Effects of turbulence on the feeding rate of a pelagic predator : the planktonic hydroid Clytia gracilis
Effects of turbulence on the feeding rate of a pelagic predator : the planktonic hydroid Clytia gracilis
Date
2005-12-14
Authors
Adamik, Peter
Gallager, Scott M.
Horgan, Erich F.
Madin, Laurence P.
McGillis, Wade R.
Govindarajan, Annette F.
Alatalo, Philip
Gallager, Scott M.
Horgan, Erich F.
Madin, Laurence P.
McGillis, Wade R.
Govindarajan, Annette F.
Alatalo, Philip
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Keywords
Turbulent mixing
Small-scale turbulence
Hydrozoa
Functional response
Small-scale turbulence
Hydrozoa
Functional response
Abstract
Relatively little is known about the role of turbulence in a predator - prey system where the
predator is a passive, pelagic forager. The Campanulariid hydroid Clytia gracilis (Cnidaria,
Hydrozoa) is unusual because it occurs as planktonic colonies and is reported to forage passively
in the water column on Georges Bank, Massachusetts, USA. In this study we investigated the role
of various turbulence conditions on the feeding rate of C. gracilis colonies in laboratory
experiments. We found a positive relationship between turbulence velocities and feeding rates up
to a turbulent energy dissipation rate of ca 1 cm2 s-3. Beyond this threshold feeding rate decreased
slightly, indicating a dome-shaped relationship. Additionally, a negative relationship was found
between feeding efficiency and hydroid colony size under lower turbulent velocities, but this
trend was not significant under higher turbulence regimes.
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Author Posting. © The Authors, 2005. This is the author's version of the work. It is posted here by permission of Elsevier B.V. for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 333 (2006): 159-165, doi:10.1016/j.jembe.2005.12.006.