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Temporal fluctuations in abundance and size of the giant jellyfish Nemopilema nomurai medusae in the northern East China Sea, 2006–2017

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Abstract

The abundance and size of the giant jellyfish (Nemopilema nomurai) medusae collected by midwater trawl from 2006 to 2017 in the northern East China Sea (nECS) were investigated. While absent in 2008 and 2011, in other years, medusae were prevalent in June and July, rare in October, and not found from January to May. This seasonality in medusa abundance might be related to the life cycle characteristics of this species, with strobilation occurring near Chinese coast of the nECS from late March to early June but medusae dispersing in oceanic currents or dying by early autumn. Peak abundances in June and July varied from 0 to 62.1 × 106 medusa m−2 in the repeatedly observed area (30°30′ N–31 °N, 124°15′ E–126 °E). These annual fluctuations in medusae abundance in the nECS roughly coincide with patterns in the Sea of Japan (JS) in the autumn, which suggests that monitoring in nECS would be effective in predicting the occurrence of this species in the JS which undergoes massive occurrences of this species. The medusae sizes were comparable in June, but smaller in 2006, 2007, 2009, and 2010 than that in 2012–2017 in July. Hence, the existence of a large annual variation in the size of N. nomurai even in the same area and period was indicated.

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Acknowledgements

We gratefully acknowledge many colleagues whose efforts facilitated the present study: H. Sasaki, Y. Gomi, T. Yokota, T. Asai, M. Shibata, R. Hayashi, S. Fukuyama, S. Arikawa, S. Sakagami, N. Minetomatsu, M. Hataguchi, E. Nishino, and K. Asano, for their assistance in sampling, observations, and data summarizing; H. Iizumi, H. Akiyama, O. Katoh, and T. Watanabe, for coordinating the research project. We thank the captains and crews of the R/Vs Yoko-maru, Soyo-maru, Kaiyo-maru, Shoyo-maru, and Shunyo-maru, for their assistance at sea. This research was partially supported by grants from the Fisheries Agency of Japan.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Japan Fisheries Research and Education Agency, Seikai National Fisheries Research Institute, Taira-machi, Nagasaki, 851-2213, Japan

    Satoshi Kitajima, Toru Hasegawa, Koh Nishiuchi, Yoko Kiyomoto, Takeshi Taneda & Haruya Yamada

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  1. Satoshi Kitajima
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  2. Toru Hasegawa
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  3. Koh Nishiuchi
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Correspondence to Satoshi Kitajima.

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All applicable international, national, and/or institutional guidelines for the care and use of animals were followed. Nemopilema nomurai is an invertebrate species that is neither endangered nor protected, and no permits were required for sampling its medusae.

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Kitajima, S., Hasegawa, T., Nishiuchi, K. et al. Temporal fluctuations in abundance and size of the giant jellyfish Nemopilema nomurai medusae in the northern East China Sea, 2006–2017. Mar Biol 167, 75 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-020-03682-1

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