Dataset Information

Jellyfish as prey: frequency of predation and selective foraging of Boops boops (Vertebrata, Actinopterygii) on the mauve stinger Pelagia noctiluca (Cnidaria, Scyphozoa).

ABSTRACT: In recent years, jellyfish blooms have attracted considerable scientific interest for their potential impacts on human activities and ecosystem functioning, with much attention paid to jellyfish as predators and to gelatinous biomass as a carbon sink. Other than qualitative data and observations, few studies have quantified direct predation of fish on jellyfish to clarify whether they may represent a seasonally abundant food source. Here we estimate predation frequency by the commercially valuable Mediterranean bogue, Boops boops on the mauve stinger jellyfish, Pelagia noctiluca, in the Strait of Messina (NE Sicily). A total of 1054 jellyfish were sampled throughout one year to quantify predation by B. boops from bite marks on partially eaten jellyfish and energy density of the jellyfish. Predation by B. boops in summer was almost twice that in winter, and they selectively fed according to medusa gender and body part. Calorimetric analysis and biochemical composition showed that female jellyfish gonads had significantly higher energy content than male gonads due to more lipids and that gonads had six-fold higher energy content than the somatic tissues due to higher lipid and protein concentrations. Energetically, jellyfish gonads represent a highly rewarding food source, largely available to B. boops throughout spring and summer. During the remainder of the year, when gonads were not very evident, fish predation switched towards less-selective foraging on the somatic gelatinous biomass. P. noctiluca, the most abundant jellyfish species in the Mediterranean Sea and a key planktonic predator, may represent not only a nuisance for human leisure activities and a source of mortality for fish eggs and larvae, but also an important resource for fish species of commercial value, such as B. boops.

SUBMITTER: Milisenda G

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3984264 | biostudies-literature | 2014

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

Jellyfish as prey: frequency of predation and selective foraging of Boops boops (Vertebrata, Actinopterygii) on the mauve stinger Pelagia noctiluca (Cnidaria, Scyphozoa).

Milisenda Giacomo G Rosa Sara S Fuentes Veronica L VL Boero Ferdinando F Guglielmo Letterio L Purcell Jennifer E JE Piraino Stefano S

PloS one 20140411 4

In recent years, jellyfish blooms have attracted considerable scientific interest for their potential impacts on human activities and ecosystem functioning, with much attention paid to jellyfish as predators and to gelatinous biomass as a carbon sink. Other than qualitative data and observations, few studies have quantified direct predation of fish on jellyfish to clarify whether they may represent a seasonally abundant food source. Here we estimate predation frequency by the commercially valuab ...[more]

PMID: 24727977

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Project description:Mohammed Rizman-Idid, Abu Bakar Farrah-Azwa, and Ving Ching Chong (2016) Scientific enquiries into jellyfish blooms and associated problems are often deterred by the lack of taxonomical and ecological studies worldwide. Taxonomic difficulty is attributed to the high degree of morphological variations among and within species. To date, only two scyphozoan jellyfish species have been documented from field surveys in Malaysian waters, whereas another four Malaysian scyphozoan and two cubozoan jellyfish species have been mentioned in toxicological studies. None of these species have; however, been verified. This study thus aimed to document and resolves the uncertainty of earlier identified species in the region using morphology and molecular DNA sequencing. Jellyfish specimens were collected from Malaysian waters in the Straits of Malacca, South-China Sea and the Sulu-Sulawesi Sea over two years (June 2008 to October 2010), and their DNA sequences were compared with those from the Atlantic and Pacific regions. Ten scyphozoan and two cubozoan species were recorded in Malaysian waters (South China Sea and Straits of Malacca). These jellyfish included eight species from the order Rhizostomeae (Rhizostomatidae, Lobonematidae, Mastigiidae, Catostylidae and Cepheidae), two species from Semaestomeae (Pelagiidae and Cyaneidae) and two species from class Cubozoa; one from order Carybdeida (family Carukiidae) and another from order Chirodropida (family Chiropsalmidae). Molecular identification of species using phylogenetic approaches was based on DNA sequences of partial cytochrome oxidase I (COI), 16S and internal transcribed spacer (ITS1) regions. The COI phylogenetic tree of Cubozoa and Scyphozoa species from the Atlantic and Pacific regions showed distinct clustering of six Malaysian jellyfish species. However, most of the deeper divergences and relationships between the families were unresolved, which were also observed in the 16S and ITS1 phylogenetic trees. The Malaysian edible species Lobonemoides robustus, Rhopilema hispidum and Rhopilema esculentum were grouped within Rhizostomeae, whereas other scyphozoans showed phylogenetic affinities to Semaestomeae and Kolpophorae. Chrysaora and Cyanea appeared non-monophyletic; however their paraphyly was not confirmed. This study has provided the much needed baseline information on the taxonomy of Malaysian jellyfish species which have been substantiated by partial COI, 16S and ITS1 sequences. A total of 12 putative species of jellyfish were identified, which encompassed 12 genera.

Dataset Information

Jellyfish as prey: frequency of predation and selective foraging of Boops boops (Vertebrata, Actinopterygii) on the mauve stinger Pelagia noctiluca (Cnidaria, Scyphozoa).

Publications

Jellyfish as prey: frequency of predation and selective foraging of Boops boops (Vertebrata, Actinopterygii) on the mauve stinger Pelagia noctiluca (Cnidaria, Scyphozoa).

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