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Ctenophore Mnemiopsis-Leidyi; Lower Chesapeake Bay; Acartia-Tonsa; Nonconsumptive Mortality; Turbidity Maximum; Boundary-Layer; Prey Detection; Zooplankton; Sea; Decomposition
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Dead In The Water: The Fate Of Copepod Carcasses In The York River Estuary, Virginia, Dt Elliott, Courtney K. Harris, Kw Tang
Dead In The Water: The Fate Of Copepod Carcasses In The York River Estuary, Virginia, Dt Elliott, Courtney K. Harris, Kw Tang
VIMS Articles
Using laboratory and field experiments we investigated three fates of copepod carcass organic matter in the York River estuary, Virginia: ingestion by planktivores (necrophagy), microbial decomposition, and removal by gravitational settling in the presence of turbulence (sinking). The ctenophore Mnemiopsis leidyi ingested live copepods and carcasses indiscriminately in feeding experiments. Microbial decomposition led to ca. 50% of carcass dry weight loss within 8 h after death. Carcass settling velocities in still water were ca. 0.1 cm s(-1), implying short residence time (hours) in the shallow estuary. However, turbulent mixing kept carcasses in suspension much of the time, reducing sinking losses. …