SEMINAR: REMINDER: MBF602 STUDENT SEMINAR *TOMORROW* 2/17 @ 1:00PM--JESSICA LUO

[Pam Harris <pharris@rsmas.miami.edu>]

 

MBF Student Seminar Series

 

Jessica Luo

Advisor: Dr. Robert Cowen

“Fine scale distribution of siphonophores and a narcomedusae bloom across a front in the Southern California Bight.”

 

Gelatinous organisms are becoming increasingly recognized as important components of marine ecosystems, but knowledge of their coarse, and particularly, fine scale spatial-temporal distributions are often lacking. Using the towed In Situ Ichthyoplankton Imaging System (ISIIS), which images plankton using a shadowgraph technique, we sampled a frontal feature in the Southern California Bight in October 2010 along three cross-front transects where ISIIS was undulating from the surface to 140m. We present preliminary data on the distribution of gelatinous hydrozoans with respect to the physical environment, the scaling of patch dynamics, and their co-occurrence within a community context.  We discovered a bloom of the seldom-observed narcomedusae Solmaris rhodoloma coincident with the frontal feature, with highest concentrations exceeding 1350 individuals m^-3.  Siphonophores of five taxa were also quantified: Sphaeronectes spp., Diphyidae, Physonectae, Lilyopsis rosea, and Prayidae, listed in order of abundance (27 to 2 individuals m^-3).  The siphonophores appear to be negatively correlated with S. rhodoloma, and also are highly aggregated at different scales of patch size by taxa. Through this research, we are able to begin examining the biophysical drivers of and the role of certain taxa within the community dynamics of gelatinous hydrozoans.

 

 

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2012

1:00pm

RSMAS campus, S/A 103