Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in
Book cover

Jellyfish Blooms IV pp 113–125Cite as

Large medusae in surface waters of the Northern California Current: variability in relation to environmental conditions

  • JELLYFISH BLOOMS
  • Chapter
  • First Online:

Part of the book series: Developments in Hydrobiology ((DIHY,volume 220))

Abstract

Blooms of jellyfish around the world have been correlated with climatic variables related to environmental causes. Sizeable populations of large medusae, primarily Chrysaora fuscescens and Aequorea sp., appear annually in shelf waters of the Northeast Pacific Ocean. Previous research has shown that C. fuscescens is abundant seasonally in the inner shelf and exhibits high feeding rates on zooplankton. We examined medusae caught in surface trawls over an 8-year period (2000–2007) using (1) mesoscale surveys sampling 8–10 transects in May, June, and September, and (2) biweekly surveys along two transects from April to August, relating abundance to environmental parameters. C. fuscescens abundances generally peaked in late summer, whereas Aequorea sp. peaked in May or June. General additive models of the mesoscale data indicated that station catches for both species correlated with latitude, temperature, salinity, and distance from shore (and chlorophyll a for Aequorea sp.). Analysis of interannual variability revealed that highest catches of medusae correlated with cool spring–summer conditions, or negative anomalies of the Pacific Decadal Oscillation, and low winter–summer runoff from the Columbia River. Results confirmed our hypothesis of connections between jellyfish populations and regional climate conditions in a region known for strong physical forcing of ecosystem processes.

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

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.

Chapter
USD   29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD   129.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD   169.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD   169.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Learn about institutional subscriptions

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

References

  • Astorga, D., J. Ruiz & L. Prieto, 2012. Ecological aspects of early life stages of Cotylorhiza tuberculata (Scyphozoa: Rhizostomae) affecting its pelagic population success. Hydrobiologia. doi:10.1007/s10750-012-1036-x.

  • Barry, S. C. & A. H. Welsh, 2002. Generalized additive modeling and zero inflated count data. Ecological Modeling 157: 179–188.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Batchelder, H. P., J. A. Barth, M. P. Kosro, P. T. Strub, R. D. Brodeur, W. T. Peterson, C. T. Tynan, M. D. Ohman, L. W. Botsford, T. M. Powell, F. B. Schwing, D. G. Ainley, D. L. Mackas, B. M. Hickey & S. R. Ramp, 2002. The GLOBEC Northeast Pacific California Current System Program. Oceanography 15: 36–47.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Baxter, E. J., A. W. Walne, J. E. Purcell, R. McAllen & T. K. Doyle, 2010. Identification of jellyfish from Continuous Plankton Recorder samples. Hydrobiologia 645: 193–201.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Brierley, A. S., D. C. Boyer, B. E. Axelsen, C. P. Lynam, C. A. Sparks, H. J. Boyer & M. J. Gibbons, 2005. Towards the acoustic estimation of jellyfish abundance. Marine Ecology Progress Series 295: 105–111.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brodeur, R. D., J. P. Fisher, C. A. Morgan, R. L. Emmett & E. Casillas, 2005. Species composition and community structure of pelagic nekton off Oregon and Washington under variable oceanographic conditions. Marine Ecology Progress Series 298: 41–57.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brodeur, R. D., M. B. Decker, L. Ciannelli, J. E. Purcell, N. A. Bond, P. J. Stabeno, E. Acuna & G. L. Hunt, 2008a. Rise and fall of jellyfish in the eastern Bering Sea in relation to climate regime shifts. Progress in Oceanography 77: 103–111.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brodeur, R. D., C. L. Suchman, D. Reese, T. Miller & E. Daly, 2008b. Spatial overlap and trophic interactions between fish and large jellyfish in the Northern California Current. Marine Biology 154: 649–659.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brodeur, R. D., J. J. Ruzicka & J. H. Steele, 2011. Investigating alternate trophic pathways through gelatinous zooplankton and planktivorous fishes in an upwelling ecosystem using end-to-end models. In Omori, K., X. Guo, N. Yoshie, N. Fujii, I. C. Handoh, A. Isobe & S. Tanabe (eds), Interdisciplinary Studies on Environmental Chemistry – Marine Environmental Modeling & Analysis. TERRAPUB, Tokyo: 57–63.

