First record of the invasive stinging medusa Gonionemus vertens in the southern hemisphere (Mar del Plata, Argentina)

Rodríguez, Claudia; Pujol, Maria Gabriela; Mianzán, Hermes; Genzano, Gabriel N.

doi:10.3856/vol42-issue3-fulltext-23

Cited by 13 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…The hydrozoan Gonionemus vertens (A. Agassiz in Agassiz, 1862 ) is native to the Pacific and thought to be introduced in Europe ( Edwards, 1976 ; Bakker, 1980 ), eastern North America (reviewed in Govindarajan & Carman, 2016 ), and South America ( Rodriguez et al, 2014 ). Its worldwide distribution has been called a “zoogeographic puzzle” due to its episodic and disjunct populations ( Tambs-Lyche, 1964 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mitochondrial diversity inGonionemus(Trachylina:Hydrozoa) and its implications for understanding the origins of clinging jellyfish in the Northwest Atlantic Ocean

Govindarajan

Carman

Khaidarov

et al. 2017

PeerJ

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Determining whether a population is introduced or native to a region can be challenging due to inadequate taxonomy, the presence of cryptic lineages, and poor historical documentation. For taxa with resting stages that bloom episodically, determining origin can be especially challenging as an environmentally-triggered abrupt appearance of the taxa may be confused with an anthropogenic introduction. Here, we assess diversity in mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I sequences obtained from multiple Atlantic and Pacific locations, and discuss the implications of our findings for understanding the origin of clinging jellyfish Gonionemus in the Northwest Atlantic. Clinging jellyfish are known for clinging to seagrasses and seaweeds, and have complex life cycles that include resting stages. They are especially notorious as some, although not all, populations are associated with severe sting reactions. The worldwide distribution of Gonionemus has been aptly called a “zoogeographic puzzle” and our results refine rather than resolve the puzzle. We find a relatively deep divergence that may indicate cryptic speciation between Gonionemus from the Northeast Pacific and Northwest Pacific/Northwest Atlantic. Within the Northwest Pacific/Northwest Atlantic clade, we find haplotypes unique to each region. We also find one haplotype that is shared between highly toxic Vladivostok-area populations and some Northwest Atlantic populations. Our results are consistent with multiple scenarios that involve both native and anthropogenic processes. We evaluate each scenario and discuss critical directions for future research, including improving the resolution of population genetic structure, identifying possible lineage admixture, and better characterizing and quantifying the toxicity phenotype.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mitochondrial diversity inGonionemus(Trachylina:Hydrozoa) and its implications for understanding the origins of clinging jellyfish in the Northwest Atlantic Ocean

Govindarajan

Carman

Khaidarov

et al. 2017

PeerJ

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“…These observations suggested a cryptic invasion of a new, more toxic lineage (Govindarajan and Carman 2016). Similar recent sightings that possibly indicate new invasions have occurred elsewhere around the world, including in Argentina (Rodriguez et al 2014), the US mid-Atlantic region (Gaynor et al 2016), the French Mediterranean coast (Marchessaux et al 2017), and the Swedish west coast (Govindarajan et al 2019).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 56%

Distribution of the highly toxic clinging jellyfish Gonionemus sp. around the island of Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts, USA

