The first Pelagia noctiluca outbreak off the Syrian coast (the eastern Mediterranean Sea), five years after its first appearance

International Journal of Agriculture & Environmental Science

© 2019 by SSRG - IJAES Journal

Volume 6 Issue 3

Year of Publication : 2019

Authors : Samer Mamish, Hani Durgham ,Samar Ikhtiyar

10.14445/23942568/IJAES-V6I3P113

How to Cite?

Samer Mamish, Hani Durgham ,Samar Ikhtiyar, "The first Pelagia noctiluca outbreak off the Syrian coast (the eastern Mediterranean Sea), five years after its first appearance," SSRG International Journal of Agriculture & Environmental Science, vol. 6,  no. 3, pp. 72-75, 2019. Crossref, https://doi.org/10.14445/23942568/IJAES-V6I3P113

Abstract:

The blooms of mauve stinger Pelagia noctiluca (Forskål, 1775) (Scyphozoa, Semaeostomeae, Pelagiidae) in the Mediterranean Sea were generally restricted to the western basin and the Adriatic Sea. The occurrence and distribution of this species in the Levantine Basin has not been investigated adequately and is still far from being satisfactory.
The present study reports the first documented outbreak of P. noctiluca five years after its first appearance off the Syrian coast (the eastern Mediterranean Sea). It also provides an additional scientific knowledge of the P. noctiluca blooms in the Mediterranean Sea, and will extend the region limits of the above species blooms to the Levantine Basin.

Keywords:

Pelagia noctiluca, mauve stinger, jellyfish, Scyphozoa, Syrian coast, Mediterranean Sea, Levantine.

References:

