Ctenophores (comb jellies) represent a distinct phylum of gelatinous
invertebrates that are ubiquitous in all marine environments.
Blooms and invasions of ctenophores have been documented
in many estuarine, coastal and open-ocean ecosystems
worldwide over the past several decades (Purcell and Arai 2001;
Sullivan, Van Keuren and Clancy 2001; Purcell 2005; Condon and
Steinberg 2008; Fuentes et al., 2010). It has been hypothesized
that ctenophores benefit from multiple changes in the ocean