Stormie Askew Mr.

Kevin Tate Biology Lab II 10 April 2014 Biology Lab Writing Assignment

The problem identified in the article pertaining to the invasion by the comb jellyfish Mnemiopsis leidyi is that Mnemiopsis will invade the Caspian Sea from the Black Sea. The question that arises through this problem is what measures should be taken in order to prevent this. The group of scientists hypothesized that a major population explosion of Mnemiopsis would occur in the Caspian Sea. A GESAMP working group suggested the addition of a fish into the Caspian Sea that feeds on specifically gelatinous zooplankton would help to control the evident population burst. If Mnemiopsis is not controlled, they will take to feeding on kilka as well as the eggs of the kilka. Kilka is the major food source of small pelagic fish and their depletion would cause a collapse in the population of these fish, making the population of small pelagic fish the dependent variable to the independent variable of an addition of a fish that feeds on gelatinous zooplankton. Although there several complex issues that come with adding a new species to control another, based on extensive research of the topic, the group of scientists believe that it is of the upmost importance to proceed with further research on the subject of controlling the Mnemiopsis

population. Further applications of this research would simply include taking action with adding another species to the Caspian Sea in order to attempt population control of Mnemiopsis and taking data of how effective this method is or hypothesizing another option to control the population.

Citation Vladimir P. Ivanov, Andrey M. Kamakin, Vladimir B. Ushivtzev, Tamara Shiganova, Olga Zhukova, Nikolay Aladin, Susan I. Wilson, G. Richard Harbison, Henri J. Dumont, 2000, Invasion of the Caspian Sea by the comb jellyfish Mnemiopsis leidyi (Ctenophora), Biological Invasions, 2, 255-258