DOI: 10.5061/dryad.99p2308
title: Data from: Diet and trophic interactions of a circumglobally significant gelatinous marine zooplankter, Dolioletta gegenbauri (Uljanin, 1884)

description: 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 behavior, prey selection, and in
 situ feeding rates. This is particularly true for gelatinous zooplankton
 including the marine pelagic tunicate, Dolioletta gegenbauri. In this
 study, we applied an 18S rRNA amplicon metabarcoding approach to identify
 the diet of captive-fed and wild-caught D. gegenbauri on the
 mid-continental shelf of the South Atlantic Bight (SAB), USA.
 Sequencing-based approaches were complimented with targeted quantitative
 real time PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction) analyses. Captive-fed D.
 gegenbauri gut content was dominated by pico-, nano- and microplankton
 including picodinoflagellates (picozoa) and diatoms. These results
 suggested that diatoms were concentrated by D. gegenbauri relative to
 their concentration in the water column. Analysis of wild-caught doliolids
 by quantitative real time PCR utilizing a group-specific diatom primer set
 confirmed that diatoms were concentrated by D. gegenbauri, particularly by
 the gonozooid life stage associated with actively developing blooms.
 Sequences derived from larger metazoans were frequently observed in
 wild-caught animals but not in captive-fed animals suggesting experimental
 bias’ associated with captive feeding. These studies revealed that the
 diet of D. gegenbauri is considerably more diverse than previously
 described, that parasites are common in wild populations, and that prey
 quality, quantity and parasites are likely all important factors in
 regulating doliolid population dynamics in continental shelf environments.
description: AUG2011_Doliolid_GUT_DNApoolCollection of prey DNA sequences recovered from laboratory raised, captive-fed Dolioletta gegenbauri. Feeding studies were conducted in August 2011.AUG2011_H2O_DNApoolCollection of prey DNA sequences recovered from prey field water to be compared to those prey characterized in D. gegenbauri. Feeding studies were conducted in August 2011.JUN2011_Doliolid_GUT_DNApoolCollection of prey DNA sequences recovered from laboratory-raised, captive-fed Dolioletta gegenbauri. Feeding studies were conducted in June 2011.JUN2011_H2O_DNApoolCollection of prey DNA sequences recovered from prey field water to be compared to those prey characterized in D. gegenbauri. Feeding studies were conducted in June 2011.JUL2011_Doliolid_GUT_DNApoolCollection of prey DNA sequences recovered from laboratory-raised, captive-fed Dolioletta gegenbauri. Feeding studies were conducted in July 2011.JUL2011_H2O_DNApoolCollection of prey DNA sequences recovered from prey field water to be compared to those prey characterized in D. gegenbauri. Feeding studies were conducted in July 2011.JUL2012_1_Doliolid_GUT_DNApoolCollection of prey DNA sequences recovered from laboratory-raised, captive-fed Dolioletta gegenbauri. Feeding studies were conducted in July 2012 (research cruise 1).JUL2012_1_H2O_DNApoolCollection of prey DNA sequences recovered from prey field water to be compared to those prey characterized in D. gegenbauri. Feeding studies were conducted in July 2012 (research cruise 1).JUL2012_2_Doliolid_GUT_DNApoolCollection of prey DNA sequences recovered from laboratory-raised, captive-fed Dolioletta gegenbauri. Feeding studies were conducted in July 2012 (research cruise 2).JUL2012_2_H2O_DNApoolCollection of prey DNA sequences recovered from prey field water to be compared to those prey characterized in D. gegenbauri. Feeding studies were conducted in July 2012 (research cruise 2).WILD2011_Doliolid_GUT_DNApoolCollection of prey DNA sequences recovered from wild-captured doliolids, Dolioletta gegenbauri. Doliolids were collected in 2011.