Identification of jellyfish from Continuous Plankton Recorder samples

Abstract

Previous analysis of the Continuous Plankton Recorder (CPR) long-term data set for the presence of ‘coelenterate’ tissue revealed changes in the frequency of jellyfish occurrence in the North Atlantic Ocean and North Sea; however, the identities of the jellyfish were unknown, causing uncertainty in interpreting these findings. To improve the utility of the ‘coelenterate’ data from the CPR, 62 CPR samples were selected for re-analysis from an area where the widespread occurrence of the holoplanktonic scyphomedusan, Pelagia noctiluca (Forsskal, 1775), was previously documented from net tows to test if the CPR sampled P. noctiluca. Examination of the samples revealed smears (<1 mm) of golden gelatinous tissue on the sampling mesh. Subsequent microscopic examination and measurement of nematocysts identified most of the smears as P. noctiluca. Indeed, P. noctiluca was identified on 53% of the CPR samples from the area that best coincided with the documented bloom area. Although hydrozoans were also identified in the samples, the characteristic golden colour of P. noctiluca and its distinct suite of nematocysts allowed identification to species level. The identification of other jellyfish may be more complicated due to the labour-intensive examination of samples and unclear delineation of nematocyst types when multiple similar species are present. Nevertheless, re-analysis of CPR samples holds great promise for identifying the underlying reason for increases in jellyfish occurrence in the CPR records.