Top-Down Impacts of Sea Nettles (Chrysaora quinquecirrha) on Pelagic Community Structure in Barnegat Bay, New Jersey, U.S.A.

Abstract

ABSTRACT Bologna, P.A.X.; Gaynor, J.J.; Barry C.L., and Restaino, D.J., 2017. Top-down impacts of sea nettles (Chrysaora quinquecirrha) on pelagic community structure in Barnegat Bay, New Jersey, U.S.A.. In: Buchanan, G.A.; Belton, T.J., and Paudel, B. (eds.), A Comprehensive Assessment of Barnegat Bay–Little Egg Harbor, New Jersey. Coastal communities are substantially affected by human activities and create environments conducive to opportunistic species and structural changes in food webs. The Mid-Atlantic coast of the United States is highly urbanized with significant landscape modification and elevated pollutant loads. The appearance and development of resident populations of the Atlantic sea nettle (Chrysaora quinquecirrha) in Barnegat Bay, New Jersey demonstrates a successful establishment to this estuary. This research indicates that two species of gelatinous zooplankton (Mnemiopsis leidyi, C. quinquecirrha) play important structuring roles in the pelagic community. Specifically, M. leidyi exerts ...