The upside-down jellyfish Cassiopea xamachana (Scyphozoa: Rhizostomeae) has been predominantly studied to understand its interaction with the endosymbiotic dinoflagellate algae Symbiodinium. As an easily culturable and tractable cnidarian model, it is an attractive alternative to stony corals to understanding the mechanisms driving establishment and maintenance of symbiosis. Cassiopea is also unique in requiring the symbiont in order to complete its transition to the adult stage, thereby providing an excellent model to understand symbiosis-driven development and evolution. Recently, the Cassiopea research system has gained interest beyond symbiosis in fields related to embryology, climate ecology, behavior, and more. With these developments, resources Ohdera et al. Cassiopea xamachana System Review including genomes, transcriptomes, and laboratory protocols are steadily increasing. This review provides an overview of the broad range of interdisciplinary research that has utilized the Cassiopea model and highlights the advantages of using the model for future research.

No abstract

Bioaccumulation of trace elements in jellyfish has so far received little attention, despite their being prey for many animals from multiple trophic levels and targeted by commercial jellyfish fisheries. Scyphozoan and cubozoan jellyfish were collected over a three year period from across-shelf and along the northern and central Great Barrier Reef, Australia. To test the hypotheses that jellyfishes were able to accumulate elements above ambient background levels, and if there were spatial or temporal variations among species, soft tissue concentrations of 14 trace elements were compared with ambient seawater concentrations. Most elements, including aluminium, arsenic, barium, cadmium, chromium, copper, iron, manganese and zinc were measured at concentrations above ambient seawater levels indicating bioaccumulative capacity. Results showed some regulation of lithium in Cassiopea sp., Cyanea sp. and Mastigias sp., while calcium, magnesium and strontium reflected ambient conditions for all species. Accumulation varied significantly among species and sampling locations. For Mastigias sp. and Netrostoma sp., tissue concentrations of Al, As, Cu, Fe and Zn decreased with distance from the mainland. The hypothesis that jellyfishes are capable of accumulating trace elements was accepted, and their use as biomonitors should be investigated further.

No abstract

Herbicides from agricultural run-off have been measured in coastal systems of the Great Barrier Reef over many years. Non-target herbicide exposure, especially photosystem II herbicides has the potential to affect seagrasses and other marine species. The symbiotic benthic jellyfish Cassiopea maremetens is present in tropical/sub-tropical estuarine and marine environments. Jellyfish (n = 8 per treatment) were exposed to four separate concentrations of agricultural formulations of diuron or hexazinone to determine their sensitivity and potential for recovery to pulsed herbicide exposure. Jellyfish growth, symbiont photosynthetic activity and zooxanthellae density were analysed for herbicide-induced changes for 7 days followed by a 7 day recovery period. Both the jellyfish and endosymbiont were more sensitive to diuron than hexazinone. The 7-day EC for jellyfish growth was 0.35 μg L for Diuron and 17.5 μg L for Hexazinone respectively. Diuron exposure caused a significant decrease (p < 0.05) in jellyfish growth at 0.1 μg L, a level that is below the regional Great Barrier Reef guideline value. Jellyfish recovery was rapid with growth rates similar to control animals following removal from herbicide exposure. Both diuron and hexazinone caused significant decreases in photosynthetic efficiency (effective quantum yield) in all treatment concentrations (0.1 μg L and above) and this effect continued in the post-exposure period. As this species is frequently found in near-shore environments, they may be particularly vulnerable to herbicide run-off.

No abstract

No abstract

Jellyfish have a demonstrated capability to accumulate metals within their tissues, but to date, there have been no quantitative assessments of accumulation and retention rates and patterns. Bioconcentration patterns of copper and zinc in the upside-down jellyfish Cassiopea maremetens were modelled over a 28-day study (14 days exposure followed by 14 days clearance). C. maremetens accumulated copper over 14 days with the maximum calculated copper concentrations at 33.78 μg g(-1) dry weight and bioconcentrated to 99 times water concentrations. Zinc was also accumulated during the exposure period and retained for longer. The maximum theoretical zinc concentration was 125.1 μg g(-1) dry weight with a kinetic bioconcentration factor of 104. The patterns of uptake and retention were different between the elements. The use of kinetic models provided adequate predictions of aqueous metal uptake and retention in C. maremetens. This species has the capacity to very rapidly absorb measurable metals from short-term water-metal exposure.