Seasonal patterns in size and abundance of Phyllorhiza punctata: an invasive scyphomedusa in coastal Georgia (USA)

• Published in: Marine biology Vol. 158; no. 10; pp. 2219 - 2226
• Main Authors: Verity, Peter G., Purcell, J. E., Frischer, M. E.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 01.10.2011; Springer; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Animal and plant ecology; Animal populations; Animal, plant and microbial ecology; Aquatic life; Biological and medical sciences; Biological research; Biology, Experimental; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Coasts; Distribution; Freshwater & Marine Ecology; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Habitats; Invasive species; Jellyfishes; Life Sciences; Marine; Marine & Freshwater Sciences; Marine biology; Microbiology; Nonnative species; Oceanography; Original Paper; Phyllorhiza punctata; Scyphomedusa; Sea water ecosystems; Seasons; Synecology; Zoology; Georgia; United States; North America; America; United States > US; ASW, USA, Florida; ASW, USA, Georgia; A, Atlantic, Gulf Stream; ASW, Mexico Gulf; ASW, Caribbean Sea; Australia; ASW, Mexico Gulf, Loop Current; Sound Station; Gelatinous Zooplankton; Gulf Stream; Indian River Lagoon; South Atlantic Bight; Seasonal variation; Invasion; Georgia
• ISSN: 0025-3162; 1432-1793
• DOI: 10.1007/s00227-011-1727-2

Phyllorhiza punctata , commonly called the Australian white spotted jellyfish, invaded the Caribbean in the 1960s, becoming established there and subsequently in the United States in the northern Gulf of Mexico (by 2000) and eastern Florida (2001). With the prevailing Loop Current flowing clockwise around the Gulf of Mexico and joining the Gulf Stream along eastern Florida, potential transport of P. punctata along the eastern seaboard of the USA could be facilitated. P. punctata medusae were collected in small numbers along the entire Georgia coast during May–November in 2007 and 2008. Medusa bell diameters increased both years from ca. 10 cm in May to ca. 33 cm in autumn. Specimens lacked zooxanthellae, as reported for medusae in the northern Gulf of Mexico and Florida. It is possible that the P. punctata medusae observed were transported from established populations to the south; however, whether or not this species is established along the Georgia coast has yet to be determined.