Geographic Range

Primary Diet

carnivore 

 

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  eats non-insect arthropods 
  
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  molluscivore 
  

 

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  planktivore
  

Predation

Known predators of ctenophores include other ctenophores, cnidarians, medusae, other invertebrates, fishes, whales, sea turtles, and ocean sunfish. (Mills, 2010; Purcell and Cowan Jr, 1995; Soulanille, 2012; Wrobel, 2012)

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  Known Predators
  

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  skipjack shads (Alosa chrysochloris)
  
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  alewives (Alosa pseudoharengus)
  
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  American shads (Alosa sapidissima)
  
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  bay anchovies (Anchoa mitchilli)
  
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  sea catfish (Ariopsis felis)
  
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  Atlantic menhadens (Brevoortia tyrannus)
  
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  Atlantic herrings (Clupea harengus)
  
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  cod (Gadus morhua)
  
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  haddock (Melanogrammus aeglefinus)
  
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  whitings (Merluccius bilinearis)
  
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  Atlantic crokers (Micropogonius undulatus)
  
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  ocean sunfish (Mola sp.)
  
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  white perch (Morone americana)
  
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  summer flounders (Paralichthys dentatus)
  
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  harvestfish (Peprilus paru)
  
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  butterfish (Peprilus triacanthus)
  
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  pollak (Pollachius pollachius)
  
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  winter flounder (Pseudopleuronectes americanus)
  
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  bluefish (Pomatomus saltatrix)
  
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  mackerels (Scomber sp.)
  
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  hogchokers (Trinectes maculatus)
  
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  squirrel hakes (Urophycis chuss)
  
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  spotted hakes (Urophycis regia)
  
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  white hakes (Urophycis tenuis)
  
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  thorny skates (Amblyraja radiata)
  
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  little summer skates (Leucoraja erinacea)
  
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  winter skates (Leucoraja ocellata)
  
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  smoothhounds (Mustelus canis)
  
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  spiny dogfish (Squalus acanthias)
  
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  eastern oysters (Crassostrea virginica)
  
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  softshell clams (Mya arenaria)
  
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  polychaete worms (Class Polychaeta, Phylum Annelida)
  
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  clam worms (Nereis sp.)
  
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  blue crabs (Callinectes sapidus)
  
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  toothed whales (Suborder Odontoceti, Class Mammalia)
  
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  sea turtles (Order Testudines, Phylum Reptilia)
  
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  arrow worms (Phylum Chaetognatha)
  
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  Beroe ovata (Phylum Ctenophora)
  
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  Atlantic sea nettles (Chrysaora quinquecirrha)
  

Ecosystem Roles

Ctenophores may host a variety of parasites, including endoparasitic trematodes, cestodes, nematodes, ectoparasitic isopods, dinoflagellates, and amphipods. Some species may also host a parasitic sea anemone. They may serve as intermediate hosts to digenean flukes, due to their placement on the food chain. A few species of ctenophores may themselves be parasitic on salps. (Boero and Bouillon, 2005; Martorelli, 2001; Mills and McLean, 1991; Reitzel, et al., 2007; Selander, et al., 2010; Yip, 1984)

• 
  Ecosystem Impact
  
• 
  parasite
  

Species Used as Host

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  Salpa fusiformis (Class Thaliacea, Phylum Chordata)
  

Commensal/Parasitic Species

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  Didymozoid sp. (Class Trematoda, Phylum Platyhelminthes)
  
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  Bacciger sp. (Class Trematoda, Phylum Platyhelminthes)
  
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  Hemiuridae sp. (Class Trematoda, Phylum Platyhelminthes)
  
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  Hemiurus communis (Class Trematoda, Phylum Platyhelminthes)
  
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  Opechona sp. (Class Trematoda, Phylum Platyhelminthes)
  
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  Opechona bacillaris (Class Trematoda, Phylum Platyhelminthes)
  
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  Epicaridian isopods (Class Crustacea, Phylum Arthropoda)
  
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  Edwardsiella lineata (Class Anthozoa, Phylum Cnidaria)
  
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  Oodinium sp. (Class Blastodiniphyceae, Phylum Dinoflagellata)
  

Economic Importance for Humans: Positive

Beyond the potential for scientific research and display in public aquaria, there are no known positive economic effects of ctenophores on humans. (Brusca and Brusca, 2003; Mills, 2010)

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  Positive Impacts
  
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  research and education
  

Economic Importance for Humans: Negative

The introduction of the North American species Mnemiopsis leidyi into the Black Sea in the early 1980s, most likely in ballast water from ships originating in the northwestern Atlantic, completely disrupted this ecosystem's natural food chain. As a rapidly reproducing, generalized feeder, it spread throughout the area, outcompeting native planktonic fishes and completely destroying the region's fishing industry within 10 years of its introduction. Since then, another ctenophore, Beroe ovata, has been introduced as well (likely by the same means). A voracious predator, B. ovata has reduced populations of M. leidyi and native fauna populations have rebounded since its introduction, however, the long term effects of this second invasion are unknown. Mnemiopsis leidyi and Beroe ovata have moved into the Caspian Sea from the Black Sea; the ecological ramifications of this introduction remain to be seen. As of 2009, M. leidyi had spread to most European coastlines as well. (Mills, 2010; Shiganova, 1998)

Conservation Status

There is currently no concern that ctenophores will become threatened or endangered, on either a local or global scale. (Mills, 2010)

• 
  IUCN Red List [Link]
  

Not Evaluated

Contributors

Jeremy Wright (author), University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, Leila Siciliano Martina (editor), Animal Diversity Web Staff.

