The invasive freshwater medusa Craspedacusta sowerbii Lankester, 1880 (Hydrozoa: Olindiidae) in Israel

Avital Gasith,Hava Goldstein,Bella Galil,Yaron Hershkovitz,Sarig Gafny

doi:10.3391/ai.2011.6.s1.033

Abstract

The freshwater jellyfish Craspedacusta sowerbii, native to China, has been introduced to lentic and lotic habitats in artificial and natural bodies of water, in subtropical to temperate regions worldwide. In the Middle East it has been recorded from an artificial lake in the Nile Delta, Egypt, a recreational lake in Iraq, a reservoir and a dammed lake in Turkey. The first record in Israel dates back half a century – to an aquarium at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. Since 2003 medusae of C. sowerbii have been observed in a perennial stream flowing into Sea of Galilee – Israel’s principal freshwater storage and supply reservoir. The possible impacts of a substantial bloom are discussed.

Highlights

The freshwater jellyfish Craspedacusta sowerbii Lankester, 1880, native to China, has colonized since the end of the 19th century water bodies in subtropical to temperate regions worldwide (Kramp 1950; Dumont 1994)
In this paper we report the presence of an established population of Craspedacusta sowerbii from one of the perennial streams flowing into Lake Kinneret, Israel
Parent (1982) proposed that the American waterweed, Elodea canadensis (Michaux, 1803), a common aquarium plant, may have been a vehicle for Craspedacusta transport, with a time lag of ca 50 years to establishment in the natural environment

Summary

Introduction

The freshwater jellyfish Craspedacusta sowerbii Lankester, 1880, native to China, has colonized since the end of the 19th century water bodies in subtropical to temperate regions worldwide (Kramp 1950; Dumont 1994). In this paper we report the presence of an established population of Craspedacusta sowerbii from one of the perennial streams flowing into Lake Kinneret, Israel. A photograph of a polyp of Craspedacusta sowerbii (as Calpasoma dactyloptera) found in a freshwater aquarium at the Department of Zoology, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, was the first record of the species in Israel (Rahat 1961, Figure 1).

Results

Conclusion