Abstract
The Cassiopea genus is an emergent focus for behavioral, ecological, and genetic research. Cassiopea ephyrae, a key intermediate in the life cycle of this benthic jellyfish, have been left out of much work on the genus. Here we investigate the Cassiopea xamachana ephyra response to six combinations of light and feeding regimes. We show that zero light condition results in fast bleaching of ephyrae and significant reductions in bell size and predation success. We also show that ephyrae starved in sub-compensation level light experienced only meager reductions in size over 42 days, and those starved in zero light were still largely recoverable at 28 days. Developmental trajectories on various metrics of Cassiopea xamachana ephyrae were significantly impacted by both light and feeding level in the first 42 days of life.
Highlights
Much work has been done on the invasive potential of species of the phylum Cnidaria, especially scyphozoans and hydrozoans (Graham and Bayha, 2007; Brotz and Pauly, 2012; Morandini et al, 2017)
While starved Aurelia ephyrae show a reduction in bell size (Fu et al, 2014), Cassiopea ephyrae’s response to starvation in light (L0 group) is a reduction in the size of the manubrium with a statistically insignificant reduction in bell size
Starved kept at below compensation light levels were able Cassiopea ephyrae in dark conditions (D0) were able to to survive 6 weeks, with only a few showing a reduction to the size survive for 28 days and showed remarkable recovery capability when feeding and light exposure was reinstated
Summary
Much work has been done on the invasive potential of species of the phylum Cnidaria, especially scyphozoans and hydrozoans (Graham and Bayha, 2007; Brotz and Pauly, 2012; Morandini et al, 2017). Cnidarians have spread throughout the world in a pattern largely consistent with ship traffic (Holland et al, 2004; Purcell, 2012) Much of this spread is considered a result of extremely hardy early stages, including planula, polyps, podocysts, and planulocysts (Lotan et al, 1992; Miller and Graham, 2012). Polyps and planulocysts are known to accommodate survival in extreme conditions (Frolova and Miglietta, 2020). These present a clear invasion concern as potential foulers on ship hulls and other surfaces. Starvation tolerance and robustness in the motile ephyra stage may contribute to a species’ capability to survive long journeys in cargo ships or along coastlines and to its potential as an invasive species
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