Increased Chlorophyll Levels in the Southern Caspian Sea Following an Invasion of Jellyfish

Table 1

Zooplankton (>100𝜇m) and phytoplankton quantities before and after Mnemiopsis leidyi invasion in the southern Caspian Sea (± standard deviation).

	Before M. leidyi	Period (reference)	After M. leidyi^*	Period
Zooplankton Abundance (×10^5ind⋅m^−2)	5.1±3.7	1994 summer [8]	0.19±0.19	2001 summer
	2.8±1.3	1995 autumn [8]	0.55±0.42	2001 autumn
	3.1±2.2	1996 summer [8]	0.52±0.26	2002 summer
	4.6±1.9	1996 autumn [8]	0.28±0.10	2002 autumn
Phytoplankton abundance (× million cells m^-3)	14.9	1962 summer [9]	108 ± 99	summer-autumn 2001
	17.2	1975 summer [9]	—	—
	8.8	1976 summer [9]	34 ± 71	summer-autumn 2002

^*present study (see methods in Supplementary Material).
[8]: from Mazandaran region, the zooplankton sampling and analyses methods were the same as in the present study; [9]: from Southern Caspian Sea.