The life history and vertical distribution of the chaetognath, <i>Sagitta elegans</i>, in Dabob Bay, Washington

King, Kenneth R.

doi:10.1093/plankt/1.2.153

Cited by 33 publications

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“…The vertical distribution of Sagitta with respect to both temperature and food supply apparently is a variable pattern (McLaren 1969;King 1979) that may be explained only by simultaneous con sideration of several factors.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

In situ feeding behavior of Sagitta elegans and Eukrohnia hamata (Chaetognatha) in relation to the vertical distribution and abundance of prey at Ocean Station “P”1

Sullivan

1980

Limnology & Oceanography

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The feeding behavior and diet in nature are described for two species of chaetognaths in an open ocean community. Sagitta elegans lives and feeds primarily in the upper water column (0–25 m) and the vertical distribution of this species may be explained primarily by its requirement of high prey densities. Eukrohnia hamata apparently needs less food and is found mainly below the mixed layer with a vertical distribution restricted by temperature. The same prey species, those with the highest densities at Station “P,” make up the diet of both chaetognaths, although Eukrohnia eats significantly more small prey. The major prey of juvenile chaetognaths (numerical frequency) are small cyclopoid copepods, a group frequently overlooked in plankton surveys. These species also comprise 41% of the diet of older chaetognaths, which prey in addition on stage V copepodites of the largest copepods. It is suggested that the development of larval chaetognaths depends on abundant, small prey but that older chaetognaths can handle prey of a very wide spectrum of sizes.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

In situ feeding behavior of Sagitta elegans and Eukrohnia hamata (Chaetognatha) in relation to the vertical distribution and abundance of prey at Ocean Station “P”1

Sullivan

1980

Limnology & Oceanography

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“…The mixed layer, when present, is shallow (< 20 m), and below this annual variations in temperature are small. The temperature below the mixed layer is usually 8"-9°C (table 1: King 1979).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Selective predation by the carnivorous marine copepod Euchaeta elongata: Laboratory measurements of predation rates verified by field observations of temporal and spatial feeding patterns1,2

Yen

1985

Limnology & Oceanography

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The size of copepod prey strongly influenced dietary selectivity by Euchaeta elongata. Adult females (4.2-mm prosome length) showed highest predation rates on adult copepod prey 650-1,000 pm long and on intermediate sized copepodid stages of Calanus pacz$cu+s. Selective feeding curves of copepodid stages IV and V of E. elongata showed a slight shift toward smaller prey. The prosome length of the primary prey was 70% the length of the second basipodal segment of the maxilliped for CIV, CV, and adult females of E. elongata. In both single and multispecies experiments at two concentrations, predation rates of adult female E. elongata seemed to be invariably focused on prey 650-1,000 pm long. Because E. elongata can consume adults of small copepod prey and the young copepodid stages of large copepod prey, it causes mortality of the entire copepod assemblage. Apparent recognition of a preferred prey, Pseudocalanus spp., and the nonpreferred cyclopoids seems to depend partly on their activity patterns. Thus, although size is an important determinant of dietary selectivity, species-specific behavioral differences can also influence feeding rates.Variations in predatory feeding activity on copepod prey were closely related to diel vertical migrations of E. elongata. The number of adult females with ingested prey began to increase soon after sunset, when the predatory copepod entered the surface layers containing prey of the preferred size, thus corroborating the selective feeding pattern observed in the laboratory. The timing of the migrations coincided well with sunset (ascent) and sunrise (descent) in winter, spring, and summer.

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“…10) (Tchindonova 1955, Bieri 1959, Alvarifio 1965, Kotori 1972, King 1979, Sullivan 1980, Terazaki & Miller 1986 and S. elegans is a typical epipelagic and 150 to 200 m in Stage I11 (adult). Therefore, it is not possible that large individuals distributed in the mesoand bathypelagic layer below 500 m reach the epipelagic layer by upward migration.…”

Section: Chemical Compositionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Deep-sea adaptation of the epipelagic chaetognath Sagitta elegans in the Japan Sea

Terazaki¹

1993

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

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The Japan Sea is a semi-isolated marginal sea connected to the Pacific by 4 shallow straits. The only important current flowing Into this sea today is the warm Tsushima Current entering through the southern strait. Between 20000 and 10000 yr ago, the cold Oyashio Current flowed into the Japan Sea through its northern straits. The epipelagic chaetognath Sagitta elegans was introduced into this sea during this period, but shallow straits prevented the invasion of deep-sea chaetognaths. All other chaetognath species were introduced into this sea by the warm current within the last 10000 yr and inhabit the epipelagic layer. S. elegans is distributed as deep as 1000 m or more, but feeding activity is low in the deep water. The size and number of grasping splnes and teeth of the Japan Sea specimens are larger than those from the Pacific. They have also developed intestinal tissue containing oil droplets, like meso-and bathypelagic specles. These features are adaptations to the deep-water environment. The vertical dispersal of S. elegans is facilitated by the absence of competitors such as Eukrohnia hamata, E. fowleri and S. macrocephala in this marginal sea.

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The life history and vertical distribution of the chaetognath, Sagitta elegans, in Dabob Bay, Washington

Cited by 33 publications

References 0 publications

In situ feeding behavior of Sagitta elegans and Eukrohnia hamata (Chaetognatha) in relation to the vertical distribution and abundance of prey at Ocean Station “P”1

In situ feeding behavior of Sagitta elegans and Eukrohnia hamata (Chaetognatha) in relation to the vertical distribution and abundance of prey at Ocean Station “P”1

Selective predation by the carnivorous marine copepod Euchaeta elongata: Laboratory measurements of predation rates verified by field observations of temporal and spatial feeding patterns1,2

Deep-sea adaptation of the epipelagic chaetognath Sagitta elegans in the Japan Sea

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