    Google Scholar 

  • Buecher, E. & M. J. Gibbons, 2000. Interannual variation in the composition of the assemblages of medusae and ctenophores in St. Helena Bay. Southern Benguela ecosystem. Scientia Marina 64: 123–134.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cargo, D. G. & D. R. King, 1990. Forecasting the abundance of the sea nettle, Chrysaora quinquecirrha, in Chesapeake Bay. Estuaries 13: 486–491.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Checkley, D. M. & J. A. Barth, 2009. Patterns and processes in the California Current System. Progress in Oceanography 83: 49–64.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Edwards, M. & A. J. Richardson, 2004. Impact of climate change on marine pelagic phenology and trophic mismatch. Nature 430: 881–884.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Emmett, R. L., R. D. Brodeur & P. M. Orton, 2004. The vertical distribution of juvenile salmon (Oncorhynchus spp.) and associated fishes in the Columbia River plume. Fisheries Oceanography 13: 392–402.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Graham, W. M., F. Pagès & W. M. Hamner, 2001. A physical context for gelatinous zooplankton aggregations: a review. Hydrobiologia 451: 199–212.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Graham, W. M., D. L. Martin & J. C. Martin, 2003. In situ quantification and analysis of large jellyfish using a novel video profiler. Marine Ecology Progress Series 354: 129–140.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Graham, T. R., J. T. Harvey, S. R. Benson, J. S. Renfree & D. A. Demer, 2010. The acoustic identification and enumeration of scyphozoan jellyfish, prey for leatherback sea turtles (Dermochelys coriacea), off central California. ICES Journal of Marine Science 67: 1739–1748.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Haddock, S. H. D., 2008. Reconsidering evidence for potential climate-related increases in jellyfish. Limnology and Oceanography 53: 2759–2762.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hastie, T. J. & R. J. Tibshirani, 1990. Generalized Additive Models. Chapman and Hall, New York: 335 pp.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hickey, B. M. & N. S. Banas, 2003. Oceanography of the U.S. Pacific Northwest coastal ocean and estuaries with application to coastal ecology. Estuaries 26: 1010–1031.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hickey, B. M., et al., 2010. River influences on shelf ecosystems: introduction and synthesis. Journal of Geophysical Research 115: C00B17.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Holst, S., 2012. Effects of climate warming on strobilation and ephyra production of North Sea scyphozoan jellyfish. Hydrobiologia. doi:10.1007/s10750-012-1043-y.

