Type
Text
Type
Thesis
Advisor
Lonsdale, Darcy | Lonsdale, Darcy J | Gobler, Christopher J | Gobler, Christopher | Collier, Jackie.
Date
2014-12-01
Keywords
copepod, eutrophication, leidyi, long island sound, mnemiopsis, predation | Ecology
Department
Department of Marine and Atmospheric Science.
Language
en_US
Source
This work is sponsored by the Stony Brook University Graduate School in compliance with the requirements for completion of degree.
Identifier
http://hdl.handle.net/11401/76008
Publisher
The Graduate School, Stony Brook University: Stony Brook, NY.
Format
application/pdf
Abstract
The impact of the lobate ctenophore, Mnemiopsis leidyi, on zooplankton community structure has been noted on a variety of ecosystems. This impact arises primarily through high predation rates on copepods. Eutrophication appears to enhance M. leidyi abundance through bottom-up effects. This study investigated the effects of an eutrophication gradient (west to east) on M. leidyi abundance, and the effects of M. leidyi predation on zooplankton populations in the Long Island Sound (LIS). Bi-weekly samples of zooplankton, microplankton, and M. leidyi were obtained from three distinct sites in the Central, Middle, and Western LIS across the eutrophication gradient in 2011 and 2012. An ANOVA was used to compare the M. leidyi abundances and biovolumes at the three sampling sites. Cross-correlation analysis was used to compare abundances of organisms at different trophic levels. M. leidyi consumption rates were also compared to copepod daily growth rates. Abundances of M. leidyi were greater in 2011 than in 2012. The data did not reveal any significantly greater M. leidyi abundance or biovolume in the western LIS than in the eastern LIS. The study also indicated that M. leidyi predation did not significantly reduce the copepod population nor bring about an increase of microplankton as would be expected in a top-down trophic cascade. | 37 pages
Recommended Citation
Rawitz, David, "Impacts of the Lobate Ctenophore Mnemiopsis leidyi on Zooplankton Community Dynamics in the Long Island Sound, NY" (2014). Stony Brook Theses and Dissertations Collection, 2006-2020 (closed to submissions). 1971.
https://commons.library.stonybrook.edu/stony-brook-theses-and-dissertations-collection/1971