An overview of the Medusozoa from the Southwestern Atlantic

SCHIARITI, AGUSTÍN; DUTTO, M. SOFÍA; CARRARA MORANDINI, ANDRÉ; NAGATA, RENATO N.; PEREYRA, DAIANA Y.; PUENTE TAPIA, ALEJANDRO F.; DÍAZ BRIZ, LUCIANA M.; GENZANO, GABRIEL N.

Plankton Ecology of the Southwestern Atlantic. From the Subtropical to the Subantarctic Realm

Springer

Año: 2018;

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