*Oceans* **2020**, *1*

between concentration of oxybenzone and deformation of symbiotic planulae from the coral *Stylophora pistillata* [4,14]. Oxybenzone has been identified as a phototoxicant, genotoxicant, and a skeletal endocrine disruptor in corals [4].

Hawaii State Legislature will ban the use of oxybenzone in sunscreens on 1 January 2021, due to significant damage to corals (bleaching) and deformation in the larvae [15,16]. The emergence of reef-safe sunscreens and beauty products are a step in the right direction to help reduce the amount of harmful chemicals in the water. Sunscreens with oxybenzone are also banned in Aruba, Bonaire, Key West, Palau, and in the US Virgin Islands.

The current experiments tested a variety of concentrations of oxybenzone on planulae larvae of the jellyfish *Cassiopea xamachana* and *C. frondosa*. These "up-side down" jellyfish are found in warm coastal areas of the world, including the mangrove and seagrass beds of South Florida, the Bahamas, and the Caribbean. The hypothesis is that the aposymbiotic planulae larvae of the jellyfish *C. xamachama* and *C. frondosa* (Figure 1) are negatively affected by exposure to oxybenzone.

**Figure 1.** Life cycle for *Cassiopea* sp. The planula larva (ca. 100 μm long) settles and metamorphoses into a polyp (ca. 0.1–0.3 cm in diameter), which can either reproduce asexually by producing a bud (ca. 0.1 cm long) or by producing a jellyfish (strobilation, ca. 0.5 cm in diameter). The immature jellyfish grows into an adult male or female jellyfish. Female jellyfish produce eggs that combine with the male sperm, developing into planulae to start the cycle again.
