Abstract
The scyphozoan Aurelia aurita (Linnaeus) s. l., is a cosmopolitan species-complex which blooms seasonally in a variety of coastal and shelf sea environments around the world. We hypothesized that ephyrae of Aurelia sp.1 are released from the inner part of the Jiaozhou Bay, China when water temperature is below 15°C in late autumn and winter. The seasonal occurrence, growth, and variation of the scyphomedusa Aurelia sp.1 were investigated in Jiaozhou Bay from January 2011 to December 2011. Ephyrae occurred from May through June with a peak abundance of 2.38 ± 0.56 ind/m3 in May, while the temperature during this period ranged from 12 to 18°C. The distribution of ephyrae was mainly restricted to the coastal area of the bay, and the abundance was higher in the dock of the bay than at the other inner bay stations. Young medusae derived from ephyrae with a median diameter of 9.74 ± 1.7 mm were present from May 22. Growth was rapid from May 22 to July 2 with a maximum daily growth rate of 39%. Median diameter of the medusae was 161.80 ± 18.39 mm at the beginning of July. In August, a high proportion of deteriorated specimens was observed and the median diameter decreased. The highest average abundance is 0.62 ± 1.06 ind/km2 in Jiaozhou Bay in August. The abundance of Aurelia sp.1 medusae was low from September and then decreased to zero. It is concluded that water temperature is the main driver regulating the life cycle of Aurelia sp.1 in Jiaozhou Bay.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Albert, D. J., 2009. Aurelia labiata (Scyphozoa) jellyfish in Roscoe Bay: their spatial distribution varies with population size and their behaviour changes with water depth. Journal of Sea Research 61(3): 140–143.
Bonnet, D., J. C. Molinero, T. Schohn & M. N. D. Yahia, 2012. Seasonal changes in the population dynamics of Aurelia aurita in Thau lagoon. Cahiers de Biologie Marine 53(3): 343–347.
Condon, R. H., W. M. Graham, C. M. Duarte, K. A. Pitt, C. H. Lucas, S. H. D. Haddock, K. R. Sutherland, K. L. Robinson, M. N. Dawson, M. B. Decker, C. E. Mills, J. E. Purcell, A. Malej, H. Mianzan, S. I. Uye, S. Gelcich & L. P. Madin, 2012. Questioning the rise of gelatinous zooplankton in the World’s oceans. Bioscience 62(2): 160–169.
Dawson, M. N. & L. E. Martin, 2001. Geographic variation and ecological adaptation in Aurelia (Scyphozoa, Semaeostomeae): some implications from molecular phylogenetics. Hydrobiologia 451(1–3): 259–273.
Di Camillo, C. G., F. Betti, M. Bo, M. Martinelli, S. Puce & G. Bavestrello, 2010. Contribution to the understanding of seasonal cycle of Aurelia aurita (Cnidaria: Scyphozoa) scyphopolyps in the northern Adriatic Sea. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the UK 90(6): 1105–1110.
Dong, Z. J., D. Y. Liu, Y. J. Wang, B. P. Di, X. K. Song & Y. J. Shi, 2012. A report on a Moon Jellyfish Aurelia aurita bloom in Sishili Bay, Northern Yellow Sea of China in 2009. Aquatic Ecosystem Health 15(2): 161–167.
Doyle, T. K., J. D. R. Houghton, S. M. Buckley, G. C. Hays & J. Davenport, 2007. The broad-scale distribution of five jellyfish species across a temperate coastal environment. Hydrobiologia 579: 29–39.
El-Serehy, H. A. & K. A. Al-Rasheid, 2011. Reproductive strategy of the jellyfish Aurelia aurita (Cnidaria Scyphomedusae) in the Suez Canal and its migration between the Red Sea and Mediterranean. Aquatic Ecosystem Health 14(3): 269–275.
Frandsen, K. T. & H. U. Riisgard, 1997. Size dependent respiration and growth of jellyfish, Aurella aurita. Sarsia 82(4): 307–312.
Hamner, W. M. & R. M. Jenssen, 1974. Growth, degrowth, and irreversible cell-differentiation in Aurelia aurita. American Zoologist 14(2): 833–849.
Hernroth, L. & F. Grondahl, 1983. On the biology of Aurelia aurita (L).1. Release and growth of Aurelia aurita (L) ephyrae in the Gullmar Fjord, Western Sweden, 1982–83. Ophelia 22(2): 189–199.
Hernroth, L. & F. Grondahl, 1985. On the biology of Aurelia aurita (L).2. Major factors regulating the occurrence of ephyrae and young medusae in the Gullmar Fjord, Western Sweden. Bulletin of Marine Science 37(2): 567–576.
Ishii, H. & F. Tanaka, 2001. Food and feeding of Aurelia aurita in Tokyo Bay with an analysis of stomach contents and a measurement of digestion times. Hydrobiologia 451(1–3): 311–320.
