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The potential role of podocysts in perpetuation of the common jellyfish Aurelia aurita s.l. (Cnidaria: Scyphozoa) in anthropogenically perturbed coastal waters

  • JELLYFISH BLOOMS
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Abstract

Common moon jellyfish, Aurelia spp. bloom seasonally in eutrophic or polluted coastal waters around the world. We hypothesized that podocysts, a part of asexual reproduction of the benthic polyps, were important in perpetuating populations of Aurelia aurita s.l. in anthropogenically perturbed waters. We examined the effects of temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen concentrations, and food on the encystment and excystment of A. aurita podocysts. Podocysts were formed only by unfed or poorly-fed polyps (≤4.8 μg C polyp−1 day−1), indicating that starvation was the primary cause of encystment, while increased temperatures accelerated podocyst production rate. Encystment was never induced by changed salinity (15–32) or dissolved oxygen concentration (1–5 mg O2 l−1). Excystment occurred only when podocysts were returned to 19°C from 28°C and to oxic waters from hypoxic (0.2–1.0 mg O2 l−1). The podocysts were capable of surviving for up to 3.2 year. Histology revealed that newly-formed podocysts contained rich organic reserves (e.g., carbohydrate, protein, and lipid) that were gradually consumed while encysted. Podocysts may contribute minimally to increasing A. aurita polyp abundance, but they can insure maintenance of the population in adverse environmental conditions and in predator attacks. Podocysts may also enable the population to extend to areas where polyp survival is marginal.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Masato Kawahara and Chang-Hoon Han for their help with the experiments. English of the early manuscript was edited by the Sea Pen Scientific Writing, LLC. This work was partially supported by a research grant from the Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Research Council (POMAL-STOPJELLY Project).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Graduate School of Biosphere Science, Hiroshima University, 4-4 Kagamiyama 1 Chome, Higashi-Hiroshima, 739-8528, Japan

    Htun Thein, Hideki Ikeda & Shin-ichi Uye

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  1. Htun Thein
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  2. Hideki Ikeda
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  3. Shin-ichi Uye
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Correspondence to Shin-ichi Uye.

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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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10750_2012_1045_MOESM1_ESM.jpg

Photomicrograph of 1-month-old Aurelia aurita s.l. podocysts stained with Haematoxylin-eosin method. (A) Cross section. (B) Magnified view of nucleus. (C) Cnidoblasts in cell mass. c, cuticle; cm, cell mass; gra, granules; nu, nucleus; cni, cnidoblast. Scale bars = 50 μm (A) and 10 μm (B, C) (JPG 499 kb)

Appendix 2

Photomicrograph of 1-month-old Aurelia aurita s.l. podocysts showing chemical contents. (A) Carbohydrates stained purple with periodic acid Schiff method. (B) Basic proteins stained red with solochrome cyanin. (C) Acidic mucopolysaccharides stained blue in the cnidoblast with alcian blue. (D) Nuclei containing DNA stained positive with methyl green. Staining of the cnidoblasts is false. (E) Lipids stained black with Sudan black technique. c, cuticle; m, mucoid layer; gra, granules; cni, cnidoblast; nu, nucleus; lip, lipid. Scale bars = 30 μm (A, B) and 10 μm (C, D, E) (JPG 776 kb)

Appendix 3

Photomicrograph of cross sections of Aurelia aurita s.l. podocysts of different ages. (A) Newly formed. (B) 1-month-old. (C) 3-months-old. (D) 4-months-old. (E) 6-months-old. (F) 12-months-old. Scale bars = 100 μm (TIFF 1357 kb)

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Thein, H., Ikeda, H. & Uye, Si. The potential role of podocysts in perpetuation of the common jellyfish Aurelia aurita s.l. (Cnidaria: Scyphozoa) in anthropogenically perturbed coastal waters. Hydrobiologia 690, 157–167 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-012-1045-9

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