Is the scyphomedusa Cyanea capillata (L.) dependent on gelatinous prey for its early development?

Newly released ephyrae of the scyphomedusa Cyanea capillata did not grow on either Artemia nauplii or copepod dominated mixed zooplankton, but grew with an average rate of 16.5% day(-1) (maximum of 30.6% day(-1)) with a ctenophore as food. The two first food types did not generate medusae with normal development of tentacles and oral arms over a seven-week period, whereas the ctenophore food did. We suggest that availability of gelatinous prey for newly released ephyrae is a bottleneck in the development, making constraints on the population succession and at least partly explaining inter-annual variations in abundance of C. capillata.