Sensory ecology of scyphomedusae

The sensory ecology of scyphomedusae is a subject ripe for investigation. There are sensory structures for which there is no experimental evidence of function, there are behavioral performances for which there are no demonstrated sense organs, and there are behaviors for which there are no adaptive explanations. Scyphomedusae are diploblastic animals with a primitive level of neurological complexity, yet they exhibit a wide range of complex and sophisticated behaviors, such as sun compass navigation and daily horizontal migrations. This paper reviews the sensory ecology of orientation and migratory behavior in scyphomedusae, with an emphasis on data from Aurelia aurita. Adaptive explanations for complex behavior of individuals must be evaluated at the population level in order to assess their ecological importance.