The importance of jellyfish–microbe interactions for biogeochemical cycles in the ocean
Tinkara Tinta, Katja Klun, Gerhard J. Herndl
Abstract
Abstract Jellyfish blooms can represent a significant but largely overlooked source of organic matter (OM), in particular at the local and regional scale. We provide an overview of the current state of knowledge on the bloom‐forming jellyfish as sink and source of OM for microorganisms. In particularly, we compare the composition, concentration, and release rates of the OM excreted by living jellyfish with the OM stored within jellyfish biomass, which becomes available to the ocean's interior only once jellyfish decay. We discuss how these two stoichiometrically different jelly‐OM pools might influence the dynamics of microbial community and the surrounding ecosystem. We conceptualize routes of jelly‐OM in the ocean, focusing on different envisioned fates of detrital jelly‐OM. In this conceptual framework, we revise possible interactions between different jelly‐OM pools and microbes and highlight major knowledge gaps to be addressed in the future.