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Long‐distance horizontal migrations of zooplankton (Scyphomedusae: Mastigias) 1
Author(s) -
Ilamner William M.,
Hauri Ivan R.
Publication year - 1981
Publication title -
limnology and oceanography
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.7
H-Index - 197
eISSN - 1939-5590
pISSN - 0024-3590
DOI - 10.4319/lo.1981.26.3.0414
Subject(s) - diel vertical migration , zooplankton , swarm behaviour , morning , oceanography , compass , biology , ecology , geology , geography , environmental science , cartography , botany
Perennial swarms of sexually immature medusae of the germs Mastigias occur at high densities in three marine lakes in Palau, Western Caroline Islands. Numbers per lake are 1.76 ± 0.10 × 10 5 , 1.61 ± 0.17 × 10 6 , and 4.69 ± 0.51 × 10 6 . Local density within a swarm may exceed 1,000·m ‒2 . Behaviorally generated swarms form in the early morning and late afternoon and are temporarily dispersed by directional horizontal migration of the entire swarm twice a day to opposite ends of the lake. Distance swum each day is up to 1 km, depending on the size of the lake. Compass direction of migration is different in each lake and appears to depend on both light and basin morphometry.