Environmental factors influencing the spatio-temporal distribution of Carybdea marsupialis (Lineo, 1978, Cubozoa) in South-Western Mediterranean coasts.
PLoS One
; 12(7): e0181611, 2017.
Article
en En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-28746410
ABSTRACT
Jellyfish blooms cause important ecological and socio-economic problems. Among jellyfish, cubozoans are infamous for their painful, sometimes deadly, stings and are a major public concern in tropical to subtropical areas; however, there is little information about the possible causes of their outbreaks. After a bloom of the cubomedusa Carybdea marsupialis (Carybdeidae) along the coast of Denia (SW Mediterranean, Spain) in 2008 with negative consequences for local tourism, the necessity to understand the ecological restrictions on medusae abundance was evident. Here we use different models (GAM and zero-inflated models) to understand the environmental and human related factors influencing the abundance and distribution of C. marsupialis along the coast of Denia. Selected variables differed among medusae size classes, showing different environmental restriction associated to the developmental stages of the species. Variables implicated with dispersion (e.g. wind and current) affected mostly small and medium size classes. Sea surface temperature, salinity and proxies of primary production (chl a, phosphates, nitrates) were related to the abundances of small and large size classes, highlighting the roles of springtime salinity changes and increased primary production that may promote and maintain high densities of this species. The increased primary (and secondary) production due to anthropogenic impact is implicated as the factor enabling high numbers of C. marsupialis to thrive. Recommendations for monitoring blooms of this species along the study area and applicable to Mediterranean Sea include focus effort in coastal waters where productivity have been enriched by anthropogenic activities.
Texto completo:
1
Banco de datos:
MEDLINE
Asunto principal:
Temperatura
/
Cubomedusas
/
Salinidad
/
Distribución Animal
Tipo de estudio:
Prognostic_studies
Límite:
Animals
/
Humans
País/Región como asunto:
Europa
Idioma:
En
Revista:
PLoS One
Asunto de la revista:
CIENCIA
/
MEDICINA
Año:
2017
Tipo del documento:
Article
País de afiliación:
Chile