[1] UNEP., "Workshop on jellyfish blooms in the Mediterranean". United Nations Environment Programme editor, 31 Oct – 4 Nov Athens, 221 p, 1984.
[2] UNEP., "Jellyfish blooms in the Mediterranean". In Proceedings of the II Workshop on Jellyfish in the Mediterranean Sea. MAP Technical Reports Series, No.47, UNEP: Athens, Greece, 1991.
[3] CIESM., "Gelatinous zooplankton outbreaks: theory and practice". CIESM Workshop Series. CIESM Publishers,
Monaco, 112 p, 2001.
[4] R. Daryababard & MN. Dawson, "Jellyfish blooms: Crambionella orsini (Scyphozoa: Rhizostomeae) in the Gulf of Oman, Iran, 2002–2003". J. Mar. Biol. Assoc. UK 88:477-483, 2008.
[5] W.M. Hamner & M.N. Dawson, "A review and synthesis on the systematics and evolution of jellyfish blooms:advantageous aggregations and adaptive assemblages". Hydrobiologia 616:161–191, 2009.
[6] P. Licandro, DVP. Conway, MN. Daly Yahia, ML. Fernandez de Puelles, S. Gasparini, JH. Hecq, P. Tranter & RR. Kirby, "A blooming jellyfish in the northeast Atlantic and Mediterranean". Biol. Lett.-UK. 6, 688-691, 2010.
[7] RH. Condon, CM. Duarte, KA. Pitt, KL. Robinson, CH. Lucas, KR. Sutherland, HW. Mianzan, M. Bogeberga, JE. Purcell, MB. Deckerj, S. Uye, LP. Madin, RD. Brodeur, SHD. Haddock, A. Malej, GD. Parry, E. Eriksen, J. Quiñones, M. Acha, M. Harvey, JM. Arthur, WM. Graham "Recurrent jellyfish blooms are a consequence of global oscillations". Proc Natl Acad Sci. USA 110:1000–1005, 2013.
[8] CH. Lucas & MN. Dawson. "Jellyfish blooms (editors Pitt and Lucas)". Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht, Dordrecht, Chapter 2, 10-13, 2014.
[9] MN. Arai, "Pelagic coelenterates and eutrophication: a review". Hydrobiologia 451:69–87, 2001.
[10] CE. Mills, "Jellyfish blooms: Are populations increasing globally in response to changing ocean conditions ?". Hydrobiologia 451:55–68, 2001
[11] J.E. Purcell, and M.N. Arai, "Interactions of pelagic cnidarians and ctenophores with fish: a review". Hydrobiologia, 451, 27–44, 2001.
[12] JE. Purcell, "Climate effects on formation of jellyfish and ctenophore blooms". J Mar Biol Assoc UK 85:461–476, 2005.
[13] JE. Purcell, "Environmental effects on asexual reproduction rates of the scyphozoan, Aurelia labiate". Mar Ecol Prog Ser 348:183–196, 2007.
[14] A. Lotan, R. Ben-Hillel, Y. Loya, "Aggregation and dispersal of Rhopilema nomadica, a tropical immigrant medusa in the Mediterranean Sea". Isr J Zool 39:67–68, 1993.
[15] S. Mamish, M.S. Al-Masri, H. Durgham, "Radioactivity in three species of eastern Mediterranean jellyfish". J Environ Radioact. 149: pp.1–7, 2015.
[16] J. Goy, P. Morand, M. Etienne, "Long-term fluctuations of Pelagia noctiluca (Cnidaria, Scyphomedusa) in the western Mediterranean Sea. Prediction by climatic variables". Deep-Sea Res 36: 269–279, 1989.
[17] A. Malej, AJ. Malej, "Invasion of the Jellyfish Pelagia noctiluca in the Northern Adriatic: a non-success story, In: Dumont H, Shiganova TA, Niermann U (eds) Aquatic invasions in the Black, Caspian, and Mediterranean Seas: the ctenophores Mnemiopsis leidyi and Beroe in the Ponto-Caspian and other aquatic invasions". Nato Science Series: 4. Earth and Environmental Sciences. Springer, Netherlands, 273–285, 2004.
[18] GL. Mariottini, E. Giacco, L. Pane, "The Mauve Stinger Pelagia noctiluca (Forsskål, 1775). Distribution, ecology, toxicity and epidemiology of stings. A review". Mar Drugs 6:496-513, 2008.
[19] M.N. Daly Yahia, et al., "Are outbreaks of Pelagia noctiluca (Forskal, 1771) more frequent in the Mediterranean basin?" ICES Coop. Rep. 300, 8–14, 2010.
[20] P. Bernard, L. Berline, G. Gorsky, "Long term (1981-2008) monitoring of the jellyfish Pelagia noctiluca (Cnidaria, Scyphozoa) on Mediterranean Coasts (Principality of Monaco and French Riviera)". Journal of Oceanography, Research and Data. Vol. 4: 1-10, 2011.
[21] L. Brotz, D. Pauly, "Jellyfish populations in the Mediterranean Sea". Acta Adriat 53:211-230, 2012.
[22] T. Kogovšek, B. Bogunovi, A. Malej, "Recurrence of bloom forming scyphomedusae: wavelet analysis of a 200-year time series". Hydrobiologia 645: 81−96, 2010.
[23] S. Rosa, M. Pansera, A. Granata, L. Guglielmo "Interannual variability, growth, reproduction and feeding of Pelagia noctiluca (Cnidaria: Scyphozoa) in the Straits of Messina (Central Mediterranean Sea): linkages with temperature and diet". J. Mar. Syst., 111–112: 97−107, 2013.
[24] A. Canepa, V. Fuentes, A. Sabatés, S. Piraino, F. Boero, JM. Gili, "Pelagia noctiluca in the Mediterranean Sea". In:
Pitt KA, Lucas CH Jellyfish blooms. Springer Science Business Media, Dordrecht, p 237−266, 2014.
[25] J.E. Purcell, U. Tilves, , V. L. Fuentes, G. Milisenda, A. Olariaga, A. Sabatés, "Digestion times and predation potentials of Pelagia noctiluca eating fish larvae and copepods in the NW Mediterranean Sea. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser., Vol. 510: 201–213, 2014.
[26] U. Tilves, J.E. Purcell, V.L. Fuentes, A. Torrents, M. Pascual, V. Raya, J.M. Gili, A. Sabatés, "Natural diet and predation impacts of Pelagia noctiluca on fish eggs and larvae in the NW Mediterranean". Journal of Plankton Research, Volume 38, Issue 5, P. 1243–1254, 2016.
[27] J.E. Purcell, S.I. Uye & W.T. Lo, "Anthropogenic causes of jellyfish blooms and their direct consequences for humans: a review". Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 350, 153–174, 2007.
[28] H. Durgham, "First Records of Phyllorhiza punctata von Lendenfeld, 1884 (Cnidaria: Rhizostomeae) from the Mediterranean Coast of Syria". Int. J Oceans Oceanography. 5(2):15 pp. 3–5, 2011.
[29] S. Mamish, H. Durgham, M.S. Al-Masri, "First record of Aequorea globosa Eschscholtz, 1829 (Cnidaria: Hydrozoa) in the coast of Syria". Mediterr Mar Sci. 13(2): pp. 259–61, 2012.
[30] Siokou, A.S. Ayas, J.D. Souissi, T. Chatterjee, et al. "Mediterranean marine science, new Mediterranean marine biodiversity records". Medit Mar Sci. 14(1): pp.238–249, 2013.
[31] S. Mamish, H. Durgham, M.S. Al-Masri. "First record of the new alien sea jelly species Marivagia stellata Galil and Gershwin, 2010 off the Syrian coast. Marine Biodiversity Records 9:23, pp.1-3, 2016.
[32] S. Mamish, H. Durgham, S. Ikhtiyar, "First record of Porpita porpita LINNAEUS, 1758 (Cnidaria, Hydrozoa) on the Syrian coast of the eastern Mediterranean Sea". SSRG International Journal of Agriculture & Environmental Science (SSRG – IJAES) – Vol. 6 Issue 2 - Mar to Apr 2019.
[33] Durgham H., Ikhtiyar S., Ibraheem R., "First record of Pelagia noctiluca (Forsskål, 1775) on the coast of Syria". Marine Biodiversity Records, 9 (1), 39, 2016.
[34] D. Zavodnik, "Spatial aggregations of the swarming jellyfish Pelagia noctiluca (Scyphozoa)". Mar. Biol., 94, 265–269, 1987.
[35] JC. Molinero, F. Ibanez, P. Nival, E. Buecher, S. Souissi, "North Atlantic climate and northwestern Mediterranean plankton variability". Limnol Oceanogr 50:1213–1220, 2005