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Animals
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Ecology, Evolution, and Systematics of Medusozoa (Aka Jellyfish)
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Ecology, Evolution, and Systematics of Medusozoa (Aka Jellyfish)

A special issue of Animals (ISSN 2076-2615).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 July 2022) | Viewed by 29681

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Cheryl Lewis Ames

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan
Interests: behavior, ecology, evolution and systematics of jellyfish; box jellyfish
Dr. Aki Ohdera

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Division of Biology and Biological Engineering, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA
Interests: cnidarian-dinoflagellate symbiosis, gene regulatory network evolution; development; medusozoan genetics; metamorphosis; bacteria-host interaction; regeneration
Dr. Sho Toshino

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Kuroshio Biological Research Foundation, Japan
Interests: jellyfish (medusozoan) systematics; box jellyfish (medusozoan) venom; vision and reproduction; life cycle; development; nematocyst; taxonomy of Medusozoa

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Over two thousand species have been described in the Cnidaria subphylum Medusozoa (aka jellyfish). Remarkably, despite lacking a brain, some jellyfish have evolved the ability to kill a human in minutes, leading to their reputation as a nuisance to beachgoers. This perception is ironic because even in all their splendor, intrigue, and diversity of body form, most medusozoans never exhibit a free-swimming medusae stage during their life history. Having diverged over 600 mya and adapted to a plethora of aquatic habitats worldwide, pest or not, jellyfish are here to stay. In their defense, jellyfish are a crucial component of our oceans (and some freshwater environments), and are essential to the commercial fisheries and biomedical industries. Therefore, we must find a way to coexist with these ancient marine organisms.

We welcome original research articles, reviews, commentaries, data papers, and the like to address the topic of the ecology, evolution, and systematics of Medusozoans (Jellyfish).

Topics may include broadly: 1. Jellyfish Ecology: Aggregations linked to reproduction, unconventional monitoring methods, Arctic and other extreme habitats, symbiosis, blooms, jellyfish zooplankton, proliferations, microbiome, environmental DNA (eDNA); 2. Jellyfish Evolution: Novelties, gene function, genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, regeneration, polychromatism, biomechanics, or 3. Jellyfish Systematics: Taxonomic revisions, new species descriptions, phylogenetics, distribution, life cycle. 4. Other: Please contact us to inquire about other topics.

We look forward to your submission.

Dr. Cheryl Lewis Ames
Dr. Aki Ohdera
Dr. Sho Toshino
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Animals is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • coastal management
  • life cycle
  • genomics
  • evolution
  • phylogenetics
  • new species
  • regeneration invasions
  • blooms
  • extreme habitats
  • proteomics
  • gene function
  • eDNA (environmental DNA)

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Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

