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Jelly-falls historic and recent observations: a review to drive future research directions

  • JELLYFISH BLOOMS
  • Review Paper
  • Published:
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Abstract

The biological pump describes the transport of particulate matter from the sea surface to the ocean’s interior including the seabed. The contribution by gelatinous zooplankton bodies as particulate organic matter (POM) vectors (“jelly-falls”) has been neglected owing to technical and spatiotemporal sampling limitations. Here, we assess the existing evidence on jelly-falls from early ocean observations to present times. The seasonality of jelly-falls indicates that they mostly occur after periods of strong upwelling and/or spring blooms in temperate/subpolar zones and during late spring/early summer. A conceptual model helps to define a jelly-fall based on empirical and field observations of biogeochemical and ecological processes. We then compile and discuss existing strategic and observational oceanographic techniques that could be implemented to further jelly-falls research. Seabed video- and photography-based studies deliver the best results, and the correct use of fishing techniques, such as trawling, could provide comprehensive regional datasets. We conclude by considering the possibility of increased gelatinous biomasses in the future ocean induced by upper ocean processes favouring their populations, thus increasing jelly-POM downward transport. We suggest that this could provide a “natural compensation” for predicted losses in pelagic POM with respect to fuelling benthic ecosystems.

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Acknowledgments

We are grateful to the scientific and environmental ROV partnership using existing industrial technology project (SERPENT) for enabling access to data off west Africa and in the deep Norwegian Sea. We thank the following contributions from individuals: L. Gil de Sola, C. García, J. Pérez Gil, and P. Abelló from the I.E.O (Fuengirola Oceanographic Center, Spain) for the facilities providing MEDITS-ES data, Brian J. Bett and R. S. Lampitt from the National Oceanography Center Southampton, UK provided unpublished data of C. orsini from Billett et al. (2006) and from Roe et al. (1990). This work was also supported by the “European Project on Ocean Acidification” (EPOCA), which is funded from the European Community’s Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007–2013) under grant agreement no 211384. EPOCA is endorsed by the International Programmes IMBER, LOICZ and SOLAS. This work was funded by the grant Becas mineras. exp. 210001 to M. Lebrato and by the Kiel Cluster of Excellence “The Future Ocean” (D1067/87).

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  1. Laetitia Adler

    Present address: School of Geological Sciences, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4, Ireland

Authors and Affiliations

  1. GEOMAR, Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel, Düsternbrooker Weg 20, 24105, Kiel, Germany

    Mario Lebrato, Andreas Oschlies & Juan Carlos Molinero

  2. Australian Rivers Institute, Coast and Estuaries, Griffith University, Brisbane, QLD, 4222, Australia

    Kylie A. Pitt

  3. Norwegian Institute for Water Research, Thormøhlensgate 53D, 5006, Bergen, Norway

    Andrew K. Sweetman

  4. Centre for Geobiology, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway

    Andrew K. Sweetman

  5. National Oceanography Centre, European Way, Southampton, SO14 3ZH, UK

    Daniel O. B. Jones & David S. M. Billett

  6. Institut de Ciències Del Mar de Barcelona, CSIC, Passeig Marítim de la Barceloneta 37-49, 08003, Barcelona, Spain

    Joan E. Cartes & Domingo Lloris

  7. Dauphin Island Sea Lab, Dauphin Island, AL, 36528, USA

    Robert H. Condon

  8. Biocenter Grindel and Zoological Museum, Martin-Luther-King-Platz 3, 20146, Hamburg, Germany

    Laetitia Adler

  9. Université de Lyon 1, UMR CNRS 5125, 2 rue Raphaël Dubois, 69622, Villeurbanne cedex, France

    Christian Gaillard

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Guest editors: J. E. Purcell, H. Mianzan & J. R. Frost / Jellyfish Blooms: Interactions with Humans and Fisheries

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Lebrato, M., Pitt, K.A., Sweetman, A.K. et al. Jelly-falls historic and recent observations: a review to drive future research directions. Hydrobiologia 690, 227–245 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-012-1046-8

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