The effects and implications of container volume on clearance rates of the ambush entangling predator Pleurobrachia pileus (Ctenophora: Tentaculata)

• Published in: Journal of experimental marine biology and ecology Vol. 163; no. 2; pp. 199 - 208
• Main Authors: Gibbons, M.J., Painting, S.J.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Amsterdam Elsevier B.V 01.01.1992; Elsevier Science
• Subjects: Animal, plant and microbial ecology; Biological and medical sciences; Container volume; Ctenophore; Filtration rate; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; General aspects. Techniques; Marine; Methods and techniques (sampling, tagging, trapping, modelling...); Pleurobrachia pileus; Ctenophore; Filtration rate; Pleurobrachia pileus; Container volume; Marine environment; Coelenterata; Filtration; Ctenaria; Storage container; Measurement method; Technique; Invertebrata; Bulk effect
• ISSN: 0022-0981; 1879-1697
• DOI: 10.1016/0022-0981(92)90049-G

The influence of container volume on the clearance rate of various-size Pleurobrachia pileus was investigated in a series of laboratory experiments. The clearance rates presented here are the highest yet obtained for cydippid ctenophores (up to 147 l-day −1), and are attributed to the large volume of the containers used. Ctenophore size does influence clearance rate and although it would appear to be less important than container dimensions in so determining, this is an inherent artifact of the formula used to calculate clearance rates. The implications of this are discussed both in relation to experimental design and minimum container size, and in the cautious interpretation of results.