Respiration demands increase significantly with both temperature and mass in the invasive ctenophore Mnemiopsis leidyi

Abstract

Oxygen optodes were used to compare respiration rates of newly caught and laboratory-incubated Mnemiopsis leidyi ctenophores. No significant difference was found between the treatments. Overall, the respiration rate was significantly correlated with temperature (8.5-30°C) and organism weight (0.41-19.4 g wet weight, 6-42 mm oral-aboral length), together explaining 87 of the variation. Greater individual variation was observed >25°C. Q 10 measured at near-ambient temperatures (2.49) and over the entire range (2.57) was lower than or comparable with previous estimates for this species. Mnemiopsis leidyi from a French lagoon have the metabolic capacity to survive year round in the ambient temperature range of the western Mediterranean. © 2014 The Author 2014.