Observed digestion times of Ocyropsis spp. collected from the Gulf Stream during June 2021 (Ocean Ctenos project)

Abstract

Oceanic ctenophores are widespread predators on pelagic zooplankton. This data describes the digestion rates of a widespread oceanic ctenophore, Ocyropsis spp. as a component for evaluating trophic impact of this and other oceanic ctenophores in planktonic communities. Collection and in situ imaging of Ocyropsis spp. were made during 2021 via blue-water (daytime) and black-water (nighttime) SCUBA diving from a small boat along the western edge of the Gulf Stream, 5 to 8 km off the coast of West Palm Beach, Florida (26° 43′ 93″ N, 79° 59′ 15″ W). Ctenophores were offered a mixed assemblage of copepods from the genera Acartia, Oncaea, and Microsetella. Ocyropsis spp. digestion times were then recorded.

For a complete list of measurements, refer to the full dataset description in the supplemental file 'Dataset_description.pdf'. The most current version of this dataset is available at: https://www.bco-dmo.org/dataset/918678