Glossary

Antarctica

lives on Antarctica, the southernmost continent which sits astride the southern pole.

Arctic Ocean

the body of water between Europe, Asia, and North America which occurs mostly north of the Arctic circle.

Atlantic Ocean

the body of water between Africa, Europe, the southern ocean (above 60 degrees south latitude), and the western hemisphere. It is the second largest ocean in the world after the Pacific Ocean.

Australian

Living in Australia, New Zealand, Tasmania, New Guinea and associated islands.

Ethiopian

living in sub-Saharan Africa (south of 30 degrees north) and Madagascar.

Nearctic

living in the Nearctic biogeographic province, the northern part of the New World. This includes Greenland, the Canadian Arctic islands, and all of the North American as far south as the highlands of central Mexico.

Neotropical

living in the southern part of the New World. In other words, Central and South America.

Pacific Ocean

body of water between the southern ocean (above 60 degrees south latitude), Australia, Asia, and the western hemisphere. This is the world's largest ocean, covering about 28% of the world's surface.

Palearctic

living in the northern part of the Old World. In otherwords, Europe and Asia and northern Africa.

abyssal

on or near the ocean floor in the deep ocean. Abyssal regions are characterized by complete lack of light, extremely high water pressure, low nutrient availability, and continuous cold (3 degrees C).

asexual

reproduction that is not sexual; that is, reproduction that does not include recombining the genotypes of two parents

benthic

Referring to an animal that lives on or near the bottom of a body of water. Also an aquatic biome consisting of the ocean bottom below the pelagic and coastal zones. Bottom habitats in the very deepest oceans (below 9000 m) are sometimes referred to as the abyssal zone. see also oceanic vent.

bilateral symmetry

having body symmetry such that the animal can be divided in one plane into two mirror-image halves. Animals with bilateral symmetry have dorsal and ventral sides, as well as anterior and posterior ends. Synapomorphy of the Bilateria.

carnivore

an animal that mainly eats meat

chemical

uses smells or other chemicals to communicate

coastal

the nearshore aquatic habitats near a coast, or shoreline.

cosmopolitan

having a worldwide distribution. Found on all continents (except maybe Antarctica) and in all biogeographic provinces; or in all the major oceans (Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific.

crepuscular

active at dawn and dusk

diurnal

1. 
   active during the day, 2. lasting for one day.
   

external fertilization

fertilization takes place outside the female's body

fertilization

union of egg and spermatozoan

heterothermic

having a body temperature that fluctuates with that of the immediate environment; having no mechanism or a poorly developed mechanism for regulating internal body temperature.

holarctic

a distribution that more or less circles the Arctic, so occurring in both the Nearctic and Palearctic biogeographic regions.

Found in northern North America and northern Europe or Asia.

internal fertilization

fertilization takes place within the female's body

iteroparous

offspring are produced in more than one group (litters, clutches, etc.) and across multiple seasons (or other periods hospitable to reproduction). Iteroparous animals must, by definition, survive over multiple seasons (or periodic condition changes).

molluscivore

eats mollusks, members of Phylum Mollusca

motile

having the capacity to move from one place to another.

natatorial

specialized for swimming

native range

the area in which the animal is naturally found, the region in which it is endemic.

nocturnal

active during the night

oceanic vent

Areas of the deep sea floor where continental plates are being pushed apart. Oceanic vents are places where hot sulfur-rich water is released from the ocean floor. An aquatic biome.

oriental

found in the oriental region of the world. In other words, India and southeast Asia.

oviparous

reproduction in which eggs are released by the female; development of offspring occurs outside the mother's body.

parasite

an organism that obtains nutrients from other organisms in a harmful way that doesn't cause immediate death

pelagic

An aquatic biome consisting of the open ocean, far from land, does not include sea bottom (benthic zone).

photic/bioluminescent

generates and uses light to communicate

planktivore

an animal that mainly eats plankton

polar

the regions of the earth that surround the north and south poles, from the north pole to 60 degrees north and from the south pole to 60 degrees south.

polygynandrous

the kind of polygamy in which a female pairs with several males, each of which also pairs with several different females.

radial symmetry

a form of body symmetry in which the parts of an animal are arranged concentrically around a central oral/aboral axis and more than one imaginary plane through this axis results in halves that are mirror-images of each other. Examples are cnidarians (Phylum Cnidaria, jellyfish, anemones, and corals).

reef

structure produced by the calcium carbonate skeletons of coral polyps (Class Anthozoa). Coral reefs are found in warm, shallow oceans with low nutrient availability. They form the basis for rich communities of other invertebrates, plants, fish, and protists. The polyps live only on the reef surface. Because they depend on symbiotic photosynthetic algae, zooxanthellae, they cannot live where light does not penetrate.

saltwater or marine

mainly lives in oceans, seas, or other bodies of salt water.

sexual

reproduction that includes combining the genetic contribution of two individuals, a male and a female

solitary

lives alone

tactile

uses touch to communicate

temperate

that region of the Earth between 23.5 degrees North and 60 degrees North (between the Tropic of Cancer and the Arctic Circle) and between 23.5 degrees South and 60 degrees South (between the Tropic of Capricorn and the Antarctic Circle).

tropical

the region of the earth that surrounds the equator, from 23.5 degrees north to 23.5 degrees south.

year-round breeding

breeding takes place throughout the year

young precocial

young are relatively well-developed when born