Themisto libellula

Themisto libellula is a marine amphipod of the family Hyperiidae. The species lives for 2 to 3 years, and grows up to 60 millimetres (2.4 in) over its lifetime.[2][3] They are found in large quantities in Arctic water.[4]

Themisto libellula
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Crustacea
Class: Malacostraca
Superorder: Peracarida
Order: Amphipoda
Suborder: Hyperiidea
Family: Hyperiidae
Genus: Themisto
Species:
T. libellula
Binomial name
Themisto libellula
(Lichtenstein in Mandt, 1822)
Synonyms[1]

Euthemisto libellula
(Mandt)
Parathemisto libellula
(Lichtenstein, 1822)

In the summer, they eat more lipids to store as fuel for the winter.[3] During the mid-winter, they eat copepods, such as Calanus finmarchicus.[5] T. libellula is eaten by cod, polar cod, and mammals at the ice edge.[4] In the early 2000s, the population of the species began to decrease; these effects rippled through the food chain.[4] The levels later rose in cool years, and T. libellula have moved south of the Arctic Circle.[3] They have been observed in "mass mortalities", where millions of T. libellula wash up dead on the coast.[6][7]

References
  1. Cuvelier, Daphne; Gasca, Rebeca (2013). "Themisto libellula (Lichtenstein in Mandt, 1822)". WoRMS. World Register of Marine Species. Retrieved July 29, 2017.
  2. Koszteyn, J.; Timofeev, S.; Węsławski, J. M.; Malinga, B. (1995). "Size structure of Themisto abyssorum Boeck and Themisto libellula (Mandt) populations in European Arctic seas". Polar Biology. 15 (2): 85–92. doi:10.1007/BF00241046.
  3. Pinchuk, Alexei I.; Coyle, Kenneth O.; Farley, Edward V.; Renner, Heather M. (May 19, 2013). "Emergence of the Arctic Themisto libellula (Amphipoda: Hyperiidae) on the southeastern Bering Sea shelf as a result of the recent cooling, and its potential impact on the pelagic food web". ICES Journal of Marine Science. 70 (6): 1244–1254. doi:10.1093/icesjms/fst031.
  4. Johannesen, E.; Ingvaldsen, R. B.; Bogstad, B.; Dalpadado, P.; Eriksen, E.; Gjosaeter, H.; Knutsen, T.; Skern-Mauritzen, M.; Stiansen, J. E. (2012). "Changes in Barents Sea ecosystem state, 1970–2009: climate fluctuations, human impact, and trophic interactions". ICES Journal of Marine Science. 69 (5): 880–889. doi:10.1093/icesjms/fss046.
  5. Kraft, Angelina; Berge, Jørgen; Varpe, Øystein; Falk-Petersen, Stig (January 2013). "Feeding in Arctic darkness: mid-winter diet of the pelagic amphipods Themisto abyssorum and T. libellula". Marine Biology. 160 (1): 241–248. doi:10.1007/s00227-012-2065-8.
  6. Mosher, Alyssa (August 1, 2016). "'Dead Sea': Millions of themisto plankton rotting ashore in Paulatuk, N.W.T." cbc.ca. CBC/Radio-Canada. Retrieved July 29, 2017.
  7. Eiane, Ketil; Daase, Malin (May 2002). "Observations of mass mortality of Themisto libellula (Amphipoda, Hyperidae)". Polar Biology. 25 (5): 396–398. doi:10.1007/s00300-002-0361-3.


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