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Changes in the small-jellyfish community in recent decades in Jiaozhou Bay, China

Chinese Journal of Oceanology and Limnology volume 30, pages507–518(2012)Cite this article

Abstract

We used long term monitoring data to evaluate changes in abundance and species dominance of small-jellyfish (collected with zooplankton net whose bell diameter was less than 5 cm) between 1991 and 2009 in the Jiaozhou Bay, China. Zooplankton samples were vertically towed with conical plankton net from near-bottom to surface, identified microscopically, and mapped in time-space using Grapher 7.0 and Surfer 8.0. Results show that the abundance of small-jellyfish throughout the bay had been increasing during 2001–2009 on average of 15.2 ind./m3, almost 5 times higher than that between 1991 and 2000. The occurrence of peak abundance shifted from spring to summer after 2000, and two peaks appeared in spring and summer, respectively, after 2005. Both the abundance and the frequency of blooms of small-jellyfish increased after 2000 in the bay. In addition, the biodiversity of jellyfish has increased significantly in recent years with a change in dominant species. Several new dominant species appeared after 2000, including Rathkae octopunctata in winter, Phialidium hemisphaericum in spring, summer, and autumn, Phialucium carolinae in spring, and Pleurobrachia globosa in summer and autumn, while some previous dominant species throughout the 1990s (Eirene ceylonensis, Zanclea costata, Lovenella assimilis, and Muggiaea atlantica ) were no longer dominant after 2000. The abundance of small-jellyfish was positively correlated with the density of dinoflagellates, and the abundance of zooplankton. We believe that the changes in smalljellyfish abundance and species composition were the result of eutrophication, aquaculture and coastal construction activities around the bay. Concurrently, seawater warming and salinity decrease in recent decades promoted the growth and reproduction of small-jellyfish in the bay.

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Affiliations

  1. Jiaozhou Bay Marine Ecosystem Research Station, Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao, 266071, China
    • Song Sun 孙松
    •  & Xiaoxia Sun 孙晓霞
  2. Key Laboratory of Marine Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao, 266071, China
    • Song Sun 孙松
  3. Bureau of Science and Technology for Resources and Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100864, China
    • Yinghong Li 李颖虹
  4. Graduate University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China
    • Yinghong Li 李颖虹
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  1. Song Sun 孙松
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Correspondence to Xiaoxia Sun 孙晓霞.

Additional information

Supported by the National Basic Research Program of China (973 Program) (No. 2011CB403601), the Knowledge Innovation Program of Chinese Academy of Sciences (No. KZCX2-YW-Q07-01), the External Cooperation Program of Chinese Academy of Sciences (No. GJHZ200808), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 40876083), and the Ocean Public Welfare Scientific Research Project, State Oceanic Administration of China (No. 201005014)

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Sun, S., Li, Y. & Sun, X. Changes in the small-jellyfish community in recent decades in Jiaozhou Bay, China. Chin. J. Ocean. Limnol. 30, 507–518 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00343-012-1179-7

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Keyword

  • jellyfish
  • abundance
  • species composition
  • Jiaozhou Bay