Carman

Grunden²,

Reddington³

et al. 2019

Mar Biodivers Rec

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In recent years, the cryptogenic and often highly toxic hydrozoan Gonionemus sp. has appeared in new locations around the globe and has become increasingly abundant in the Northwest Atlantic where it is now associated with severe stings. Several such stings have been documented from the island of Martha's Vineyard, located approximately 8 km south of the Cape Cod, Massachusetts coast. It appears that Gonionemus sp. may be expanding its range in this region. Here we surveyed for medusae in the major coastal ponds along the perimeter of Martha's Vineyard, refined our knowledge of Gonionemus sp. habitat by recording salinity, water depth, and bottom type from surveyed areas, and obtained a basic population life history assessment by measuring the sizes and sex ratios of medusae collected in the surveys. We found Gonionemus sp. present in five ponds: Farm Pond, Sengekontacket Pond, Lake Tashmoo, Stonewall Pond, and Edgartown Great Pond. Medusae were associated with eelgrass meadows in all cases. Salinities for medusa populations ranged from 18 ppt in Edgartown Great Pond to 29 ppt in the other ponds. The Farm Pond and Stonewall Pond medusae were significantly smaller than those from other ponds and were comprised of primarily immature individuals despite sampling relatively later in the season, suggesting factors other than temperature may be affecting medusa growth. For mature medusae, sex ratios were highly biased, suggesting a strong clonal component to population growth. Edgartown Great Pond contained only males and thus may represent an entirely clonal population. These medusae are the first record of Gonionemus sp. in Edgartown Great Pond, despite a long history of study. Medusae were most abundant in the portion of the pond near the town landing, which suggests that the medusae could have originated by clonal polyps, frustules, or cysts associated with a boat hull. Given the presence of male and female medusae in other parts of Martha's Vineyard, it seems likely that additional genetic individuals will arrive in the near future, potentially establishing a sexually reproductive population.

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“…An example of an enigmatic hydrozoan species with a complex invasion history is Gonionemus sp., which is native to the northwest Pacific, where it is notorious for causing painful stings to humans. Gonionemus s p. is introduced in other parts of the world (Rodriguez et al ., 2014; Gaynor et al ., 2016; Govindarajan and Carman, 2016; Govindarajan et al ., 2017, 2019), but identification is sometimes challenging due to its similarity to the less toxic, closely related Gonionemus vertens lineage (Govindarajan and Carman, 2016). Some other globally invasive hydrozoans are B. virginica (Thiel, 1935; Mills and Sommer, 1995; Wintzer et al ., 2013; Freire et al ., 2014), Maeotias marginata (Mills and Sommer, 1995; Mills and Rees, 2000), Turritopsis dohrnii (Miglietta and Lessios, 2009), and Craspedacusta sowerbii (Jankowski et al ., 2007).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Introduction of the euryhaline epibenthic hydromedusa Vallentinia gabriellae Vannucci Mendes, 1948 (Hydrozoa: Limnomedusae) to Indian waters

et al. 2023

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The epibenthic euryhaline hydromedusa Vallentinia gabriellae Vannucci Mendes, 1948 is an olindiid species native to tropical Atlantic waters. Here, we describe the cryptic introduction of this species in an estuary along the coast of Kerala, in southwestern India. This study records the existence of V. gabriellae outside of Atlantic waters for the first time and documents its geographical range expansion. Our identification was based on a combined morphological and DNA barcoding assessment using the COI and 28S markers. Although we noted some morphological differences between our specimens and those from their native range, our findings were conclusive. We suggest that phenotypic plasticity may result from differences such as prey availability between the native and introduced habitats. V. gabriellae medusae are epibenthic and cling to a variety of hard and soft substrates, including bivalves. Our specimens were associated with the invasive fouling mussel Mytella strigata, and we suggest that V. gabriellae could have been transported along with these mussels to the Kerala coast.

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First record of the invasive stinging medusa Gonionemus vertens in the southern hemisphere (Mar del Plata, Argentina)

Cited by 13 publications

References 25 publications

Mitochondrial diversity inGonionemus(Trachylina:Hydrozoa) and its implications for understanding the origins of clinging jellyfish in the Northwest Atlantic Ocean

Mitochondrial diversity inGonionemus(Trachylina:Hydrozoa) and its implications for understanding the origins of clinging jellyfish in the Northwest Atlantic Ocean

Distribution of the highly toxic clinging jellyfish Gonionemus sp. around the island of Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts, USA

Introduction of the euryhaline epibenthic hydromedusa Vallentinia gabriellae Vannucci Mendes, 1948 (Hydrozoa: Limnomedusae) to Indian waters

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