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R/P-35
Control of copepod populations by predators: larval ctenophores
Principal Investigator:
Jennifer E. PurcellStart/End Year:
1992 - 1994Institution:
Horn Point Laboratory, University of Maryland Center for Environmental ScienceTopic(s):
- Jellyfish
Description:
The objective of the proposed research is to determine predation rates on Acartia tonsa nauplii and copepodites due to tentaculate larval Mnemiopsis ctenophores. These predators may be extremely important in controlling copepod population densities. This research examines predation not yet addressed in my ongoing research on the impacts of medusae and adult ctenophores on copepod populations. This research should complete examination of the major pelagic predators on Acartia copepods in the mesohaline region of Chesapeake Bay.
Funding Start Year
1992
Funding End Year
1994
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Featured Fellow
Nina Santos
Nina Santos is a Ph.D. student at the Chesapeake Biological Laboratory at the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science. For her dissertation, she is focused on small shrimp-like crustaceans called mysids – an understudied yet important part of many estuarine and coastal food webs.
Featured Research Project
Developing a habitat model for mysids, an important link in Chesapeake Bay food webs
Mysids are important mesozooplankton prey for many species of fish in Chesapeake Bay and are an important link in transferring energy from lower to upper trophic levels. Mysids also serve as biological vectors for benthic-pelagic coupling due to their diel vertical migration and omnivorous prey-switching behavior, which makes mysids important regulators of food web architecture. Despite their central role in coastal food webs, surprisingly little is known about mysid ecology and dynamics in Chesapeake Bay.
