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The growth of jellyfishes

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Jellyfish Blooms: Causes, Consequences, and Recent Advances

Part of the book series: Developments in Hydrobiology ((DIHY,volume 206))

Abstract

To date, a disparate array of concepts and methods have been used to study the growth of jellyfish, with the result that few generalities have emerged which could help, e.g., in predicting growth patterns in unstudied species. It is shown that this situation can be overcome by length-frequency analysis (LFA), applied to jellyfish bell diameter (i.e., “length”) frequency data. A selection of LFA methods (ELEFAN, Wetherall plots and length-converted catch curves, all implemented in the FiSAT software) is applied here to 34 sets of bell diameter frequency data of jellyfish. This led to the estimates of parameters of the von Bertalanffy growth function (VBGF), which, especially in its seasonal form, was found to fit the available size-frequency data reasonably well. We also obtained numerous estimates of mortality, useful for modeling the life history of jellyfish. Finally, by scaling their asymptotic weight (W∞, a parameter of the VBGF) to the weight they would have if they had the same water content as fish, we show that most jellyfish grow at the same rate as small fishes (guppies and anchovies). As in fish, the VBGF parameters K and W∞, when plotted in a double logarithmic (“auximetric”) plot, tend to cluster into ellipsoid shapes, which increase in area when shifting from species to genera, families, etc. If validated by subsequent studies, auximetric plots for jellyfish would provide a powerful tool for testing comparative hypotheses on jellyfish life history.

Guest editors: K. A. Pitt & J. E. Purcell Jellyfish Blooms: Causes, Consequences, and Recent Advances

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. The Sea Around Us Project, Fisheries Centre, University of British Columbia, 2202 Main Mall, Vancouver, BC, Canada, V6T 1Z4

    M. L. D. Palomares & D. Pauly

Authors
  1. M. L. D. Palomares
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  2. D. Pauly
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Australian Rivers Institute and Griffith School of Environment, Griffith University, Australia

    Kylie A. Pitt

  2. Shannon Point Marine Center, Western Washington University, Washington, USA

    Jennifer E. Purcell

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Palomares, M.L.D., Pauly, D. (2008). The growth of jellyfishes. In: Pitt, K.A., Purcell, J.E. (eds) Jellyfish Blooms: Causes, Consequences, and Recent Advances. Developments in Hydrobiology, vol 206. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-9749-2_2

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