Pelagia noctiluca in the Mediterranean Sea

Canepa, Antonio; Fuentes, Verónica; Sabatés, Ana; Piraino, Stefano; Boero, Ferdinando; Gili, Josep María

doi:10.1007/978-94-007-7015-7_11

Cited by 94 publications

(117 citation statements)

References 58 publications

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“…In the Mediterranean Sea, the mauve stinger Pelagia noctiluca (Forskål 1775) occurred in mass throughout the western and central basins including the Adriatic Sea since the early 1980s, becoming the most important jellyfish because of its widespread distribution, high abundance, and ecological role (CIESM 2001;Brotz 2012;Canepa et al 2014). However, the overall biodiversity of Scyphozoa remains poorly understood, with several unknown life cycles, multiple taxonomic synonymies, and assumptions of cosmopolitan species that either under-estimate or over-estimate diversity.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pelagia benovici sp. nov. (Cnidaria, Scyphozoa): a new jellyfish in the Mediterranean Sea

Piraino

Aglieri

Martell

et al. 2014

Zootaxa

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A bloom of an unknown semaestome jellyfish species was recorded in the North Adriatic Sea from September 2013 to early 2014. Morphological analysis of several specimens showed distinct differences from other known semaestome species in the Mediterranean Sea and unquestionably identified them as belonging to a new pelagiid species within genus Pelagia. The new species is morphologically distinct from P. noctiluca, currently the only recognized valid species in the genus, and from other doubtful Pelagia species recorded from other areas of the world. Molecular analyses of mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) and nuclear 28S ribosomal DNA genes corroborate its specific distinction from P. noctiluca and other pelagiid taxa, supporting the monophyly of Pelagiidae. Thus, we describe Pelagia benovici sp. nov. Piraino, Aglieri, Scorrano & Boero.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pelagia benovici sp. nov. (Cnidaria, Scyphozoa): a new jellyfish in the Mediterranean Sea

Piraino

Aglieri

Martell

et al. 2014

Zootaxa

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555

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“…The model examines the impact of one species of jellyfish, Pelagia noctiluca, because it is one of the most abundant in the study zone, has a powerful sting (affecting beach users), and is relatively well studied and documented (Canepa et al, 2014), particularly its predation effects on small pelagic larvae (Purcell et al, 2014;Sabat es et al, 2010). Although many other species of scyphomedusae have been found in the study zone, there is no evidence to suggest that they prey upon fish larvae and so have been excluded from the model.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Previous information has shown that the degree of jellyfish strandings can largely be divided into three zones, where the north of Catalonia (Girona) receives a high number of strandings, central Catalonia (Barcelona) receives low strandings, and south Catalonia (Tarragona) receives a medium level (Canepa et al, 2014). Therefore, the spatial resolution was adapted to reflect this, and three zones were used.…”

Section: Fisheries Sub-modelmentioning

confidence: 99%

Systems approach modelling of the interactive effects of fisheries, jellyfish and tourism in the Catalan coast

Tomlinson

Maynou

Sabatés

et al. 2018

Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science

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a b s t r a c tDespite the large fluctuation in annual recordings of gelatinous plankton along the Catalan coast in the north western Mediterranean and the lack of long term data sets, there is a general perception that jellyfish abundances are increasing. Local authorities are concerned about the stranding events and arrivals of jellyfish to beaches and believe it could reduce the recreational appeal of the beaches e a valuable ecosystem service for the regional tourist industry. Previous studies also demonstrate the predation of jellyfish (Pelagia noctiluca ephyrae) upon some small pelagic fish larvae (Engraulis encrasicolus). Small pelagics are the principal source of revenue for the local fisheries. A social-ecological model was created in order to capture the effects of changes in abundance of P. noctiluca upon the local fisheries, the tourist industry and the wider economy. The following sub-models were constructed and connected following the systems approach framework methodology: an age-class based fisheries model; a jellyfish population matrix model; a jellyfish stranding model; a study on the impact of jellyfish strandings on beach users; and an economic inputeoutput matrix. Various future scenarios for different abundances of jellyfish blooms were run. The "Expected blooms" scenario is similar to the quantity and size of blooms for 2000e2010. For a hypothetical "No blooms" scenario (standard background level of jellyfish but without any blooms) landings would increase by around 294 tonnes (5.1%) per year (averaged over 10 years) or approximately 0.19 MV in profits per year (4.5%), and strandings would decrease by 49%. In a "Frequent blooms" scenario, landings would decrease by around 147 tonnes per year (2.5%) and decrease profits by 0.10 MV per year (2.3%), and strandings would increase by 32%. Given the changes that these scenarios would cause on the regional gross domestic product and employment, this study concludes that the overall impact of either of these scenarios on the economy would not be significant at the regional scale.

