Mapping distribution and habitats of Aurelia sp. polyps in Thau lagoon, north-western Mediterranean Sea (France).

Marques, Raquel, Cantou, Michel, Soriano, Solenn, Molinero, Juan Carlos and Bonnet, Delphine (2015) Mapping distribution and habitats of Aurelia sp. polyps in Thau lagoon, north-western Mediterranean Sea (France). Marine Biology, 162 (7). pp. 1441-1449. DOI 10.1007/s00227-015-2680-2.

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Abstract

Aurelia spp. is a cosmopolite scyphozoan species and likely the most studied jellyfish in the world. Its pelagic–benthic life cycle is complex, and the benthic asexual reproducing stage (polyp) is acknowledged fundamentally in bloom onset. Despite this, field investigations remain scarce and are mainly restrained to the western Pacific Ocean. Thau lagoon (43°23′59.10″ N 3°36′37.15″ E), a semi-enclosed system that harbours a resident population of Aurelia sp., is in essence a natural laboratory that offers an ideal framework to investigate the life cycle of the species. We here used a non-destructive approach consisting on a field survey over the entire lagoon (ca. 7 ha) and several substrate types by free diving to examine the distribution and habitat use of Aurelia sp. benthic population. We show that polyps were largely distributed over the entire lagoon, settled mainly on artificial hard substrates, thereby stressing the promoting role of anthropogenic perturbations in coastal areas, i.e. habitat modification, for jellyfish proliferations. Therefore, our study suggest a potential increase in Aurelia sp. benthic populations as an outcome of mounting coastal constructions in the near future; the consequences of which ultimately might promote an increase in jellyfish outbreaks.

Document Type: Article
Funder compliance: info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/EC/FP7/603773
Additional Information: WOS:000357344000005
Keywords: POPULATION-DYNAMICS; MOON JELLYFISH; SCYPHOZOA-SEMAEOSTOMEAE; SETTLEMENT PREFERENCES; COMMON JELLYFISH; LIFE-HISTORY; TOKYO BAY; IN-SITU; AURITA; CNIDARIA
Research affiliation: OceanRep > GEOMAR > FB3 Marine Ecology > FB3-EOE-N Experimental Ecology - Food Webs
OceanRep > The Future Ocean - Cluster of Excellence
Refereed: Yes
Open Access Journal?: No
Publisher: Springer
Related URLs:
Projects: OCEAN-CERTAIN, EC2CO, Future Ocean
Date Deposited: 24 Jul 2015 08:54
Last Modified: 18 Feb 2020 09:33
URI: https://oceanrep.geomar.de/id/eprint/29301

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