  • Houghton, J. D. R., T. K. Doyle, J. Davenport & G. C. Hays, 2006a. Developing a simple, rapid method for identifying and monitoring jellyfish aggregations from the air. Marine Ecology Progress Series 314: 159–170.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Houghton, J. D. R., T. K. Doyle, M. W. Wilson, J. Davenport & G. C. Hays, 2006b. Jellyfish aggregations and leatherback turtle foraging patterns in a temperate coastal environment. Ecology 87: 1967–1972.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hsieh, C. & M. D. Ohman, 2006. Biological responses to environmental forcing: the linear tracking window hypothesis. Ecology 87: 1932–1938.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Liu, W. C., W. T. Lo, J. E. Purcell & H. H. Chang, 2009. Effects of temperature and light intensity on asexual reproduction of the scyphozoan, Aurelia aurita (L.) in Taiwan. Hydrobiologia 616: 247–258.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lynam, C. P., S. J. Hay & A. S. Brierley, 2004. Interannual variability in abundance of North Sea jellyfish and links to the North Atlantic Oscillation. Limnology and Oceanography 49: 637–643.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lynam, C. P., M. R. Heath, S. J. Hay & A. S. Brierley, 2005. Evidence for impacts by jellyfish on North Sea herring recruitment. Marine Ecology Progress Series 298: 157–167.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lynam, C. P., M. J. Attrill & M. D. Skogen, 2010. Climatic and oceanic influences on the abundance of gelatinous zooplankton in the North Sea. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 90: 1153–1159.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lynam, C. P., M. K. S. Lilley, T. Bastian, T. K. Doyle, S. E. Beggs & G. C. Hays, 2011. Have jellyfish in the Irish Sea benefited from climate change and overfishing? Global Change Biology 17: 767–782.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Miglietta, M. P., M. Rossi & R. Collin, 2008. Hydromedusa blooms and upwelling events in the Bay of Panama, Tropical East Pacific. Journal of Plankton Research 30: 783–793.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Miller, T. W. & R. D. Brodeur, 2007. Diets of and trophic relationships among dominant marine nekton within the Northern California Current ecosystem. Fishery Bulletin 105: 548–559.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mills, C. E., 2001. Jellyfish blooms: are populations increasing globally in response to changing ocean conditions? Hydrobiologia 451: 55–68.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Morgan, C. A., A. De Robertis & R. W. Zabel, 2005. Columbia River plume fronts. I. Hydrography, zooplankton distribution, and community composition. Marine Ecology Progress Series 299: 19–31.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Parsons, T. R. & C. M. Lalli, 2002. Jellyfish population explosions: revisiting a hypothesis of possible causes. La Mer 40: 111–121.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pauly, D., W. Graham, S. Libralato, L. Morissette & M. L. Deng Palomares, 2009. Jellyfish in ecosystems, online databases, and ecosystem models. Hydrobiologia 616: 67–85.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Peterson, W. T., 2009. Copepod species richness as an indicator of long-term changes in the coastal ecosystem of the Northern California Current. CalCOFI Reports 50: 73–81.

    Google Scholar 

  • Peterson, J. O. & W. T. Peterson, 2008. Influence of the Columbia River plume (USA) on the vertical and horizontal distribution of mesozooplankton over the Washington and Oregon shelf. ICES Journal of Marine Science 65: 477–483.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Purcell, J. E., 2005. Climate effects on formation of jellyfish and ctenophore blooms: a review. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 85: 461–476.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Purcell, J. E., 2007. Environmental effects on asexual reproduction rates of the scyphozoan, Aurelia labiata. Marine Ecology Progress Series 348: 183–196.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Purcell, J. E., 2009. Extension of methods for jellyfish and ctenophore trophic ecology to large-scale research. Hydrobiologia 206: 23–50.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Purcell, J. E., 2012. Jellyfish and ctenophore blooms coincide with human proliferations and environmental perturbations. Annual Review of Marine Science 4: 209–235.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Purcell, J. E. & M. N. Arai, 2001. Interactions of pelagic cnidarians and ctenophores with fish: a review. Hydrobiologia 451: 27–44.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Purcell, J. E. & M. B. Decker, 2005. Effects of climate on relative predation by scyphomedusae and ctenophores on copepods in Chesapeake Bay during 1987–2000. Limnology and Oceanography 50: 376–387.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Purcell, J. E., S. I. Uye & W. S. Lo, 2007. Anthropogenic causes of jellyfish blooms and their direct consequences for humans: a review. Marine Ecology Progress Series 350: 153–174.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Purcell, J. E., D. Atienza, V. Fuentes, A. Olariaga, U. Tilves, C. Colahan & J.-M. Gili, 2012. Temperature effects on asexual reproduction rates of Scyphozoan species from the northwest Mediterranean Sea. Hydrobiologia. doi:10.1007/s10750-012-1047-7.

  • Quiñones, J., V. G. Carman, J. Zeballos, S. Purca & H. Mianzan, 2010. Effects of El Niño-driven environmental variability on black turtle migration to Peruvian foraging grounds. Hydrobiologia 645: 69–79.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Raskoff, K. A., 2001. The impact of El Niño events on populations of mesopelagic hydromedusae. Hydrobiologia 451: 121–129.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Richardson, A. J., A. Bakun, G. C. Hays & M. J. Gibbons, 2009. The jellyfish joyride: causes, consequences, and management responses to a more gelatinous future. Trends in Ecology & Evolution 24: 312–322.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ruzicka, J. J., R. D. Brodeur & T. C. Wainwright, 2007. Seasonal food web models for the Oregon inner-shelf ecosystem: investigating the role of large jellyfish. CalCOFI Reports 48: 106–128.

