Effects of environmental variables on the distribution of juvenile cubomedusae Carybdea marsupialis in the coastal Western Mediterranean

PLoS One. 2020 Jun 17;15(6):e0230768. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0230768. eCollection 2020.

Abstract

Relationships between environmental factors and oscillations in jellyfish abundance, especially in the early life stages, could help to interpret past increases and also predict scenarios in a changing future. For the first time, we present cubozoan spatial and temporal distributions in the earliest stages and their relationships with different factors. Abundances of Carybdea marsupialis medusae showed high interannual variability from 2008 to 2014 along the Dénia coast (SE Spain, W Mediterranean). During 2015, samples were collected from 11 beaches along 17 km of coastline, 8 times from January to November in order to determine the effects of environmental factors on the distribution of juvenile C. marsupialis. Juveniles (≤ 15 mm diagonal bell width) were present from May to July, with more sampled near shore (0-15 m). Most of them occurred in June when their numbers were unequal among beaches (average 0.05 ind m-3, maximum 6.71 ind m-3). We tested distributions of juveniles over time and space versus temperature, salinity, nutrients (N, P and Si), chlorophyll-a (Chl-a), and zooplankton abundance. Temperature and cladocerans (zooplankton group) were significantly positively correlated with juvenile distribution, whereas Chl-a concentration was weakly negative. By contrast, in 2014, high productivity areas (Chl-a and zooplankton) overlapped the maximum adult abundance (5.2 ind m-3). The distribution of juveniles during 2015 did not spatially coincide with the areas where ripe adults were located the previous year, suggesting that juveniles drift with the currents upon release from the cubopolyps. Our results yield important insights into the complexity of cubozoan distributions.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Cubozoa*
  • Environment*
  • Mediterranean Region
  • Spatio-Temporal Analysis

Grants and funding

This study has received funding through European Commission’s LIFE programme [LIFE08 NAT ES64 CUBOMED.eu to C.B. from the Alicante University and V.L.F. from the Institute of Marine Science, CSIC, Spain], and from the D.G Sostenibilidad de la Costa y el Mar from the Spanish Ministry of Agriculture, Food and the Environment, the Fundación Biodiversidad, and the D.G. Agua - Generalitat Valenciana. It has also received support from Parques Nacionales and Ajuntament de Dénia.