title: Mass occurrence of the ctenophore Bolinopsis vitrea (L. Agassiz, 1860) in the nearshore southern Adriatic Sea (Kotor Bay, Montenegro).
abstract: The ctenophore Bolinopsis vitrea has been rarely observed in the Mediterranean Sea. A bloom of B. vitrea is here reported for the first time in the southern Adriatic Sea in the spring and summer of 2009, together with its effect on the plankton of Kotor Bay. Ctenophores were found below 5 m depth only. Results of the investigation indicate that mass occurrence of B. vitrea could have a great impact on the Kotor Bay ecosystem. Their predation on copepods would reduce grazing pressure on phytoplankton, favouring an uncommon bloom of the latter. It is evident that B. vitrea are capable of altering rapidly the composition and biomass of coastal plankton communities when present in large masses. This first evidence of such events for this species may indicate changes in the functioning of marine ecosystems of the southern Adriatic.
authors.affiliation: University of Dubrovnik, Dubrovnik, Croatia. davor.lucic@unidu.hr
authors.forename: Davor
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Lucic
authors.forename: Branka
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Pestoric
authors.forename: Alenka
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Malej
authors.forename: Lucia
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Lopez-Lopez
authors.forename: Dragana
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Drakulovic
authors.forename: Vladimir
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Onofri
authors.forename: Marijana
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Miloslavic
authors.forename: Barbara
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Gangai
authors.forename: Ivona
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Onofri
authors.forename: Adam
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Benovic
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D061006:Bays / Q000737:chemistry; D018533:Biomass; D033342:Copepoda / Q000145:classification / Q000254:growth & development; D037302:Ctenophora / Q000145:classification / Q000254:growth & development*; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D008522:Mediterranean Sea; D054548:Montenegro; D010839:Phytoplankton / Q000145:classification / Q000254:growth & development; D011157:Population Dynamics; D054712:Salinity; D012621:Seasons; D012623:Seawater / Q000737:chemistry; D013696:Temperature; D014876:Water Pollution / Q000032:analysis / Q000706:statistics & numerical data