    Google Scholar 

  • Samhouri, J. F., P. S. Levin & C. J. Harvey, 2009. Quantitative evaluation of marine ecosystem indicator performance using food web models. Ecosystems 12: 1283–1298.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schuyler, Q. & B. K. Sullivan, 1997. Light responses and diel migration of the scyphomedusa Chrysaora quinquecirrha in mesocosms. Journal of Plankton Research 19: 1417–1428.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shenker, J. M., 1984. Scyphomedusae in surface waters near the Oregon coast, May–August 1981. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 19: 619–632.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sparks, C., A. S. Brierley, E. Buecher, D. Boyer, B. Axelsen & M. J. Gibbons, 2005. Submersible observations on the daytime vertical distribution of Aequorea forskalea off the west coast of southern Africa. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the UK 85: 519–522.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Suchman, C. L. & R. D. Brodeur, 2005. Abundance and distribution of large medusae in surface waters of an upwelling zone off coastal Oregon, USA. Deep Sea Research II 52: 51–72.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Suchman, C. L., E. A. Daly, J. E. Keister, W. T. Peterson & R. D. Brodeur, 2008. Feeding patterns and predation potential of scyphomedusae in a highly productive upwelling region. Marine Ecology Progress Series 358: 161–172.

    Article  Google Scholar 

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

  • Wood, S. N., 2006. Generalized Additive Models: An Introduction with R. Chapman and Hall, New York: 391 pp.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wood, S. N. & N. H. Augustin, 2002. GAMs with integrated model selection using penalized regression splines and applications to environmental modeling. Ecological Modeling 157: 157–177.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wright, D. A. & J. E. Purcell, 1997. Effect of salinity on ionic shifts in mesohaline scyphomedusae, Chrysaora quinquecirrha. Biological Bulletin 192: 332–339.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

Thanks to the captains and crew of the FV Frosti, FV Ocean Harvester, FV Sea Eagle, FV Piky, RV Miller Freeman, and RV W.E. Ricker, as well as the many seagoing scientists who participated in the fieldwork component of this project. G. Krutzikowsky, C. Morgan, S. Pool, and C. Bucher helped with database management. E. Casillas, J. Field, C. Rice, J. Purcell and two anonymous reviewers provided helpful comments on earlier drafts of the manuscript. This study was funded by the Bonneville Power Administration, the US GLOBEC Northeast Pacific Program, and the Northwest Fisheries Science Center (NOAA). Completion of this manuscript was supported by the National Science Foundation, while the lead author was working at the Foundation. Any opinion, finding, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. North Pacific Research Board, Anchorage, AK, 99501, USA

    Cynthia L. Suchman

  2. Northwest Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Newport, OR, 97365, USA

    Richard D. Brodeur & Robert L. Emmett

  3. Cooperative Institute for Marine Resources Studies, Oregon State University, Newport, OR, 97365, USA

    Elizabeth A. Daly

Authors
  1. Cynthia L. Suchman
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Richard D. Brodeur
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Elizabeth A. Daly
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Robert L. Emmett
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Cynthia L. Suchman .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Western Washington University, Shannon Point Marine Center, Shannon Point Road 1900, 98221, Anacortes, Washington, USA

    Jennifer Purcell

  2. INIDEP, Paseo V. Ocampo no. 1, 7602, Mar del Plata, Argentina

    Hermes Mianzan

  3. School of Forest Resources and Conservat, Fisheries and Aquatic Science Program, University of Florida, NW 71st Street 7922, 32653, Gainesville, Florida, USA

    Jesscia R. Frost

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2012 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Suchman, C.L., Brodeur, R.D., Daly, E.A., Emmett, R.L. (2012). Large medusae in surface waters of the Northern California Current: variability in relation to environmental conditions. In: Purcell, J., Mianzan, H., Frost, J.R. (eds) Jellyfish Blooms IV. Developments in Hydrobiology, vol 220. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-5316-7_9

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation