1,720,967 research outputs found
What Drives Jellyfish Population Cycles? Influence of Climate and Environment on the Complex Life Histories of Scyphozoans
No full textJellyfish population cycles and bloom events occur at global, regional, and local scales. Understanding what causes these cycles now and in the future is a major question in jellyfish bloom research, because of the potential impacts on ecosystem function and services. Most bloom forming scyphozoan jellyfish have complex life histories involving a long-lived asexually reproducing benthic polyp and a sexually reproducing pelagic medusae. Environmental and climate factors affect each life stage, but we do not fully understand how these variables drive life stage transition, or how demographic differences in survival, growth and fecundity translate into visible jellyfish outbreaks. We undertook a comprehensive laboratory and field-based study of the physicochemical conditions that control survival, fecundity and phase transition of the different life stages of scyphozoan jellyfish. Through this research, we examine the effects of environmental drivers on jellyfish population cycles and life stage transition. Modifications to estuaries through the construction of barrages alter the natural dynamics of inhabitant species by controlling freshwater inputs into those systems, driving the presence and absence of medusae from estuaries. As well as this, we explore how environmental conditions translate into reproductive success or failure in temperate populations from the medusa to the polyp life stage, demonstrating that early polyp growth rates are strongly linked to their thermal environment and highlighting a potential marine heatwave event. We examine not only the effects of temperature and other climate drivers on scyphozoan jellyfish growth, survival and reproduction, but also whether epigenetic transgenerational effects can drive acclimation to warmer summer temperatures in the short term in the context of a warming ocean. No parental effects were observed in the first or second generation, and in the third generation the transgenerational effects of temperature were subtle and appeared most strongly in cooling scenarios. Finally, within the setting of anthropogenically-driven climate change, we demonstrate for the first time that A. aurita polyps require a minimum period of cooler temperatures to strobilate, contradicting claims that jellyfish populations will be more prevalent in warming oceans, specifically in the context of warmer winter conditions. To answer these questions, we chose the common, or moon jellyfish Aurelia aurita as our primary experimental organism. However, we expanded our research to other species to demonstrate how they may vary in both environment and response to forcing factors as compared to a ‘typical’ model species. This thesis highlights the importance of examining each population within the context of their environment, and advances our understanding of how the climate and environment affect jellyfish life stage transition
Transgenerational acclimation influences asexual reproduction in Aurelia aurita jellyfish polyps in response to temperature.: Transgenerational plasticity in polyp reproduction
No full textClimate change events and anthropogenic activities (e.g. translocation of nonindigenous species) have been proposed to account for the rise of jellyfish blooms in coastal environments. Bloom-forming scyphozoan jellyfish of the genus Aurelia have successfully invaded new habitats and have caused damaging blooms. In attempting to understand the underlying reasons for their success, researchers have investigated immediate effects of changing environmental conditions (e.g. temperature) on scyphistomae of single/unknown generations, with a particular focus on asexual reproduction. However, it remains unclear how scyphistomae respond to changing conditions over longer time-scales or across generations, and how those responses influence bloom occurrence. Here, we examined the role of transgenerational acclimation in asexual reproduction of A. aurita scyphistomae in a 72 d orthogonal experiment, combining 3 parental with 3 offspring temperatures of 8, 12 and 16°C. The null hypothesis was that the thermal history of the parental (F0) generation will not affect asexual reproduction in the offspring (F1) generation. Our results indicated that, provided with a transgenerational temperature change, parent scyphistomae do modify the reproductive output and timing of offspring. Scyphistomae from 'cold' (8°C) parents displayed the greatest reproductive output (2.86 buds per scyphistoma) and earliest budding commencement (23.86 d) at warm temperature (16°C). Scyphistomae from 'warm' (16°C) parents displayed the greatest reproductive potential (2.63 buds) at medium temperature (12°C). Cold temperature (8°C) caused considerable inhibition of asexual reproduction in offspring scyphistomae, independent of the parental thermal history. Transgenerational acclimation may benefit potentially invasive jellyfish species facing climate-related and/or human-induced changes in the global marine environment, by facilitating asexual reproduction and subsequent bloom events.</p
Influence of in situ temperature and maternal provisioning on the medusa-to-polyp transition in a year-round population of the scyphozoan <i>Aurelia aurita</i>
No full textWe investigated how environmental conditions translate into reproductive success or failure in Aurelia aurita from the medusa to the polyp life stage. This study examined how: (i), settlement success and development of planula larvae and polyps vary across the year, (ii) the role of temperature in determining the successful settlement of larvae and growth of polyps, and iii) the influence of maternal provisioning in the successful settlement of larvae and growth of polyps. Medusae were collected monthly from February to December 2019 from Horsea Lake, UK. Planula larvae were settled in conditions mimicking the in-situ temperature and salinity of collection. For the individual treatments, planula collected in August settled most rapidly. Early development rates (<8 tentacles) were significantly higher than later growth rates (>8 tentacles) and were positively correlated with temperature, unlike later growth rates. Planula length, used as an indicator of maternal provisioning, varied significantly across the year. In July 2019, a high temperature anomaly coincided with an increased time spent by planula larvae in the water column. Increasing temperatures past thermal limits through the increasing occurrence of temperature anomalies is likely to be detrimental to larval settlement and indirectly to the replenishment of temperate polyp populations
Transgenerational effects influence acclimation to varying temperatures in Aurelia aurita polyps (Cnidaria: Scyphozoa)
