Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-4hhp2 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-06-04T03:35:44.843Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Jellyfish blooms: Crambionella orsini (Scyphozoa: Rhizostomeae) in the Gulf of Oman, Iran, 2002–2003

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 May 2008

Reza Daryanabard
Affiliation:
Stocks Management Department, Offshore Fisheries Research Center, Chabahar, Iran
Michael N. Dawson*
Affiliation:
School of Natural Sciences, University of California at Merced, 5200 North Lake Drive, Merced, CA 95344, USA
*
Correspondence should be addressed to: Michael N. DawsonSchool of Natural Sciences University of California at Merced5200 North Lake Drive Merced, CA 95344USA email: mdawson@ucmerced.edu

Abstract

In 2002, a jellyfish bloom occurred throughout the Gulf of Oman and the Persian Gulf causing decreased catch in artisanal and industrial fisheries, damage to fishing gear, interrupted operation of desalination plants, and damage to the seawater cooling systems of coastal power plants. The cause and source of the bloom and the species of medusa were unknown. Here, the temporal and spatial distribution of the medusa are described using data from incidental catches in Iranian fisheries surveys, and morphological and molecular evidence are used to identify the medusa as Crambionella orsini (Vanhöffen). This species is endemic to the western Indian Ocean and adjacent basins which dismisses species introduction as the cause of this bloom. Furthermore, because the bloom was geographically widespread, it probably was not caused by local coastal degradation. Although human activities with large-scale effects cannot be ruled out, large-scale oceanographic or ecosystem conditions, perhaps part of natural climate cycles, that yielded moderate sea surface temperatures (in terms of the annual mean monthly anomaly for each year since 1982) were the most likely causes of the bloom of this endemic jellyfish.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 2008

