Population Dynamics and Energetics of the Ctenophore
Mnemiopsis leidyi in Sevastopol Bay

G. A. Finenko and Z. A. Romanova

Kovalevskii Institute of Biology of the Southern Seas, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Sevastopol, Ukraine

Received December 24, 1998; in final form, August 2, 1999

Abstract—The population dynamics of the abundance and biomass were studied and the specific production
of population of the ctenophore Mnemiopsis leidyi was estimated in Sevastopol Bay during one year (from Jan-
uary 1995 to March 1996). The ctenophores achieved maximum abundance and biomass in July during the
period of intensive reproduction. The young specimens (<5 mm) contributed during that period as much as 50–
87% to the total abundance of the population. The annually averaged daily specific growth rate was 0.039. The
growth, food consumption, and the rate of filtration were measured in the laboratory under two concentrations
of food (Acartia clausi and Moina micrura; 60 and 100 specimens per liter, 0.35 and 0.60 mg wet weight/l).
Both concentrations sustained the growth of the animals with a dry weight less than 20 mg; however, these con-
centrations were insufficient to sustain the growth of larger ctenophores. The specific growth rate of the cteno-
phores with a dry weight <20 mg under favorable food conditions was 0.20–0.30. The specific growth rate of
the ctenophores in Sevastopol Bay never exceeded 0.093, the mean biomass of fodder zooplankton in the bay
being 90 mg/m³ in terms of wet weight. Hence, the conclusion was made that the population of M. leidyi in the
bay was limited by the lack of food.

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