Siphonophores are a clade of understudied colonial hydrozoans (Cnidaria) that are abundant predators in oceanic ecosystems, with species present across the water column. We (1) synthesize current knowledge about siphonophore trophic ecology and predator–prey interactions, (2) analyze siphonophore-prey networks to compare food-web topology between shallow and deep-pelagic habitats, (3) discuss contemporary techniques that will allow for more integrative studies of siphonophore feeding ecology, and (4) and present a vision for future research. We found distinct diet differences between siphonophore species, indicating that siphonophores occupy multiple trophic niches and prey on a diversity of taxa. Our results suggest that siphonophore-prey networks may be more specialized in the deep pelagic than in the epipelagic, suggesting potential trophic differences between depth habitats. This study highlights niche differentiation and trophic complexity among siphonophores and demonstrates the importance of gelatinous zooplankton in shaping food web structure in pelagic ecosystems.

中文翻译：

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将虹吸管整合到海洋食物网生态系统中

虹吸管是一个未被充分研究的殖民地水生动物（刺胞动物）的进化枝，它们是海洋生态系统中丰富的捕食者，物种存在于水柱中。我们 (1) 综合当前关于虹吸管营养生态学和捕食者-猎物相互作用的知识，(2) 分析虹吸管-猎物网络以比较浅海和深海栖息地之间的食物网拓扑结构，(3) 讨论将允许更多虹吸饲养生态学的综合研究，以及 (4) 并提出未来研究的愿景。我们发现管水母物种之间存在明显的饮食差异，表明管水母占据多个营养生态位并捕食多种类群。我们的研究结果表明，虹吸管-猎物网络可能在深海中比在上层中更专业，表明深度栖息地之间潜在的营养差异。这项研究强调了虹吸管的生态位分化和营养复杂性，并证明了凝胶状浮游动物在塑造远洋生态系统食物网结构中的重要性。