An overview of the Medusozoa from the Southwestern Atlantic

SCHIARITI, A.; DUTTO, M. S.; MORANDINI, A. C.; NAGATA, R. M.; PEREYRA, D. Y.; PUENTE TAPIA, F.A.; DÍAZ BRIZ, L.; GENZANO, G.

Plankton Ecology of the Southwestern Atlantic, from Subtropical to the Subantarctic realm

Springer

Lugar: Cham; Año: 2018; p. 413 - 449

Medusozoans are critical components of coastal andmarine ecosystems. They are ubiquitous, living from surface to bottom layers ofthe world´s oceans and tolerating a wide range of environmental conditions.They modulate the food web by not only consuming large quantities ofichthyoplankton and other zooplankton, and acting as predators and competitorsof varied pelagic organisms including fish, but also by being consumed by otherpredators. Population outbreaks of these gelatinous animals commonly occur overa variety of spatio-temporal scales. These population explosions events haveimplications for the ecosystem and, usually, for human enterprise. Despitetheir ecological and socio-economical importance, there is as yet no attempt tocompile existing information on the medusozoan species of the Southwestern Atlantic(SA). We provide here an overview of the information available regardingseveral aspects of Medusozoa in the SA: the characteristics of their lifecycles, life histories and ?blooms?, and the ecological implications for SAecosystems. Guidelines for future research and perspectives on the field arealso provided.