Distributional ecology and behaviour of the early life stages of the box-jellyfish Chironex fleckeri

Hartwick, R. F.

doi:10.1007/bf00026460

Cited by 59 publications

(72 citation statements)

References 3 publications

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“…It remains unclear whether such movements were typical of large coastal individuals or occurred because this individual utilised both the estuarine and coastal habitats. Alternatively, medusae are thought to move upstream towards the end of the season to take part in semelparous spawning (Hartwick, 1987(Hartwick, , 1991. The observed movements may, therefore, potentially represent an estuary selection process or the first stages of an upstream migration.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For example, the abundance and distribution of prey, such as fish and prawns, may vary spatially and temporally. Given that large aggregations of prey provide C. fleckeri medusae with particularly favourable feeding conditions (Southcott, 1971;Kinsey, 1986;Hartwick, 1991;Rifkin, 1996) and these medusae have the potential to actively locomote to different areas, medusae movements may then be influenced by the abundance of their prey.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Quantifying movement of the tropical Australian cubozoan Chironex fleckeri using acoustic telemetry

Gordon

Seymour

2008

Hydrobiologia

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Cubomedusae are considered to have superior swimming abilities compared to other pelagic cnidarians, yet many of the theories describing such behaviours are based on anecdotal evidence, sting records or opportunistic sightings, rather than quantitative data. Acoustic telemetry was used to document the movements of adult Chironex fleckeri medusae within both coastal and estuarine habitats. The rate at which tagged medusae moved was influenced by an interaction between time period (day or night) and habitat (coastal or estuarine), with rates of travel being relatively similar during the day and night within the coastal habitat, but significantly greater at night than during the day within the estuarine habitat. Medusae in coastal habitats travelled at similar rates throughout all tidal states while estuarine medusae travelled at significantly faster rates towards the middle of the tide than at the low and high ebbs. Such movements occurred with, and independent of, tidally generated currents, but at increased current speeds, medusae tended to travel with the current. Data are also presented that show that large medusae may move from coastal to estuarine habitats.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Quantifying movement of the tropical Australian cubozoan Chironex fleckeri using acoustic telemetry

Gordon

Seymour

2008

Hydrobiologia

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“…The planulae, as in the case of Chironex fleckeri (see Hartwick, 1991) and possibly of most other cnidarian planulae, can make temporary attachment to substrates by means of agglutinant nematocysts. There is no evidence, in the conditions of culture, of the extreme specificity of attachment reported by Donaldson (1974) for Proboscidactyla flavicirrata Brandt, but a lack of the appropriate substrate cues in culture may lead to a lowering of settlement preference thresholds.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The polyps lived for 2-6 weeks after settlement before dying. The cause of this barrier to further development, a common occurrence in cubozoan rearing efforts (see Hartwick, 1991), is uncertain, but may be the result of unsuitable food. Although Artemia nauplii were the principal food provided in 1982, a much wider range of food types and sizes were offered in 1989.…”

Section: Reproductive Biology and Life Cyclementioning

confidence: 99%

Observations on the anatomy, behaviour, reproduction and life cycle of the cubozoan Carybdea sivickisi

Hartwick

1991

Hydrobiologia

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Substantial numbers of the very small carybdeid jellyfish, Carybdea sivickisi, have been observed feeding actively by divers in the vicinity of fringing coral reefs. During the day specimens were seen in close association with the substrate and with sessile macroalgae. They appeared able to adhere to substrates by contact with an area on the aboral surface of the bell. Individuals maintained in the laboratory showed the same adhering ability. The adhesive organs correspond to 4 areas of raised secretory epithelium on the aboral surface.Following capture, one isolated specimen extruded a long gelatinous strand containing several thousand developing embryos and numerous functional nematocysts. The embryos developed into characteristic cubozoan planulae, which were able to attach themselves temporarily to substrates by means of nematocysts. After 4 days of free swimming, planulae began to attach permanently and to develop into sessile polyps with 3 or 4 tentacles, each armed with a single stenotele.The species displays sexual dimorphism and evidence for spermatophore formation and transfer which parallel that reported for Tripedalia cystophora. The presence of sperm-storage sacs in both sexes, the production of an embryo mass, the adhering behaviour and an apparent association with algal substrates are among features apparently unique to the species.

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“…Other species are simply very difficult to find, which has been a major problem for cubozoan research. For example, Hartwick (1991b) completed 47 cruises across the continental shelf on the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) near Townsville. On each cruise, multiple Tucker Trawls and neuston tows were done, but only eight C. fleckeri Southcott and about 82 other cubozoans were caught in total.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Abundance patterns of cubozoans on and near the Great Barrier Reef

2012

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The ecology of cubozoans is poorly understood and there are few quantitative studies on their distribution patterns. Sampling was designed to test first for variation in abundance with distance across the continental shelf in waters of the Great Barrier Reef, Australia. Second, we tested for the possible influence of islands versus submerged reefs on the abundances of cubozoan jellyfishes. Jellyfishes were collected after attraction to tethered night lights. Additional sampling focused on turbid near-shore waters. Carybdeid jellyfishes were found at mainland, inner, and mid-shelf reefs during summers between 2007 and 2010. No cubozoan medusae were found at outer reef sites. Copula sivickisi and Carukia barnesi were more abundant near reefs with islands than at fully submerged reefs. There was no evidence of lunar periodicity in abundance for these cubozoan taxa. Chironex fleckeri medusae were only found close to shore near the mainland, but they were rarely observed when riverine runoff was high. All taxa were characterized by high spatial and temporal variation and there was some evidence for small populations at spatial scales of less than one kilometer. ''Blooms'' and related intensity of predation and risk to humans are most likely at small spatial scales.

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Distributional ecology and behaviour of the early life stages of the box-jellyfish Chironex fleckeri

Cited by 59 publications

References 3 publications

Quantifying movement of the tropical Australian cubozoan Chironex fleckeri using acoustic telemetry

Quantifying movement of the tropical Australian cubozoan Chironex fleckeri using acoustic telemetry

Observations on the anatomy, behaviour, reproduction and life cycle of the cubozoan Carybdea sivickisi

Abundance patterns of cubozoans on and near the Great Barrier Reef

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