Gelatinous Macroplankton in the Black Sea in the Autumn of
2010

B. E. Anninsky, G. A. Finenko, N. A. Datsyk, and S. M. Ignatyev

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

e-mail: anninsky_b@mail.ru

Received September 5, 2012; in final form, February 14, 2013

Abstract—In October and November of 2010, the gelatinous macroplankton in the northwestern Black Sea and at
the Crimean shelf was represented by the scyphozoan jellyfish Aurelia aurita, three species of ctenophores (Beroe
ovata, Mnemiopsis leidyi, and Pleurobrachia pileus), and three species of hydromedusae. A. aurita was more com-
mon at the shelf, M. leidyi and P. pileus prevailed at the deeper sea stations, and B. ovata was almost ubiquitous
with a biomass from below 1 to 49 g/m² A. aurita, which had an average biomass of 82–224 g/m², was dominant
at all the stations. M. leidyi, which had a biomass from below 1 to 115 g/m², was recorded in October at only
14 of the 52 stations and in November at 20 of the 46 stations. The highest biomass of M. leidyi in October (105
to 116 g/m²) was recorded in the deep sea areas; in November, it was also the highest in these areas, but it
reached at most 100 g/m². The average daily ration of Aurelia ranged from 19.4 to 27.3 mg/m² in October and
from 7.0 to 17.2 mg/m² in November; in both cases, it was insufficient to provide for the minimal physiological
requirements. The average daily ration of the Mnemiopsis population (2.8–20.5 mg of zooplankton per m²) was
invariably more than sufficient to provide for the minimal physiological requirements. Both predatory species
together consumed less than 5% of the daily zooplankton production of the sea.

DOI: 10.1134/S0001437013060015

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