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Mass occurrence of the ctenophore Bolinopsis vitrea (L. Agassiz, 1860) in the nearshore southern Adriatic Sea (Kotor Bay, Montenegro)

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Abstract

The ctenophore Bolinopsis vitrea has been rarely observed in the Mediterranean Sea. A bloom of B. vitrea is here reported for the first time in the southern Adriatic Sea in the spring and summer of 2009, together with its effect on the plankton of Kotor Bay. Ctenophores were found below 5 m depth only. Results of the investigation indicate that mass occurrence of B. vitrea could have a great impact on the Kotor Bay ecosystem. Their predation on copepods would reduce grazing pressure on phytoplankton, favouring an uncommon bloom of the latter. It is evident that B. vitrea are capable of altering rapidly the composition and biomass of coastal plankton communities when present in large masses. This first evidence of such events for this species may indicate changes in the functioning of marine ecosystems of the southern Adriatic.

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Acknowledgements

The Ministry of Science and Education of the Republic Montenegro and the Ministry of Science, Education and Sports of the Republic of Croatia (Project No 275-0982705-3047) funded this work. We express our gratitude to Dr. Shiganova for confirming our determination of the species Bolinopsis vitrea.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Dubrovnik, Dubrovnik, Croatia

    Davor Lucic, Vladimir Onofri, Marijana Miloslavic, Barbara Gangai, Ivona Onofri & Adam Benovic

  2. Institute of Marine Biology, Kotor, Montenegro

    Branka Pestoric & Dragana Drakulovic

  3. Marine Biological Station, National Institute of Biology, Piran, Slovenia

    Alenka Malej

  4. Leibinz Institut of Marine Science, IFM-GEOMAR, Kiel, Germany

    Lucia Lopez-Lopez

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  1. Davor Lucic
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  2. Branka Pestoric
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  3. Alenka Malej
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  4. Lucia Lopez-Lopez
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  5. Dragana Drakulovic
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  6. Vladimir Onofri
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  9. Ivona Onofri
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  10. Adam Benovic
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Correspondence to Davor Lucic.

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Lucic, D., Pestoric, B., Malej, A. et al. Mass occurrence of the ctenophore Bolinopsis vitrea (L. Agassiz, 1860) in the nearshore southern Adriatic Sea (Kotor Bay, Montenegro). Environ Monit Assess 184, 4777–4785 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-011-2301-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-011-2301-6

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