Cultivation of the Marine Pelagic Tunicate Dolioletta gegenbauri (Uljanin 1884) for Experimental Studies.

Gelatinous zooplanktons play a crucial role in ocean ecosystems. However, it is generally difficult to investigate their physiology, growth, fecundity, and trophic interactions primarily due to methodological challenges, including the ability to culture them. This is particularly true for the doliolid, Dolioletta gegenbauri.

Diet and trophic interactions of a circumglobally significant gelatinous marine zooplankter, Dolioletta gegenbauri (Uljanin, 1884).

Gelatinous zooplankton play a crucial role in marine planktonic food webs. However, primarily due to methodological challenges, the in situ diet of zooplankton remains poorly investigated and little is known about their trophic interactions including feeding behaviour, prey selection and in situ feeding rates. This is particularly true for gelatinous zooplankton including the marine pelagic tunicate, Dolioletta gegenbauri.