No full textTemperature is one of the most important drivers to affect marine ectotherms in the context of anthropogenic climate change modifying seasonal cycles in temperate regions. To reliably predict the impact of climate variability on marine ectotherms, their capacity to adapt to rapid change needs to be understood. Due to fast transmission between generations, transgenerational effects may enable populations to moderate stressors. We examined reproduction across three temperature scenarios and three generations of asexual Aurelia aurita polyps: transgenerational warming, transgenerational cooling, and stable temperatures. Polyps were incubated at three temperatures (15, 17, 19°C) encountered in summertime in Southampton Water. In the first two polyps generations, temperature remained the main driver of polyp reproduction. However, in the third generation parental and grandparental temperature influenced offspring production. These effects appeared most strongly in cooling scenarios: polyps who experienced rapid cooling between generations displayed an immediate drop in reproductive output as opposed to polyps who remained at the same temperature as their parents. Our results highlight that transgenerational effects may require more extreme temperatures or increased numbers of generations to have a measurable impact on a population, highlighting the vulnerability of these organisms to continued climate change
Jellyfish in coastal ecosystems: advances in our understanding of population drivers, role in biogeochemical cycling, and socio-economic impacts
No full textJellyfish (herein, cnidarians and ctenophores) are natural members of marine ecosystems, and are widely distributed in the coastal zone. Flexibility in their physiology, trophic ecology and life history enable several species to form population outbreaks or blooms. Because of the potential impacts blooms have on ecosystem structure and function and human activities, research focuses on understanding their causes and consequences. A brief introduction to jellyfish research from the last 20 years is followed by three areas of recent research: 1) In the complex metagenic life cycle of scyphozoans, which life-stages(s) are the key determinants of population fluctuation? 2) What is the role of jellyfish in nutrient cycling and ecosystem productivity? 3) How are jellyfish detrimental and beneficial to human activity
Shorter, warmer winters may inhibit production of ephyrae in a population of the moon jellyfish Aurelia aurita
No full textScyphozoan jellyfish blooms display high interannual variability in terms of timing of appearance and size of the bloom. To understand the causes of this variability, the conditions experienced by the polyps prior to the production of ephyrae in the spring were examined. Polyps reared from planula larvae of Aurelia aurita medusae collected from southern England (50°49′58.8; − 1°05′36.9) were incubated under orthogonal combinations of temperature (4, 7, 10 °C) and duration (2, 4, 6, 8 weeks), representing the range of winter conditions in that region, before experiencing an increase to 13 °C. Timing and success of strobilation were recorded. No significant production of ephyrae was observed in any of the 2- and 4-week incubations, or in any 10 °C incubation. Time to first ephyra release decreased with longer winter incubations, and more ephyrae were produced following longer and colder winter simulations. This experiment indicates that A. aurita requires a minimum period of cooler temperatures to strobilate, and contradicts claims that jellyfish populations will be more prevalent in warming oceans, specifically in the context of warmer winter conditions. Such investigations on population-specific ontogeny highlights the need to examine each life stage separately as well as in the context of its environment
Extreme changes in salinity drive population dynamics of Catostylus mosaicus medusae in a modified estuary
No full textModifications to estuaries through the construction of barrages alter the natural dynamics of inhabitant species by controlling freshwater inputs into those systems. To understand the effects of modified freshwater flows on a native scyphozoan jellyfish, Catostylus mosaicus, and to identify the environmental drivers of medusa occurrence, we analysed a 20-year observational dataset composed of 11 environmental variables and medusa presence/absence from 15 sampling stations located below the Fitzroy Barrage, in the Fitzroy River, Queensland. Major decreases in salinity (minimum salinity 0) occurred approximately 16 times during the 20-year period and medusae disappeared from the estuary following every major freshwater flow event. Salinity was identified as the most influential variable contributing to variation in the number of upper estuary sites reporting jellyfish. We then ran two laboratory experiments to test the following hypotheses: (i) prolonged decreases in salinity impair survival, pulsation, and respiration rates of C. mosaicus medusae; and (ii) transient decreases temporarily impair pulsation and respiration but medusae recover when salinity returns to normal levels. Medusae were unable to survive extended periods at extreme low salinities, such that they would experience when a barrage opens fully, but had significantly higher survival and recovery rates following smaller, transient changes to salinity that might occur following a moderate rainfall event. This demonstrates for the first time that modification of freshwater flow by a barrage regulates the population dynamics of an estuarine jellyfish, and highlights the need for robust, long term datasets, and to firmly embed experimental approaches in realistic ecological contexts
Domestic and international mobility trends in the United Kingdom during the COVID-19 pandemic: an analysis of Facebook data
No full textBackground: since early March 2020, the COVID-19 epidemic across the United Kingdom has led to a range of social distancing policies, which resulted in changes to mobility across different regions. An understanding of how these policies impacted travel patterns over time and at different spatial scales is important for designing effective strategies, future pandemic planning and in providing broader insights on the population geography of the country. Crowd level data on mobile phone usage can be used as a proxy for population mobility patterns and provide a way of quantifying in near-real time the impact of social distancing measures on changes in mobility.Methods: here we explore patterns of change in densities, domestic and international flows and co-location of Facebook users in the UK from March 2020 to March 2021.Results: we find substantial heterogeneities across time and region, with large changes observed compared to pre-pademic patterns. The impacts of periods of lockdown on distances travelled and flow volumes are evident, with each showing variations, but some significant reductions in co-location rates. Clear differences in multiple metrics of mobility are seen in central London compared to the rest of the UK, with each of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland showing significant deviations from England at times. Moreover, the impacts of rapid changes in rules on international travel to and from the UK are seen in substantial fluctuations in traveller volumes by destination.Conclusions: while questions remain about the representativeness of the Facebook data, previous studies have shown strong correspondence with census-based data and alternative mobility measures, suggesting that findings here are valuable for guiding strategies
Four steps to curb ‘ocean roadkill’
No full textThere is increasing evidence that ship strikes are a major cause of mortality for whales, sharks and other ocean giants. With the global fleet growing, some simple actions can turn things around
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