Jellyfish Ecology

The sea nettle, Chrysaora quinquecirrha (photo by Rebecca Burrell)

Gelatinous zooplankton, including the ctenophore Mnemiopsis leidyi, and a scyphomedusan jellyfish, the sea nettle Chrysaora quinquecirrha, are dominant consumers in Chesapeake Bay and other coastal systems. I am fascinated that organisms with no brain or other complex organ systems can exert such strong control over food webs. The key to their success seems to lie in both their inherent capabilities and their responses to the way human activities alter the ecosystems they inhabit.

Our laboratory is using experiments, field sampling, statistical analyses and modeling to examine a number of questions:

The lobate ctenophore,  Mnemiopsis leidyi (photo by Keith Bayha)

•  Has eutrophication, which is caused by excess nutrients entering coastal waters, created an environment that is more favorable for gelatinous zooplankton than for fish? >> 

•  How do different food web structures influence the temporal dynamics of jelly populations? >> 

•  Do small coves and inlets along Chesapeake Bay tributaries act as sites of high gelatinous zooplankton production that then seed larger water bodies within the Chesapeake Bay system? >> 

•  Has the decline of oyster reefs in Chesapeake Bay led to declining populations of sea nettles and increased predation on fish and oyster larvae by ctenophores? >>