in plankton: a review. Hydrobiologia 491:221–239

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Loose CJ, von Elert E, Dawidowicz P (1993) Chemically-induced diel vertical migration in Daphnia: a new bioassay for kairomones exuded by fish. Arch Hydrobiol 126:329–337

    Google Scholar 

  • Mills CE (2001) Jellyfish blooms: are populations increasing globally in response to changing ocean conditions? Hydrobiologia 451:55–86

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mills CE, Vogt RG (1984) Evidence that ion regulation in hydromedusae and ctenophores does not facilitate vertical migration. Biol Bull (Woods Hole) 166:216–227

    Google Scholar 

  • Milne WR, Corey S (1986) Distributional patterns of the ctenophores Pleurobrachia pileus and Beroe cucumis in the Bay of Fundy region Canada. Can J Zool 64:2639–2644

    Google Scholar 

  • Mutlu E, Bingel F (1999) Distribution and abundance of ctenophores, and their zooplankton food in the Black Sea. I. Pleurobrachia pileus. Mar Biol 135:589–601

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ohman MD, Frost BW, Cohen EB (1983) Reverse diel vertical migration: an escape from invertebrate predators. Science 220:1404–1407

    Google Scholar 

  • Pawlik JR (1990) Natural and artificial induction of metamorphosis of Phragmatopoma lapidosa californica Polychaeta Sabellariidae with a critical look at the effects of bioactive compounds on marine invertebrate larvae. Bull Mar Sci 46:512–536

    Google Scholar 

  • Ratchford SG, Eggleston DB (2000) Temporal shift in the presence of a chemical cue contributes to a diel shift in sociality. Anim Behav 59:793–799

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Sullivan BK, Doering PH, Oviatt CA, Keller AA, Frithsen JB (1991) Interactions with the benthos alter pelagic food web structure in coastal waters. Can J Fish Aquat Sci 48:2276–2284

    Google Scholar 

  • Tollrian R, Harvell CD (1999) The evolution of inducible defenses. Princeton University Press, Princeton

  • van der Veer HW, Sadee CFM (1984) Seasonal occurrence of the ctenophore Pleurobrachia pileus in the western Dutch Wadden Sea. Mar Biol 79:219–228

    Google Scholar 

  • Wang Z, Thiebaut E, Dauvin JC (1995) Spring abundance and distribution of the ctenophore Pleurobrachia pileus in the Seine estuary: advective transport and diel vertical migration. Mar Biol 124:313–324

    Google Scholar 

  • Zimmer RK, Butman CA (2000) Chemical signaling processes in the marine environment. Biol Bull (Woods Hole) 198:168–187

    Google Scholar 

  • Zimmer-Faust RK (1989) The relationship between chemoreception and foraging behavior in crustaceans. Limnol Oceanogr 34:1367–1374

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

We thank the crews of the “Aade” and “Uthörn” for their help in collecting samples, and O. Goemann, who made the benthic predators available. F. Buchholz, L. Gutow, G. Graf and K. Wiltshire are thanked for their constructive criticism on earlier versions of this manuscript. The experiments comply with the current laws of the country in which the experiments were performed.

Author information

Author notes

  1. M. Esser

    Present address: Institut für Zoologie, Allgemeine Ökologie und Limnologie, Universität zu Köln, Weyertal 119, 50923, Cologne, Germany

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Biologische Anstalt Helgoland, Alfred-Wegener-Institut für Polar- und Meeresforschung, Postfach 180, 27483, Helgoland, Germany

    M. Esser & M. Boersma

  2. Forschungsinstitut Senckenberg, Notkestrasse 31, 22607, Hamburg, Germany

    W. Greve

Authors
  1. M. Esser
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. W. Greve
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. M. Boersma
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to M. Boersma.

Additional information

Communicated by O. Kinne, Oldendorf/Luhe

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Esser, M., Greve, W. & Boersma, M. Effects of temperature and the presence of benthic predators on the vertical distribution of the ctenophore Pleurobrachia pileus . Marine Biology 145, 595–601 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-004-1348-0

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-004-1348-0

Keywords

Search

Navigation