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Identification of jellyfish from Continuous Plankton Recorder samples

  • JELLYFISH BLOOMS
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Abstract

Previous analysis of the Continuous Plankton Recorder (CPR) long-term data set for the presence of ‘coelenterate’ tissue revealed changes in the frequency of jellyfish occurrence in the North Atlantic Ocean and North Sea; however, the identities of the jellyfish were unknown, causing uncertainty in interpreting these findings. To improve the utility of the ‘coelenterate’ data from the CPR, 62 CPR samples were selected for re-analysis from an area where the widespread occurrence of the holoplanktonic scyphomedusan, Pelagia noctiluca (Forsskål, 1775), was previously documented from net tows to test if the CPR sampled P. noctiluca. Examination of the samples revealed smears (<1 mm) of golden gelatinous tissue on the sampling mesh. Subsequent microscopic examination and measurement of nematocysts identified most of the smears as P. noctiluca. Indeed, P. noctiluca was identified on 53% of the CPR samples from the area that best coincided with the documented bloom area. Although hydrozoans were also identified in the samples, the characteristic golden colour of P. noctiluca and its distinct suite of nematocysts allowed identification to species level. The identification of other jellyfish may be more complicated due to the labour-intensive examination of samples and unclear delineation of nematocyst types when multiple similar species are present. Nevertheless, re-analysis of CPR samples holds great promise for identifying the underlying reason for increases in jellyfish occurrence in the CPR records.

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Acknowledgements

This project [Grant-Aid Agreement No PBA/AF/08/002(01)] was carried out under the Sea Change strategy with the support of the Marine Institute and the Marine Research Sub-Programme of the National Development Plan 2007–2013, co-financed under the European Regional Development Fund. EJB was supported by the above grant aid. TKD was supported by an Irish Research Council for Science Engineering and Technology fellowship. The authors would like to acknowledge all past and present members and supporters of the CPR survey, especially the ships that voluntarily tow CPRs on regular routes and the Sir Alister Hardy Foundation for Ocean Science (SAHFOS) for facilitating the use of the CPR samples and the SAHFOS laboratories. We thank G. Hays and two other anonymous reviewers for their comments on the article.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Coastal and Marine Resources Centre, Environmental Research Institute, University College Cork, Naval Base, Haulbowline, Cork, Ireland

    E. J. Baxter & T. K. Doyle

  2. Department of Zoology, Ecology and Plant Science, University College Cork, Distillery Fields, North Mall, Cork, Ireland

    E. J. Baxter & R. McAllen

  3. Sir Alister Hardy Foundation for Ocean Science, Citadel Hill, Plymouth, PL1 2PB, UK

    A. W. Walne

  4. Shannon Point Marine Center, Western Washington University, 1900 Shannon Point Road, Anacortes, WA, 98221, USA

    J. E. Purcell

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  1. E. J. Baxter
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  2. A. W. Walne
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  3. J. E. Purcell
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  4. R. McAllen
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  5. T. K. Doyle
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Correspondence to E. J. Baxter.

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Guest editors: J. E. Purcell & Dror Angel / Jellyfish Blooms: New Problems and Solutions

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Baxter, E.J., Walne, A.W., Purcell, J.E. et al. Identification of jellyfish from Continuous Plankton Recorder samples. Hydrobiologia 645, 193–201 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-010-0212-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-010-0212-0

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