Transparency and visibility of gelatinous zooplankton from the northwestern Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico

Transparency measurements (at 400 to 700 nm) were made on living specimens of 29 common species of gelatinous zooplankton from the Northwestern Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico. Percent transparency ranged from 91% for the hydromedusa Sibogota typa to 0.51% for the pteropod Clione limacina. Percent transparency was linearly and positively correlated with wavelength, with slopes of the regression lines (normalized to the percent transparency at 480 nm) ranging from 0.027%/nm for Sibogota typa to 0.51 %/nm for the ctenophore Mnemiopsis macrydi (average 0.17 ± 0.019%/nm).