Abstract
MEPS Marine Ecology Progress Series Contact the journal Facebook Twitter RSS Mailing List Subscribe to our mailing list via Mailchimp HomeLatest VolumeAbout the JournalEditorsTheme Sections MEPS 510:265-273 (2014) - DOI: https://doi.org/10.3354/meps10854 Culture and growth of the jellyfish Pelagia noctiluca in the laboratory Martin K. S. Lilley1,2,3, Martina Ferraris3,4, Amanda Elineau3,4, Léo Berline3,4,5, Perrine Cuvilliers3,4, Laurent Gilletta6, Alain Thiéry1, Gabriel Gorsky3,4, Fabien Lombard3,4,* 1IMBE UMR CNRS 7263, Institut Méditerranéen de Biodiversité et d’Ecologie marine et continentale (IMBE), Aix-Marseille Université, Avenue Louis Philibert, BP 67, 13545 Aix en Provence Cedex 04, France 2Institut Méditerranéen d’Océanologie (MIO), Aix-Marseille Université, UMR 7294, Campus de Luminy, 13288 Marseille Cedex 9, France 3Sorbonne Universités, UPMC Univ Paris 06, UMR 7093, LOV, Observatoire océanologique, 06230 Villefranche sur mer, France 4CNRS, UMR 7093, LOV, Observatoire océanologique, 06230 Villefranche sur mer, France 5Université du Sud Toulon-Var, Aix-Marseille Université, CNRS/INSU, IRD, Institut Mediterraneen d’Oceanologie (MIO), UM 110, 83957 La Garde Cedex, France 6CNRS, Sorbonne Universités, UPMC Univ Paris 06, Laboratoire de Biologie du Développement de Villefranche sur mer, Observatoire Océanographique, 06230 Villefranche sur mer, France *Corresponding author: lombard@obs-vlfr.fr ABSTRACT: Four cohorts of the scyphozoan jellyfish Pelagia noctiluca were grown in the laboratory. For the first time, P. noctiluca was grown from eggs through to reproductive adults. The maximum life span in the laboratory was 17 mo. Pelagia noctiluca were first observed to release gametes at an umbrella diameter of 2.4 cm. Laboratory growth under steady feeding conditions showed initial growth followed by stagnation until dietary conditions were altered. A mismatch between the availability of optimal food and the presence of developmental stages may significantly increase the mortality rates of the young stages. Non-motile prey improved survival of ephyrae stages compared with zooplankton, but good survival and ephyrae growth were only obtained with a high-energy sea urchin egg diet. Maximal growth rates were up to 30% d-1 for young ephyrae and 1.5-4% d-1 for adults. Maximal growth rates were comparable between laboratory and in situ growth observations in the Ligurian Sea during 1969 and 2013. Combining observations would suggest that 230 d of continuous growth are required to reach the largest mean size observed in the wild (June 2013, mean ± SD = 15.6 ± 2.8 cm, range = 12-21 cm). We suggest that 90-120 d of continuous growth from planula larvae would yield reproductive individuals under ideal growing conditions. We discuss the daily prey abundances required by each individual to sustain basal metabolism and the observed growth rates. KEY WORDS: Mauve stinger · Ligurian Sea · Mediterranean · Bloom · Life cycle · Mortality · Ephyra · Predation Full text in pdf format PreviousNextCite this article as: Lilley MKS, Ferraris M, Elineau A, Berline L and others (2014) Culture and growth of the jellyfish Pelagia noctiluca in the laboratory. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 510:265-273. https://doi.org/10.3354/meps10854 Export citation RSS - Facebook - Tweet - linkedIn Cited by Published in MEPS Vol. 510. Online publication date: September 09, 2014 Print ISSN: 0171-8630; Online ISSN: 1616-1599 Copyright © 2014 Inter-Research.
Highlights
Found at frequently high abundances, the mauve stinger Pelagia noctiluca is a holoplanktonic scyphozoan jellyfish with a wide distribution
We suggest that 90−120 d of continuous growth from planula larvae would yield reproductive individuals under ideal growing conditions
The objective of this study was to obtain reproductively viable P. noctiluca in the laboratory in order to estimate the duration of the life cycle and to compare growth rates between laboratory and in situ populations
Summary
Found at frequently high abundances, the mauve stinger Pelagia noctiluca is a holoplanktonic scyphozoan jellyfish with a wide distribution. Populations occur in both the North and South Atlantic (Miller et al 2012), as well as in all the major oceans Since 1994 this species has been present almost continuously in the Ligurian Sea, NW Mediterranean Pelagia noctiluca is a holoplanktonic species, developing directly from planula larvae (Russell 1970, Rottini Sandrini & Avian 1983), and cannot rely on polyps to survive through unfavourable conditions
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