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Moon jellyfish aggregations observed by a scientific echo sounder and an underwater video camera and their relation to internal waves

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Abstract

We found a good linear relation between the mean volume backscattering strength measured using a scientific echo sounder and the distribution density of moon jellyfish recorded simultaneously by an underwater video camera in small bays (Hokezu Bay and Mikame Bay) in Japan. This relation held in all of the surveys carried out in recent years (2013–2016), although the regression coefficient varied slightly from year to year due to the existence of ambient organisms. Using this relation and high-resolution echo sounder scan surveys across the bay, we obtained the spatial structures of moon jellyfish aggregations and categorized them into either patchy, layered, or wavy aggregations. We also examined possible physical mechanisms responsible for the moon jellyfish aggregations. In particular, passive particle tracking simulations of several idealized internal wave fields suggest that the formation of wavy aggregations is closely related to the presence of internal waves. However, internal waves alone cannot induce patchy and layered aggregations, indicating that particular biological processes (e.g., swimming behavior) are also necessary for such aggregations to form.

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Acknowledgement

Special thanks to Professor Kazushi Miyashita, Field Science Center for Northern Biosphere, Hokkaido University, for his valuable advice on acoustic data analysis and interpreting the results. We are very grateful to Mr. Hidejiro Ohnishi, Captain of the R/V Isana, for his help with field observations, and to Professor Hidetaka Takeoka, South Ehime Fisheries Research Center, Ehime University, for his helpful comments. This work was supported by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) KAKENHI (grant no. 25550014) and a Sasakawa Scientific Research Grant from The Japan Science Society.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Graduate School of Science and Engineering, Ehime University, Matsuyama, Japan

    Takashi Mano

  2. Center for Marine Environmental Studies, Ehime University, 2-5 Bunkyo-cho, Matsuyama, 790-8577, Japan

    Xinyu Guo & Naoki Yoshie

  3. Faculty of Agriculture, Saga University, Saga, Japan

    Naoki Fujii

  4. Research Institute for Applied Mechanics, Kyushu University, Kasuga, Japan

    Eisuke Tsutsumi

  5. Seikai National Fisheries Research Institute, Japan Fisheries Research and Education Agency, Nagasaki, Japan

    Rui Saito

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  1. Takashi Mano
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  2. Xinyu Guo
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  3. Naoki Fujii
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  4. Naoki Yoshie
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  5. Eisuke Tsutsumi
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Correspondence to Xinyu Guo.

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Mano, T., Guo, X., Fujii, N. et al. Moon jellyfish aggregations observed by a scientific echo sounder and an underwater video camera and their relation to internal waves. J Oceanogr 75, 359–374 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10872-019-00507-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10872-019-00507-8

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