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Billett, D.S.M., Bett, B.J., Jacobs, C.L., Rouse, I.P. and Wigham, B.D. (2006) Mass deposition of jellyfish in the deep Arabian Sea. Limnology and Oceanography 51, 20772083.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brodeur, R.D., Mills, C.E., Overland, J.E., Walters, G.E. and Schumacher, J.D. (1999) Evidence for a substantial increase in gelatinous zooplankton in the Bering Sea, with possible links to climate change. Fisheries Oceanography 8, 296–206.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brodeur, R.D., Sugisaki, H. and Hunt, G.L. jr. (2002) Increases in jellyfish biomass in the Bering Sea: implications for the ecosystem. Marine Ecology Progress Series 233, 89103.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cornelius, P.F.S. (1997a) Keys to the genera of Cubomedusae and scyphomedusae (Cnidaria). In J.C., den Hartog (ed.) Proceedings of the Sixth International Conference on Coelenterate Biology, Leeuwenhorst, Noordwijkerhout, Netherlands, 16–21 July 1995. Leiden: National Natuurhistorisch Museum, pp. 109122.Google Scholar
Cornelius, P.F.S. (1997b) Class Scyphozoa—jellyfish. In M.D., Richmond (ed.) A guide to the seashores of eastern Africa and the western Indian Ocean islands, Sweden: SIDA/Department for Research Cooperation (SAREC), pp. 418432.Google Scholar
Dawson, M.N. and Jacobs, D.K. (2001) Molecular evidence for cryptic species of Aurelia aurita (Cnidaria, Scyphozoa). Biological Bulletin. Marine Biological Laboratory, Woods Hole 200, 9296.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Dawson, M.N., Raskoff, K.A. and Jacobs, D.K. (1998) Preservation of marine invertebrate tissues for DNA analyses. Molecular Marine Biology and Biotechnology 7, 145152.Google ScholarPubMed
Dawson, M.N., Martin, L.E. and Penland, L.K. (2001) Jellyfish swarms, tourists, and the Christ-child. Hydrobiologia 451, 131144.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dybas, C.L. (2002) Jellyfish ‘blooms’ could be sign of ailing seas. Washington Post, 6 May 2002: A09.Google Scholar
Felsenstein, J. (2004) Inferring phylogenies. Sunderland, MA: Sinauer Associates.Google Scholar
Folmer, O., Black, M., Hoeh, W., Lutz, R. and Vrijenhoek, R. (1994) DNA primers for amplification of mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I from diverse metazoan invertebrates. Molecular Marine Biology and Biotechnology 3, 294299.Google ScholarPubMed
Goes, J.I., Thoppil, P.G., Gomes, H.d.R. and Fasullo, J.T. (2005) Warming of the Eurasian landmass is making the Arabian Sea more productive. Science 308, 545547.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Goy, J., Morand, P. and Etienne, M. (1989) Long-term fluctuations of Pelagia noctiluca (Cnidaria, Scyphomedusa) in the western Mediterranean Sea. Prediction by climatic variables. Deep-Sea Research 36, 269279.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Graham, W.M., Pagès, F. and Hamner, W.M. (2001) A physical context for gelatinous zooplankton aggregations: a review. Hydrobiologia 451, 199212.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hagadorn, J.W., Dott, R.H. and Damrow, D. (2002) Stranded on a Late Cambrian shoreline: Medusae from central Wisconsin. Geology 30, 147150.2.0.CO;2>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hay, S. (2006) Marine ecology: gelatinous bells may ring change in marine ecosystems. Current Biology 16, R679R682CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Houghton, J.D.R., Doyle, T.K., Wilson, M.W., Davenport, J. and Hays, G.C. (2006) Jellyfish aggregations and leatherback turtle foraging patterns in a temperate coastal environment. Ecology 87, 19671972.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jackson, J.B.C. et al. (2001) Historical overfishing and the recent collapse of coastal ecosystems. Science 293, 629638.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
James, D.B., Vivekanandan, E. and Srinivasarengan, S. (1985) Menace from medusae off Madras with notes on their utility and toxicity. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of India 27, 170174.Google Scholar
Kramp, P.L. (1961) Synopsis of the medusae of the World. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the UK 40, 1469.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kramp, P.L. (1965) Some medusae (mainly scyphomedusae) from Australian coastal waters. Transactions of the Royal Society of South Australia 89, 257278.Google Scholar
Kramp, P.L. (1968) The scyphomedusae collected by the Galathea expedition 1950–52. Videnskabelige Meddelelser fra dansk Naturhistorisk Forening 131, 6798.Google Scholar
Kramp, P.L. (1970) Zoogeographical studies on Rhizostomeae (Scyphozoa). Videnskabelige Meddelelser fra dansk Naturhistorisk Forening 133, 730.Google Scholar
Krishnamurthy, K. (1967) Seasonal variation in the plankton of Porto Novo waters (India). Hydrobiologia 29, 226238.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Light, S.F. (1921) Further notes on Philippine scyphomedusan jellyfishes. Philippine Journal of Science 18, 2545.Google Scholar
Lynam, C.P., Hay, S.J. and Brierley, A.S. (2004) Interannual variability in abundance of North Sea jellyfish and links to the North Atlantic Oscillation. Limnology and Oceanography 49, 637643.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lynam, C.P., Hay, S.J. and Brierley, A.S. (2005) Jellyfish abundance and climatic variation: contrasting responses in oceanographically distinct regions of the North Sea and possible implications for fisheries. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the UK 85, 435450.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lynam, C.P., Gibbons, M.J., Axelsen, B.E., Sparks, C.A.J., Coetzee, J., Heywood, B.G. and Brierley, A.S. (2006) Jellyfish overtake fish in a heavily fished ecosystem. Current Biology 16, R492R493.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Martin, L.E., Dawson, M.N., Bell, L.J. and Colin, P.L. (2005) Marine lake ecosystem dynamics illustrate ENSO variation in the tropical western Pacific. Royal Society Biology Letters 2, 144147.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mayer, A.G. (1910) Medusae of the world, III: the Scyphomedusae. Washington: Carnegie Institute.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mianzan, H.W. and Cornelius, P.F.S. (1999) Cubomedusae and scyphomedusae. In Boltovskoy, D. (ed.) South Atlantic zooplankton. I Leiden: Backhuys, pp. 513559.Google Scholar
Mills, C.E. (1995) Medusae, siphonophores and ctenophores as planktivorous predators in changing global ecosystems. ICES Journal of Marine Science 52, 575581.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mills, C.E. (2001) Jellyfish blooms: are populations increasing globally in response to changing ocean conditions? Hydrobiologia 451, 5568.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pauly, D., Christensen, V., Dalsgaard, J., Froese, R. and Torres, F. jr. (1998) Fishing down marine food webs. Science 279, 860863.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Posada, D. and Crandall, K.A. (1998) Modeltest: testing the model of DNA substitution. Bioinformatics 14, 817818.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Purcell, J.E. (2005) Climate effects on formation of jellyfish and ctenophore blooms: a review. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the UK 85, 461476.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Purcell, J.E. and Arai, M.N. (2001) Interactions of pelagic cnidarians and ctenophores with fish: a review. Hydrobiologia 451, 2744.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rajagopal, S., Nair, K.V.K. and Azariah, J. (1989) Some observations on the problem of jelly fish ingress in a power station cooling system at Kalpakkam, east coast of India. Mahasagar 22, 151158.Google Scholar
Raskoff, K.A. (2001) The impact of El Niño events on populations of mesopelagic hydromedusae. Hydrobiologia 451, 121129.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rice, W.R. (1989) Analyzing tables of statistical tests. Evolution 43, 223225.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Sparre, P. and Venema, S.C. (1992) Introduction to tropical fish stock assessment. Part: 1, Manual FAO fisheries technical paper. Rome: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.Google Scholar
Swofford, D.L. (2002) PAUP*: Phylogenetic analysis using parsimony (*and other methods), v.4.0b10. Sunderland, MA: Sinauer.Google Scholar
Vaidya, S.K. (2003) Jellyfish choke Oman desalination plants. Gulf News, 5 May 2006. http://www.gulf-news.com/Articles/news.asp?ArticleID=86624.Google Scholar
Vanhöffen, E. (1888) Untersuchungen uber semaostome und rhizostome medusen. Stuttgart: Bibliotheca Zoologica.CrossRefGoogle Scholar