The importance of jellyfish-microbe interactions for biogeochemical cycles in the ocean

Author(s)
Tinkara Tinta, Katja Klun, Gerhard J. Herndl
Abstract

Jellyfish blooms can represent a significant but largely overlooked source of organic matter (OM), in particular at the local and regional scale. We provide an overview of the current state of knowledge on the bloom-forming jellyfish as sink and source of OM for microorganisms. In particularly, we compare the composition, concentration, and release rates of the OM excreted by living jellyfish with the OM stored within jellyfish biomass, which becomes available to the ocean's interior only once jellyfish decay. We discuss how these two stoichiometrically different jelly-OM pools might influence the dynamics of microbial community and the surrounding ecosystem. We conceptualize routes of jelly-OM in the ocean, focusing on different envisioned fates of detrital jelly-OM. In this conceptual framework, we revise possible interactions between different jelly-OM pools and microbes and highlight major knowledge gaps to be addressed in the future.

Organisation(s)
Functional and Evolutionary Ecology
External organisation(s)
National Institute of Biology, Utrecht University
Journal
Limnology and Oceanography
Volume
66
Pages
2011-2032
No. of pages
22
ISSN
0024-3590
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1002/lno.11741
Publication date
04-2021
Peer reviewed
Yes
Austrian Fields of Science 2012
106021 Marine biology
ASJC Scopus subject areas
Aquatic Science, Oceanography
Sustainable Development Goals
SDG 14 - Life Below Water
Portal url
https://ucrisportal.univie.ac.at/en/publications/a1ce6025-5a9e-42ee-b592-e733c7648413