ABSTRACT: Pelagia noctiluca is the most successful and well-studied jellyfish in the Mediterranean Sea. This species tolerates a wide range of water temperatures and succeeds in low to medium food regimes, but factors driving its distribution and population dynamics remain poorly understood. Here we applied a multiscale analytical approach using survey data and a physical-biochemical coupled model to assess how environmental factors affect the 3-dimensional distribution and seasonal abundance of P. noctiluca early life stages. The surveys took place after the spring bloom, when warm water favors fecundity and growth, but food shortage limits the reproductive investment and early survival. We found that most early life stages of P. noctiluca remained above the shallow thermocline and upper mixed layer where temperature is warm. Their spatial distribution was positively correlated with surface chlorophyll concentration, and over 90% of the variation in interannual abundance was explained by basin-scale productivity in June. Warmer water during winter and spring seasons coupled with protracted spring blooms increase the population of P. noctiluca, and this explains the trend of increasing outbreaks observed in the western Mediterranean Sea over the past decades.

中文翻译：

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地中海西部鳞翅目浮游生物的早期生活阶段丰富，表面有叶绿素

摘要：Pelagia noctiluca是地中海地区最成功，研究最深入的水母。该物种可以承受广泛的水温，并在中低食物环境中获得成功，但是驱动其分布和种群动态的因素仍然知之甚少。在这里，我们使用调查数据和物理-生化耦合模型应用多尺度分析方法来评估环境因素如何影响夜蛾的3维分布和季节性丰度。调查是在春季开花后进行的，当时温水有利于繁殖和生长，但粮食短缺限制了生殖投资和早期生存。我们发现夜蛾的大部分生命早期阶段保持在浅温跃层和温度较高的上混合层上方。它们的空间分布与表面叶绿素浓度呈正相关，6月的盆地规模生产力解释了年际丰度变化的90％以上。冬季和春季的水温升高以及春季开花期延长，增加了夜蛾的数量，这解释了过去几十年来在地中海西部爆发的疫情呈上升趋势。