salinity gradient of the baltic sea limits the reproduction and population expansion of the newly invaded comb jelly mnemiopsis leidyi波罗的海的盐度梯度限制生育和人口膨胀的新入侵栉水母mnemiopsis leidyi.pdfVIP

Salinity Gradient of the Baltic Sea Limits the Reproduction and Population Expansion of the Newly Invaded Comb Jelly Mnemiopsis leidyi 1 2 1 Cornelia Jaspers *, Lene Friis Møller , Thomas Kiørboe 1 National Institute of Aquatic Resources, Technical University of Denmark, Charlottenlund, Denmark, 2 Department of Marine Ecology – Kristineberg, University of ¨ Gothenburg, Fiskebackskil, Sweden Abstract The recent invasion of the comb jelly Mnemiopsis leidyi into northern European waters is of major public and scientific concern. One of the key features making M. leidyi a successful invader is its high fecundity combined with fast growth rates. However, little is known about physiological limitations to its reproduction and consequent possible abiotic restrictions to its dispersal. To evaluate the invasion potential of M. leidyi into the brackish Baltic Sea we studied in situ egg production rates in different regions and at different salinities in the laboratory, representing the salinity gradient of the Baltic Sea. During October 2009 M. leidyi actively reproduced over large areas of the Baltic Sea. Egg production rates scaled with animal size but decreased significantly with decreasing salinity, both in the field (7–29) and in laboratory experiments (6–33). Temperature and zooplankton, i.e. food abundance, could not explain the observed differences. Reproduction rates at conditions representing the Kattegat, south western and central Baltic Sea, respectively, were 2.8 fold higher at the highest salinities (33 and 25) than at intermediate salinities (10 and 15) and 21 times higher compared from intermediate to the lowest salinity tested (6). Higher salinity areas such as the Kattegat, and to a lower extent