Ecology Summary - Glaucus atlanticus

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Ecology of Glaucus atlanticus

Main Ref.	Debelius, H., 2001
Remarks	Open pelagic species, washed ashore after storms (Ref. 7727). This species hangs upside down on the surface film of the water, maintaining buoyancy by swallowing an air bubble (Ref. 844, 866). Feeds on siphonophore, Physalia, Velella, and Porpita spp. (Ref. 844). Live specimens frequently washed up on the beaches (Ref. 88739).

Aquatic zones / Water bodies

	Marine - Neritic	Marine - Oceanic	Brackishwater	Freshwater
Marine zones / Brackish and freshwater bodies	supra-littoral zone littoral zone sublittoral zone	epipelagic mesopelagic epipelagic abyssopelagic hadopelagic	estuaries/lagoons/brackish seas mangroves marshes/swamps	rivers/streams lakes/ponds caves exclusively in caves

Highighted items on the list are where Glaucus atlanticus may be found.

Habitat

Substrate	Pelagic;
Substrate Ref.	Burn, R., 2006
Special habitats
Special habitats Ref.

Associations

Ref.	Debelius, H., 2001
Associations
Associated with
Association remarks
Parasitism

feeding

Feeding type	mainly animals (troph. 2.8 and up)
Feeding type Ref.	Rosenberg, G., F. Moretzsohn and E.F. Garcia, 2009
Feeding habit	hunting macrofauna (predator)
Feeding habit Ref.

Trophic Level(s)

Estimation method	original sample		unfished population		Remark
Estimation method	Troph	s.e.	Troph	s.e.	Remark
From diet composition
From individual food items	4.00	0.28			Trophic level estimated from a number of food items using a randomized resampling routine.
Ref.