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“…The small percentages of the cope pod standing stocks consumed by P. noctiluca ephyrae may seem unimportant, but the combined predation of the suite of gelatinous predators (Fu entes et al 2010, Sabatés et al 2010, Canepa et al 2014 removes food that otherwise could be consumed by fish. Studies of in situ predation by gelatinous species eating mesozooplankton are more numerous than studies on ichthyoplankton (e.g.…”

Section: Effects Of Gelatinous Zooplankton As Predators and Competitomentioning

confidence: 99%

“…One species of particular concern is the holoplanktonic species Pelagia noctiluca that has caused economic damage to aquaculture in northern Europe (Doyle et al 2008, Raffaele 2013 and to tourism, fisheries, aquaculture, and energy industries in the Mediterranean (reviewed by Mariottini et al 2008, Canepa et al 2014. P. noctiluca has a long history of blooms in the Mediterranean Sea (Goy et al 1989) that appear to be increasing in frequency and duration (Daly Yahia et al 2010, Kogovšek et al 2010, Licandro et al 2010, Bernard et al 2011.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Digestion times and predation potentials of Pelagia noctiluca eating fish larvae and copepods in the NW Mediterranean Sea

Purcell

Tilves²,

Fuentes³

et al. 2014

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

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Predation is the principal direct cause of mortality of fish eggs and larvae (ichthyoplankton). Pelagic cnidarians and ctenophores are consumers of ichthyoplankton and zooplankton foods of fish, yet few estimates exist of predation effects in situ. Microscopic analyses of the gastric 'gut' contents of gelatinous predators reveal the types and amounts of prey eaten and can be used with digestion time (DT) to estimate feeding rates (prey consumed predator). We measured the DT and recognition time (RT) of prey for Pelagia noctiluca, an abundant jellyfish with increasing blooms in the Mediterranean Sea. DT of fish larvae averaged 2.5 to 3.0 h for P. noctiluca (4−110 mm diameter) and was significantly related to jellyfish and larval sizes. In contrast, DT of fish eggs ranged from 1.2 to 44.8 h for jellyfish ≤22 mm diameter ('ephyrae'), but DT was not significantly related to ephyra or egg diameter. Approximately half of the eggs ingested were not digested. DT of copepods averaged 4 h. We also measured DT and RT of salps, euphausiids, and miscellaneous zooplankton. Temperature (20−25°C) generally did not significantly affect DT of any prey. Estimated potential predation effects of ephyrae on fish larvae in the Catalan Sea in 1995 showed great variability among 9 stations (0−3.7% consumed h −1 ). We discuss how sampling methods contributed to variation in predation estimates and offer recommendations to improve accuracy. Our results enable estimation of predation on ichthyoplankton and competition for zooplankton prey, which can have extremely important effects on fish populations globally.

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Pelagia noctiluca in the Mediterranean Sea

Cited by 94 publications

References 58 publications

<p><strong><em>Pelagia</em> <em>benovici</em> sp. nov. (Cnidaria, Scyphozoa): a new jellyfish </strong><br /><strong>in the Mediterranean Sea</strong></p>

<p><strong><em>Pelagia</em> <em>benovici</em> sp. nov. (Cnidaria, Scyphozoa): a new jellyfish </strong><br /><strong>in the Mediterranean Sea</strong></p>

Systems approach modelling of the interactive effects of fisheries, jellyfish and tourism in the Catalan coast

Digestion times and predation potentials of Pelagia noctiluca eating fish larvae and copepods in the NW Mediterranean Sea

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