Limited growth and recruitment of <italic style="font-style: italic">Oikopleura dioica </italic>(Tunicata: Appendicularia) in the Jiaozhou Bay, China

Shuai LI; Mengtan LIU; Aiyong WAN; Zhiqiang XU; Shiwei WANG; Yi LIANG; Zengxia ZHAO; Guangtao ZHANG

doi:10.1007/s00343-025-5035-y

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Limited growth and recruitment of Oikopleura dioica (Tunicata: Appendicularia) in the Jiaozhou Bay, China

Ecology | Updated：2026-03-26

- Limited growth and recruitment of Oikopleura dioica (Tunicata: Appendicularia) in the Jiaozhou Bay, China
- Journal of Oceanology and Limnology Vol. 44, Issue 1, Pages: 234-250(2026)
- Affiliations：
  
  1.Jiaozhou Bay National Marine Ecosystem Research Station, Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao 266071, China
  2.Laboratory for Marine Ecology and Environmental Science, Qingdao Marine Science and Technology Center, Qingdao 266237, China
  3.Key Laboratory of Marine Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao 266071, China
  4.Center for Ocean Mega-Science, Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao 266071, China
- Author bio：
  
  gtzhang@qdio.ac.cn
- Funds：
- DOI：10.1007/s00343-025-5035-y
  CLC：
- Received：28 January 2025，
  
  Accepted：21 March 2025，
  
  Online First：01 April 2025，
  
  Published：01 January 2026
- Accepted：
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LI Shuai,LIU Mengtan,WAN Aiyong,et al.Limited growth and recruitment of Oikopleura dioica (Tunicata: Appendicularia) in the Jiaozhou Bay, China[J].Journal of Oceanology and Limnology,2026,44(01):234-250.
DOI：

LI Shuai,LIU Mengtan,WAN Aiyong,et al.Limited growth and recruitment of Oikopleura dioica (Tunicata: Appendicularia) in the Jiaozhou Bay, China[J].Journal of Oceanology and Limnology,2026,44(01):234-250. DOI： 10.1007/s00343-025-5035-y.

摘要

Abstract

Pelagic appendicularians

known for their rapid bloom capability

are important secondary producers and play essential roles in marine ecosystems. To assess the environmental adaptation of the most common appendicularian species

Oikopleura

dioica

in Jiaozhou Bay

Shandong

China

its annual variations in abundance and body size were investigated monthly at 12 stations in 2011

and the relationship between somatic growth and gonadal development was compared with previously published labora

tory data.

Oikopleura

dioica

exhibited distinct seasonal abundance patterns

peaking in summer and autumn

particularly in the inner bay

reflecting its adaptation to the eutrophic conditions and high food availability. Compared to laboratory results

dioica

in Jiaozhou Bay exhibited shorter body lengths

smaller gonad volumes

and earlier maturation at reduced body sizes

despite high natural chlorophyll-

concentration

suggesting that factors beyond food availability

such as resource competition and environmental stressors

may limit its growth in natural settings. Correlation analysis indicated that the somatic growth of natural

dioica

was primarily influenced by temperature

while gonadal development was related to chlorophyll-

concentration

and its population abundance was linked to food availability and the abundance of other zooplankton

such as copepods and jellyfish. It was suggested that the growth and recruitment of

dioica

were constrained by resource limitations in natural environments

further exacerbated by interactions with other zooplankton

including predation and competition. This study provides valuable data on the mechanisms underlying bio-environmental interactions and their spatiotemporal variations

offering critical insights into the ecological roles of appendicularians in marine ecosystems.

关键词

Keywords

references

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Limited growth and recruitment of Oikopleura dioica (Tunicata: Appendicularia) in the Jiaozhou Bay, China

DOI：10.1007/s00343-025-5035-y

摘要

Abstract

关键词

Keywords

references