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Food supply effects on the asexual reproduction and respiratory metabolism of Aurelia aurita polyps

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Abstract

Because Aurelia spp. blooms have important regional effects, it is urgent to determine factors that may affect their proliferation and their effects on food webs. The life cycle of most scyphozoans includes an attached stage (polyp or scyphistoma) that reproduces asexually. To test the effects of food availability (unfed, fed 1-, 2-, or 3-times weekly), we measured production rates, mass, and metabolism of Aurelia aurita polyps. Metabolic measurements were physiological respiratory O2 consumption (R), potential O2 consumption (Φ), and potential CO2 production (ψNADP). Φ and ψNADP were calculated from enzymatic activities of the respiratory electron transport system (ETS) and from the CO2-producing enzyme, NADP+-dependent isocitrate dehydrogenase (NADP-IDH), respectively. The production of polyps dramatically increased from ~ 0.1 polyp day−1 (unfed) to ~ 0.65 polyp day−1 (fed 3-times week−1) over 33 days. Mass and metabolism (R, Φ, ψNADP) per polyp were significantly lower in unfed polyps, but indistinguishable among fed polyps. Our results suggested that the polyps maintained low-metabolic rates, putting available energy into asexual reproduction. The polyps were adapted to survive and reproduce when unfed, confirming their contribution to population persistence and potential jellyfish blooms.

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Acknowledgements

This work was accomplished thanks to the Fulbright Senior Scholarship to J. E. P., the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness, the Spanish Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports at the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. We thank OneMind DataScience for statistical analyses.

Funding

This work was funded by the MERMAC and MEMECAN projects granted by the Canary Islands CEI—Tricontinental Atlantic Campus. Also, funds granted to M. G. came from the PERSEO project (ProID201710051) funded by Canary Island Government and fondos FEDER. J. E. P. was supported by the Commission for Cultural, Educational and Scientific Exchange between the United States of America and Spain as a Fulbright U.S. Senior Researcher in the 2016–2017 Scholar Program. D. R. B.-J. received financial support from the FPU grants from the Spanish Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports. V. R. K. received financial support from the Canary Island Government (Gobierno de Canarias, Agencia Canaria de Investigación, Innovación y Sociedad de la Información). T.T. P. was supported by TIAA-CREF (USA), Social Security (USA), and the Canary Islands CEI—Tricontinental Atlantic Campus.

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Purcell, J.E., Bondyale-Juez, D.R., Romero-Kutzner, V. et al. Food supply effects on the asexual reproduction and respiratory metabolism of Aurelia aurita polyps. Hydrobiologia 846, 135–146 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-019-04057-4

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