Ki, J. S., D. S. Hwang, K. Shin, W. D. Yoon, D. Lim, Y. S. Kang, Y. Lee & J. S. Lee, 2008. Recent moon jelly (Aurelia sp.1) blooms in Korean coastal waters suggest global expansion: examples inferred from mitochondrial COI and nuclear ITS-5.8S rDNA sequences. ICES Journal of Marine Science 65(3): 443–452.
Kogovsek, T., J. C. Molinero, D. Lucic, I. Onofri, B. Gangai, M. Miloslavic, D. Bonnet & A. Malej, 2012. Interannual size changes of adult Aurelia sp.5 medusae stage in the Marine Protected Area of Mljet Island South Adriatic. Acta Adriatica 53(2): 233–242.
Kramp, P. L., 1961. Synopsis of medusae of world. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the UK 40(Nov): 1–469.
Lucas, C. H., 1996. Population dynamics of Aurelia aurita (Scyphozoa) from an isolated brackish lake, with particular reference to sexual reproduction. Journal of Plankton Research 18(6): 987–1007.
Lucas, C. H., 2001. Reproduction and life history strategies of the common jellyfish, Aurelia aurita, in relation to its ambient environment. Hydrobiologia 451(1–3): 229–246.
Makabe, R., T. Kurihara & S. I. Uye, 2012. Spatio-temporal distribution and seasonal population dynamics of the jellyfish Aurelia aurita s.l. studied with Dual-frequency IDentification SONar (DIDSON). Journal of Plankton Research 34(11): 936–950.
McNamara, M. E., D. J. Lonsdale & R. M. Cerrato, 2013. Top–down control of mesozooplankton by adult Mnemiopsis leidyi influences microplankton abundance and composition enhancing prey conditions for larval ctenophores. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 133: 2–10.
Miller, M.-E. C. & W. M. Graham, 2012. Environmental evidence that seasonal hypoxia enhances survival and success of jellyfish polyps in the northern Gulf of Mexico. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 432–433: 113–120.
Mills, C. E., 2001. Jellyfish blooms: are populations increasing globally in response to changing ocean conditions? Hydrobiologia 451(1–3): 55–68.
Miyake, H., M. Terazaki & Y. Kakinuma, 2002. On the polyps of the common jellyfish Aurelia aurita in Kagoshima Bay. Journal of Oceanography 58(3): 451–459.
Sabates, A., F. Pages, D. Atienza, V. Fuentes, J. E. Purcell & J. M. Gili, 2010. Planktonic cnidarian distribution and feeding of Pelagia noctiluca in the NW Mediterranean Sea. Hydrobiologia 645(1): 153–165.
Sun, X. X., S. W. Wang & S. Sun, 2011. Introduction to the China Jellyfish Project – the key processes, mechanism and ecological consequences of jellyfish bloom in China coastal waters. Chinese Journal of Oceanology and Limnology 29(2): 491–492.
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 690(1): 157–167.
Toyokawa, M., K. Aoki, S. Yamada, A. Yasuda, Y. Murata & T. Kikuchi, 2011. Distribution of ephyrae and polyps of jellyfish Aurelia aurita (Linnaeus 1758) sensu lato in Mikawa Bay, Japan. Journal of Oceanography 67(2): 209–218.
Uye, S. & H. Shimauchi, 2005. Population biomass, feeding, respiration and growth rates, and carbon budget of the scyphomedusa Aurelia aurita in the Inland Sea of Japan. Journal of Plankton Research 27(3): 237–248.
Wan, A. & G. Zhang, 2012. Annual occurrence of moon jellyfish Aurelia sp.1 in the Jiaozhou Bay and its impacts on zooplankton community. Oceanologia et Limnologia Sinica 43(3): 494–501 (in Chinese with English abstract).
Wang, Y., S. Sun, C. Li & F. Zhang, 2012. Effect of temperature and food on asexual reproduction of scyphozoan, Aurelia sp.1. Oceanologia et Limnologia Sinica 43(5): 900–904 (in Chinese with English abstract).
Yasuda, T., 1971. Ecological studies on jelly-fish, Aurelia aurita in Urazoko Bay, Fukui Prefecture. IV. Monthly change in bell-length composition and breeding season. Bulletin of the Japanese Society for the Science of Fish 37(5): 364.
Acknowledgments
Assistance given by members of the Jiaozhou Bay Marine Ecosystem Research Station and the Key Laboratory of Marine Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences is greatly appreciated. We thank the anonymous referees for their constructive criticisms. This research was supported by National Basic Research Program of China (973 Program No. 2011CB403601), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (41121064) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (41230963).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Guest editors: Song Sun, Xiaoxia Sun & Ian Jenkinson / Giant Jellyfish Blooms and Ecosystem Change
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Wang, YT., Sun, S. Population dynamics of Aurelia sp.1 ephyrae and medusae in Jiaozhou Bay, China. Hydrobiologia 754, 147–155 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-014-2021-3
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-014-2021-3