High density aggregations of the Aurelia sp.1 ephyrae in a Chinese coastal aquaculture pond
Keywords:
Jellyfish blooms, habitat modification, morphological characterization, molecular genetic analysisAbstract
Blooms of the Moon Jellyfish Aurelia sp.1 medusae have occurred in the harbors and coastal waters of the Bohai and Yellow Seas. However, the occurrence and distribution of Aurelia sp.1 ephyrae is relatively unknown. Mass occurrence of scyphozoan ephyrae in a coastal aquaculture pond (Shidao) in northern China was first recorded in April 2015. Based on morphological characteristics, the ephyrae collected in the aquaculture pond were mostly similar to the ephyrae collected in Atlantic French waters, which were identified as Aurelia sp.1. This was further confirmed by phylogenetic analyses of the mtDNA 16S regions of the sampled ephyrae. Surprisingly, the blooms of Aurelia sp.1 ephyrae formed an obvious reddish color similar to “red tides” in the surface water of the aquaculture pond. The mean density of ephyrae in the reddish color zone of the aquaculture pond was estimated to be 7.38 × 106 individuals m−3. Seawater temperature and wind are the key factors for the formation of Aurelia sp.1 ephyra bloom in the aquaculture pond. Finally, we speculate that artificial structures may provide more substrates for the polyps and enhance the Jellyfish blooms in Chinese aquaculture ponds.
References
Ballard, J.W.O., Melvin, R.G., 2010. Linking the mitochondrial genotype to the organismal phenotype. Molecular Ecology 19, 1523–1539.
Bureau of Fisheries, 2012. China Fisheries Statistics Yearbook. Beijing, China.
Dong, Z., Liu, D., Keesing, J.K., 2010. Jellyfish blooms in China: dominant species, causes and consequences. Marine Pollution Bulletin 60, 954–963.
Dong, Z., Liu, D., Wang, Y., Di, B., Song, X., Shi, Y., 2012. A report on a Moon Jellyfish Aurelia aurita bloom in Sishili Bay, Northern Yellow Sea of China in 2009. Aquatic Ecosystem Health and Management 15(2), 161–167.
Dong, Z., Liu, D., Keesing, J.K., 2014. Contrasting Trends in Populations of Rhopilema esculentum and Aurelia aurita in Chinese Waters. In K. Pitt, C. Lucas (Eds.), Jellyfish blooms, pp. 207–218, Springer-Verlag, Berlin.
Dong, Z., Liu, Z., Liu, D., 2015. Genetic characterization of the scyphozoan jellyfish Aurelia spp. in Chinese coastal waters using mitochondrial markers. Biochemical Systematics and Ecology 60, 15–23.
Duarte, C.M., Pitt, K.A., Lucas, C.H., Purcell, J.E., Uye, S.I., Robinson, K., Brotz, L., Decker, M.B., Sutherland, K.R., Malej, A., Madin, L., Mianzan, H., Gili, J.M., Fuentes, V., Atienza, D., Pagés, F., Breitburg, D., Malek, J., Graham, W.M., Condon, R.H., 2012. Is global ocean sprawl a cause of jellyfish blooms? Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution 11, 91–97.
Ender, A., Schierwater, B., 2003. Placozoa are not derived cnidarians: evidence from molecular morphology. Molecular Biology and Evolution 20, 130–134.
Gambill, M., Jarms, G., 2014. Can Aurelia (Cnidaria, Scyphozoa) species be differentiated by comparing their scyphistomae and ephyrae? European Journal of Taxonomy 107, 1–23.
Hall, T., 2005. Bioedit 7.0.5. Department of Microbiology, North Carolina State University.
Holst, S., Jarms, G., 2007. Substrate choice and settlement preferences of planula larvae of five Scyphozoa (Cnidaria) from German Bight, North Sea. Marine Biology 151, 863–71.
Hoover, R.A., Purcell, J.E., 2009. Substrate preferences of scyphozoan Aurelia labiate polyps among common dock-building materials. Hydrobiologia 616, 259–67.
Ishii, H., Katsukoshi, K., 2010. Seasonal and vertical distribution of Aurelia aurita polyps on a pylon in the innermost part of Tokyo Bay. Journal of Oceanography 66, 329–336.
Licandro, P., Conway, D., Yahia, M., De Puelles, M., Gasparini, S., Hecq, J., Tranter, P., Kirby, R., 2010. A blooming jellyfish in the northeast Atlantic and Mediterranean. Biology Letters p.rsbl20100150.
Lorenzen, C.J., 1967. Determination of chlorophyll and pheo-pigments: spectrophoto-metric equations. Limnology and Oceanography 12, 243.
Lucas, C.H., 2001. Reproduction and life history strategies of the common jellyfish, Aurelia aurita, in relation to its ambient environment. Hydrobiologia 451, 229–246.
Makabe, R., Furukawa, R., Takao, M., Uye, S., 2014. Marine artificial structures as amplifiers of Aurelia aurita s.l. blooms: a case study of a newly installed floating pier. Journal of Oceanography 70, 447–455.
Makabe, R., Takeoka, H., Uye, S., 2015. Offshore dispersion of ephyrae and medusae of Aurelia aurita s.l. (Cnidaria: Scyphozoa) from port enclosures: Physical and biological factors. Journal of Marine Systems 152, 75–82.
Malej, A., Kogovsek, T., Ramsak, A., Catenacci, L., 2012. Blooms and population dynamics of Moon Jellyfish in the northern Adriatic. Cahiers De Biologie Marine 53, 337–342.
Miyake, H., Terazaki, M., Kakinuma, Y., 2002. On the Polyps of the Common Jellyfish Aurelia aurita in Kagoshima Bay. Journal of Oceanography 58, 451–459.
Ortman, B., Bucklin, A., Pagès, F., Youngbluth, M., 2010. DNA Barcoding the Medusozoa using mtCOI. Deep Sea Research Part II: Topical Studies in Oceanography 57, 2148–2156.
Park, E., Hwang, D.S., Lee, J.S., Song, J.I., Seo, T.K., Won, Y.J., 2012. Estimation of divergence times in cnidarian evolution based on mitochondrial protein-coding genes and the fossil record. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 62, 329–345.
Pascual, M., Fuentes, V., Canepa, A., Atienza, D., Gili, J.M., Purcell, J.E., 2015. Temperature effects on asexual reproduction of the scyphozoan Aurelia aurita sl: differences between exotic (Baltic and Red seas) and native (Mediterranean Sea) populations. Marine Ecology 36, 994–1002.
Purcell, J.E., 2012. Jellyfish and ctenophore blooms coincide with human proliferations and environmental perturbations. Annual Review of Marine Science 4, 209–235.
Richardson, A.J., Bakun, A., Hays, G.C., Gibbons, M.J., 2009. The jellyfish joyride: causes, consequences and management responses to a more gelatinous future. Trends in Ecology and Evolution 24, 312–322.
Straehler-Pohl, I., Jarms, G., 2010. Identification key for young ephyrae: a first step for early detection of jellyfish blooms. Hydrobiologia 645, 3–21.
Toyokawa, M., Aoki, K., Yamada, S., Yasuda, A., Murata, Y., Kikuchi, T., 2011. Distribution of ephyrae and polyps of jellyfish Aurelia aurita (Linnaeus 1758) sensu lato in Mikawa Bay, Japan. Journal of Oceanography 67, 209–218.
Wan, A., Zhang, G., 2012. Annual occurrence of moon jellyfish Aurelia sp.1 in the Jiaozhou Bay and its impacts on zooplankton community. Oceanlogia ET Limnologia Sinica 43, 494–501. (In Chinese)
Wang, N., Li, C., 2015. The effect of temperature and food supply on the growth and ontogeny of Aurelia sp. 1 ephyrae. Hydrobiologia 754, 157–167.
Wang, Y., Sun, S., 2015. Population dynamics of Aurelia sp.1 ephyrae and medusa in Jiaozhou Bay, China. Hydrobiologia 754, 147–155.
Yang, H., Hamel, J., Mercier A., 2015. The sea cucumber Apostichopus japonicus: History, biology, and aquaculture. Academic Press, Elsevier.
Published
Issue
Section
License
Manuscripts must be original. They must not be published or be under consideration for publication elsewhere, in whole or in part. It is required that the lead author of accepted papers complete and sign the MSU Press AEHM Author Publishing Agreement and provide it to the publisher upon acceptance.
