Plankton food for benthic fish: de visu evidence of trophic interaction between rainbow wrasse (Coris julis) and pelagic tunicates (Pegea confoederata)

Submitted: 2 August 2017
Accepted: 24 October 2017
Published: 14 December 2017
Abstract Views: 1519
PDF: 498
Publisher's note
All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

Authors

Salps (pelagic tunicates) are rarely observed in nature and trophic interactions involving them mainly rely on the inspection of stomach contents of their potential predators. Moreover, salps have soft bodies that are hardly identified in potential consumers. We involved recreational SCUBA-divers and photographers in collecting de visu evidence of i) massive occurrence of salps and ii) trophic interactions involving salps as preys and benthic animals as consumers. Direct evidence of trophic interactions between salps and benthic fish was documented by photographic frames. We detected a long colony of the salp Pegea confaederata being transported by currents close to the substrate on top of Banco di Santa Croce, an underwater rocky outcrop in the Gulf of Naples (Italy). An individual of the rainbow wrasse Coris julis attacked the above-mentioned salp colony by selectively detaching individuals and biting their stomach. Our report of a trophic interaction between labrids and salps is the second in fifty years and the previous one was only indirect. In this study, citizen science allowed detecting both neglected marine animals like salps and trophic interactions involving them. Visual, direct evidence of predation on salps by benthic fish adds further knowledge about patterns of living-matter fluxes between plankton and benthos, opening new questions on the potential of global change in modifying the efficient circulation of organic matter in marine systems.

Dimensions

Altmetric

PlumX Metrics

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Citations

How to Cite

D’Alelio, D., Luongo, G., & Di Capua, I. (2017). Plankton food for benthic fish: de visu evidence of trophic interaction between rainbow wrasse (Coris julis) and pelagic tunicates (Pegea confoederata). Advances in Oceanography and Limnology, 8(2). https://doi.org/10.4081/aiol.2017.6973