Life cycle of Phacellophora camtschatica (Cnidaria: Scyphozoa)

Abstract. Gelatinous zooplankton play important roles in marine ecosystems and at times can have significant impacts on human activities. Many scyphozoans have enigmatic life cycles and the specific habitat for benthic life history stages is unknown. This is especially true for many of the large surface-cruising scyphomedusae of the northeast Pacific Ocean. Phacellophora camtschatica belongs to the family Ulmaridae and is known to have scyphistomae in the life history. However, the life cycle of P. camtschatica has not been formally described. Here the life cycle of members of P. camtschatica is described based on laboratory observations and compared with early life history stages in the scyphomedusa Aurelia labiata .     

海蜇四触手螅状体两种发生方式的观察

通过对海蜇(Rhopilema esculentum)胚胎发育和足囊萌发进行连续观察,发现海蜇四触手螅状体存在2种形成方式:第一种方式为海蜇受精卵在水温(26±1)℃条件下经6 h发育到浮浪幼虫期,浮浪幼虫25 h后经过杯状体阶段,变态发育成四触手螅状体,进入附着生活阶段;第二种方式为足囊在适宜条件下萌发,首先形成杯状...     

A new Taqman<Superscript>©</Superscript> PCR-based method for the detection and identification of scyphozoan jellyfish polyps

While blooms of large scyphomedusae and cubomedusae receive most public attention owing to effects on tourism (e.g., stinging swimmers), commerce, and fisheries, relatively little attention is given to the inconspicuous benthic polypoid stage. This is particularly troubling when considering the widespread translocation of some invasive marine jellyfish. The transport of benthic polyps (via ships, barges, and offshore drilling platforms) is theorized to be the most likely way in which invasive jellies are globally transported. Yet given the extremely small size and cryptic nature of most benthic polyps, identifying and tracking them in the field amongst the larger communities of fouling organisms is extremely difficult. To this end, we have developed a rapid molecular assay for detecting benthic jellyfish polyps from three scyphozoan genera in the Gulf of Mexico. One of these (Phyllorhiza spp.) is an invasive scyphozoan established in the Gulf of Mexico and is theorized to have been spread worldwide as a fouling organism on the hulls of cargo ships, while the other two (U.S. Chrysaora sp. and Gulf of Mexico Aurelia spp.) are local blooming animals that have shown recent numerical increases in the Gulf of Mexico. This method involves a multiplex Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) assay using Taqman^© probes that can be run on DNA extracted from whole-community scrapings of benthic surfaces, such as boat hulls, dock pilings, oilrigs, and settling plates. Specificity tests indicated that all Taqman^© probes were successful against all individuals of target taxa, but not against 17 non-target local and worldwide scyphozoan and hydrozoan species. Tests showed all probes to be extremely sensitive, reacting to as few as 50 copies of template DNA, with one (Chrysaora sp.) reacting to as few as 10 copies. The assay correctly identified individual polyps of Aurelia sp. and Chrysaora sp. The use of this Taqman^© assay on tissue collected from whole benthic scrapings should allow screening of incoming ships to the Gulf of Mexico for the invasive P. punctata, and locating and studying the cryptic benthic stages of northern Gulf of Mexico jellyfish, which will lead to a better understanding of the overall population distribution and bloom dynamics of medusae.