Table 1.
Monthly prey composition of zooplankton taxa in the stomach contents of Pelagia noctiluca.
| Nov (23) | Dec (17) | Feb (3) | Apr (12) | May (20) | Jun (27) | Jul (13) | Sep (13) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prey | Siphonophores | 0.04 ± 0.04 | 0 ± 0 | 0 ± 0 | 0 ± 0 | 0 ± 0 | 0 ± 0 | 0 ± 0 | 0.08 ± 0.0 |
| Pteropods | 0.70 ± 0.21+ | 7.71 ± 3.65 | 0 ± 0 | 0.22 ± 0.22 | 0.45 ± 0.35 | 0.26 ± 0.11 | 0 ± 0 | 0 ± 0 | |
| Ostracods | 0.04 ± 0.04 | 0 ± 0 | 0 ± 0 | 0.11 ± 0.11 | 0.1 ± 0.06 | 0 ± 0 | 0.08 ± 0.07 | 0 ± 0 | |
| Furcilia | 0 ± 0 | 0 ± 0 | 0 ± 0 | 0 ± 0 − | 0.05 ± 0.05 | 0 ± 0 | 0 ± 0 | 0 ± 0 | |
| Fish larvae | 0.04 ± 0.04 | 0.06 ± 0.05 | 0 ± 0 | 0 ± 0 | 0 ± 0 | 0.04 ± 0.03 | 0.08 ± 0.07 | 0 ± 0 | |
| Fish eggs | 0.52 ± 0.16+ | 0.41 ± 0.12+ | 0 ± 0 | 1.33 ± 0.57 | 0.80 ± 0.22+ | 0.52 ± 0.16+ | 0.08 ± 0.07 | 0 ± 0 | |
| Copepods | 12.34 ± 3.45+ | 6.65 ± 2.62 | 0.33 ± 0.33 | 36.66 ± 8.17 | 21.95 ± 5.79+ | 10.37 ± 1.99+ | 15.23 ± 9.95 | 1.38 ± 0.46 | |
| Chaetognaths | 0.43 ± 0.19 | 0.60 ± 0.32+ | 0 ± 0 | 0 ± 0 | 1.35 ± 0.70 | 0.22 ± 0.12 | 0 ± 0 | 0 ± 0 | |
| Appendicularians | 0.04 ± 0.04 | 0 ± 0 | 0 ± 0 | 0.11 ± 0.11 | 0.20 ± 0.15 | 0.07 ± 0.05 | 0 ± 0 | 0 ± 0 | |
The numbers of jellyfish analyzed are in brackets beside each month. Values are expressed as mean number of prey medusa−1 ± standard error. Bold highlighted values indicate significant prey selection: “−” Significant negative selection; “+”positive significant selection. Significances were calculated using Chi-square test.