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Effects of summer mesoscale hydrographic features on epipelagic siphonophore assemblages in the surrounding waters of Taiwan, western North Pacific Ocean

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Abstract

This is the first attempt to examine the relationship between the spatial distribution of siphonophores and mesoscale hydrographic features in the waters around Taiwan in summer. A total of 59 species of siphonophores, consisting of 12 Physonectae and 47 Calycophorae, were identified from our samples. The most abundant species were Lensia subtiloides (49.7 % of the total collection by number), Diphyes chamissonis (12.1 %), Chelophyes appendiculata (9.3 %), C. contorta (8.1 %), and Bassia bassensis (5.2 %). Two clear assemblages were associated with shelf waters (influenced by the South China Sea Surface Current) and oceanic waters (influenced by the Kuroshio Current), respectively. The shelf water assemblage was characterized by low diversity and high abundance of L. subtiloides, whereas the oceanic assemblage showed greater diversity and was dominated by C. appendiculata, C. contorta, and B. bassensis. We discovered strong correlations between temperature and zooplankton and siphonophore abundances, suggesting that temperature and prey concentration are important in determining the spatial distribution of siphonophores. In addition, lower abundance and higher species diversity of siphonophores were observed after the passage of typhoons. This study provides basic knowledge on the distributional patterns of siphonophores, which is essential information to further understand the ecological roles played by siphonophores and their responses to the hydrological conditions in the waters surrounding Taiwan.

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Acknowledgments

We thank the crew of the “Fishery Researcher I” for their assistance in collecting zooplankton samples and specified environmental data. We are also grateful to Prof. C.-T. Shih of the National Taiwan Ocean University and two anonymous referees for their critical reviews and valuable comments on the manuscript. Editing was provided by Sea Pen Scientific Writing. This work was supported by grants from the National Science Council and the Ministry of Education of the Republic of China to W.-T. Lo. [NSC99-2611-M 110-014 and 00C030203 (Kuroshio Project)].

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Marine Biotechnology and Resources, National Sun Yat-sen University, Kaohsiung, 80424, Taiwan

    Wen-Tseng Lo & Shwu-Feng Yu

  2. Institute of Marine Biodiversity and Evolutionary Biology, National Dong Hwa University, Hualien, 97401, Taiwan

    Hung-Yen Hsieh

  3. National Museum of Marine Biology and Aquarium, Pingtung, 94450, Taiwan

    Hung-Yen Hsieh

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  1. Wen-Tseng Lo
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Lo, WT., Yu, SF. & Hsieh, HY. Effects of summer mesoscale hydrographic features on epipelagic siphonophore assemblages in the surrounding waters of Taiwan, western North Pacific Ocean. J Oceanogr 69, 495–509 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10872-013-0188-2

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