Identifying potentially harmful jellyfish blooms using shoreline surveys

Fleming, Nicholas E.C.; Harrod, Chris; Houghton, Jonathan D. R.

doi:10.3354/aei00086

Cited by 27 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 46 publications

(40 reference statements)

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“…mortality) of medusae at the end of the summer, following sexual reproduction (Houghton et al 2007). Such mortality events are common in Northern Ireland, where stranding of medusae accelerates greatly during August, with large numbers of individuals washing ashore dead (Fleming et al 2013). The cessation of these stranding events occurs simultaneously with the disappearance of medusae from Strangford Lough.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Scyphozoan jellyfish provide short-term reproductive habitat for hyperiid amphipods in a temperate near-shore environment

Fleming¹,

Harrod²,

Griffin³

et al. 2014

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

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Hyperiid amphipods (Order Amphipoda, Suborder Hyperiidea) are known to infest gelatinous zooplankton. However, the temporal backdrop to these associations is less clear, given that data are often gathered during discrete sampling events rather than over time. In general, hyperiids are considered to be pelagic: however, for individuals associated with metagenic jellyfishes in temperate shallow shelf seas, this may not always be the case, as the majority of their gelatinous hosts are present in the water column from spring to the onset of autumn. Here, we explored the temporal patterns of colonisation and overall duration of the association between Hyperia galba and 3 scyphozoan jellyfish species (Aurelia aurita, Cyanea capillata and C. lamarckii) in a temperate coastal system (Strangford Lough, Northern Ireland) during 2010 and 2012. Concomitantly, we used carbon and nitrogen stable isotope ratios to examine whether hyperiid infestation represented a permanent association with their host or was part of a more complex life history. We found that jellyfish were colonised by H. galba ca. 2 mo after they are first observed in the lough and that H. galba reached 100% prevalence in the different jellyfish species shortly before the medusae of each species disappeared from the water column. It is possible that some jellyfish overwintered in deeper water, prolonging the association between H. galba and their hosts. However, all the medusae sampled during the spring and early summer (whether they were newly emerged or had overwintered from the previous season) were not infected with hyperiids, suggesting that such behaviour was uncommon or that individuals had become dissociated from their host during the winter. Further evidence of temporary association came from stable isotope data, where δ 13 C and δ 15 N isotope ratios were indicative of feeding outside of their host prior to jellyfish colonisation. In combination, these findings suggest alternating habitat associations for H. galba, with the amphipods spending the majority of the year outside of the 3 scyphozoan species considered here.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Scyphozoan jellyfish provide short-term reproductive habitat for hyperiid amphipods in a temperate near-shore environment

Fleming¹,

Harrod²,

Griffin³

et al. 2014

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

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“…1890–1985; Doyle et al ., ). More recent studies using beach strandings (Fleming et al ., ), fisheries by‐catch data (Bastian et al ., ) and continuous plankton recorder records (Licandro et al ., ) have confirmed that the species is a longstanding feature of Irish/UK shelf waters. Given the ecological implications of these reoccurring blooms (Doyle et al ., ) and the economic threat they pose to the Irish/UK aquaculture industry (Doyle et al ., ; Fleming et al ., ) there is a pressing need to understand the demographic processes that underpin them better.…”

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confidence: 99%

“…At times, they can be brought onto continental shelves by oceanic water overflow, as is the case on the Irish Continental Shelf (Fraser, 1955;Bastian et al, 2011). Indeed, in this region the species has been known to form aggregations > 4°of latitude (Doyle et al, 2008) and to strand along hundreds of kilometres of coastline numerous times in recent years (Fleming, Harrod & Houghton, 2013).…”

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confidence: 99%

High-resolution genetic analysis reveals extensive gene flow within the jellyfishPelagia noctiluca(Scyphozoa) in the North Atlantic and Mediterranean Sea

Glynn

Houghton

Bastian

et al. 2015

Biol. J. Linn. Soc.

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Despite the importance of gelatinous zooplankton as components of marine ecosystems, both ecologically and socio‐economically, relatively little information is known about population persistence or connectivity in jellyfish. In the present study, we employed a combination of nuclear microsatellite markers and sequence data from the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I (COI) gene to determine levels and patterns of population genetic structuring in the holoplanktonic jellyfish Pelagia noctiluca across the northeast Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea. Our results indicate a high degree of connectivity in P. noctiluca, with little evidence of geographical structuring of genetic variation. A small but significant differentiation of Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean stocks was detected based on the microsatellite data, but no evidence of differentiation was observed with the mtDNA, probably due to the higher power of the microsatellites to detect low levels of genetic structuring. Two clearly distinct groups of genotypes were observed within the mtDNA COI, which probably diverged in the early Pleistocene, but with no evidence of geographical structuring. Palaeodistribution modelling of P. noctiluca at the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM; c. 21 Kya) indicated large areas of suitable habitat south of the species’ current‐day distribution, with little reduction in area. The congruent evidence for minimal genetic differentiation from the nuclear microsatellites and the mtDNA, coupled with the results of the palaeodistribution modelling, supports the idea of long‐term population stability and connectivity, thus providing key insights into the population dynamics and demography of this important species.

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“…Developing knowledge of the spatial distribution of these species in Irish Sea waters is therefore necessary to establish and quantify the potential for competition with, and predation on, other species, and therefore better assess how the increasing trend in the overall jellyfish abundance (Lynam et al, 2011) may affect various ecological processes as shown by much jellyfish research conducted during the past decade. Aerial surveys have been used to describe discrete Rhizostoma octopus hotspots in coastal bays (Houghton et al, 2006a), while beach surveys and citizen science schemes have provided useful information on the seasonal occurrence of several species along the coastline Fleming et al, 2013;Pikesley et al, 2014). As regards to more offshore areas, surveys from ships of opportunity have confirmed the presence of Aurelia aurita and Cyanea capillata beyond immediate coastal waters and suggested that surface distribution patterns could be linked to variations of temperature and salinity .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 91%

Ecosystem relevance of variable jellyfish biomass in the Irish Sea between years, regions and water types

Bastian

Lilley

Beggs

et al. 2014

Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science

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Identifying potentially harmful jellyfish blooms using shoreline surveys

Cited by 27 publications

References 46 publications

Scyphozoan jellyfish provide short-term reproductive habitat for hyperiid amphipods in a temperate near-shore environment

Scyphozoan jellyfish provide short-term reproductive habitat for hyperiid amphipods in a temperate near-shore environment

High-resolution genetic analysis reveals extensive gene flow within the jellyfishPelagia noctiluca(Scyphozoa) in the North Atlantic and Mediterranean Sea

Ecosystem relevance of variable jellyfish biomass in the Irish Sea between years, regions and water types

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