15 pages, 6177 KiB  
Article
Leveraging Public Data to Predict Global Niches and Distributions of Rhizostome Jellyfishes
by Colin Jeffrey Anthony, Kei Chloe Tan, Kylie Anne Pitt, Bastian Bentlage and Cheryl Lewis Ames
Animals 2023, 13(10), 1591; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani13101591 - 9 May 2023
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2818
Abstract
As climate change progresses rapidly, biodiversity declines, and ecosystems shift, it is becoming increasingly difficult to document dynamic populations, track fluctuations, and predict responses to climate change. Concurrently, publicly available databases and tools are improving scientific accessibility, increasing collaboration, and generating more data [...] Read more.
As climate change progresses rapidly, biodiversity declines, and ecosystems shift, it is becoming increasingly difficult to document dynamic populations, track fluctuations, and predict responses to climate change. Concurrently, publicly available databases and tools are improving scientific accessibility, increasing collaboration, and generating more data than ever before. One of the most successful projects is iNaturalist, an AI-driven social network doubling as a public database designed to allow citizen scientists to report personal biodiversity reports with accuracy. iNaturalist is especially useful for the research of rare, dangerous, and charismatic organisms, but requires better integration into the marine system. Despite their abundance and ecological relevance, there are few long-term, high-sample datasets for jellyfish, which makes management difficult. To provide some high-sample datasets and demonstrate the utility of publicly collected data, we synthesized two global datasets for ten genera of jellyfishes in the order Rhizostomeae containing 8412 curated datapoints from both iNaturalist (n = 7807) and the published literature (n = 605). We then used these reports in conjunction with publicly available environmental data to predict global niche partitioning and distributions. Initial niche models inferred that only two of ten genera have distinct niche spaces; however, the application of machine learning-based random forest models suggests genus-specific variation in the relevance of abiotic environmental variables used to predict jellyfish occurrence. Our approach to incorporating reports from the literature with iNaturalist data helped evaluate the quality of the models and, more importantly, the quality of the underlying data. We find that free, accessible online data is valuable, yet subject to biases through limited taxonomic, geographic, and environmental resolution. To improve data resolution, and in turn its informative power, we recommend increasing global participation through collaboration with experts, public figures, and hobbyists in underrepresented regions capable of implementing regionally coordinated projects. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ecology, Evolution, and Systematics of Medusozoa (Aka Jellyfish))
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15 pages, 2857 KiB  
Article
Octorhopalona saltatrix, a New Genus and Species (Hydrozoa, Anthoathecata) from Japanese Waters
by Sho Toshino, Gaku Yamamoto and Shinsuke Saito
Animals 2022, 12(13), 1600; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani12131600 - 21 Jun 2022
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 3683
Abstract
Approximately 300 species of cnidarian jellyfish have been reported in Japanese waters. However, many specimens remain unidentified. In this study, taxonomic investigations, including morphological observations and molecular 16S phylogenetic analyses, were conducted on unknown specimens collected off Oarai, Sagami Bay, and Tosa Bay, [...] Read more.
Approximately 300 species of cnidarian jellyfish have been reported in Japanese waters. However, many specimens remain unidentified. In this study, taxonomic investigations, including morphological observations and molecular 16S phylogenetic analyses, were conducted on unknown specimens collected off Oarai, Sagami Bay, and Tosa Bay, Japan. The specimens have the following morphological characteristics: distinct peaks in jelly above the base of the manubrium, a red band on the manubrium, and cylindrical marginal bulbs, each with an abaxial ocellus that is common to the family Halimedusidae. However, the specimens can be distinguished from other Halimedusidae species by their eight radial canals, eight tentacles with numerous stalked nematocyst knobs, and eight nematocyst tracks on the exumbrella. Moreover, molecular phylogenetic analyses revealed that the Kimura two-parameter distance between the specimens and other Halimedusa species was 0.066–0.099, which is considered to represent intergeneric variability. Based on this result, we described it as a new species and established a new genus for taxonomic stabilization. We also emended the diagnostic characters of the family Halimedusidae owing to the establishment of the new genus. Halimedusidae comprises five species in four genera. This paper provides taxonomic keys for the identification of species in the family Halimedusidae. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ecology, Evolution, and Systematics of Medusozoa (Aka Jellyfish))
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21 pages, 66122 KiB  
Article
Atolla reynoldsi sp. nov. (Cnidaria, Scyphozoa, Coronatae, Atollidae): A New Species of Coronate Scyphozoan Found in the Eastern North Pacific Ocean
by George I. Matsumoto, Lynne M. Christianson, Bruce H. Robison, Steven H. D. Haddock and Shannon B. Johnson
Animals 2022, 12(6), 742; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani12060742 - 16 Mar 2022
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 10727
Abstract
We have observed and collected unusual specimens of what we recognize as undescribed types of the genus Atolla over the past 15 years. Of these, there appear to be three potentially different types. One of these has now been genetically sequenced and compared [...] Read more.
We have observed and collected unusual specimens of what we recognize as undescribed types of the genus Atolla over the past 15 years. Of these, there appear to be three potentially different types. One of these has now been genetically sequenced and compared both morphologically and molecularly with five other Atolla species that have been found in the eastern Pacific. This new variant is so morphologically distinct from other previously described Atolla species that we believe it can be described as a new species, Atolla reynoldsi sp. nov. This species along with two additional types may comprise a new genus. It is also clear that a more accurate and diagnostic morphological key for the genus Atolla needs to be developed. This paper will also provide some potential starting points for a new key to the genus. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ecology, Evolution, and Systematics of Medusozoa (Aka Jellyfish))
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11 pages, 2316 KiB  
Communication
Raising Awareness of the Severity of “Contactless Stings” by Cassiopea Jellyfish and Kin
by Kaden McKenzie Muffett, Anna M. L. Klompen, Allen G. Collins and Cheryl Lewis Ames
Animals 2021, 11(12), 3357; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani11123357 - 24 Nov 2021
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 3355
Abstract
Discussion around avoidance and mitigation of jellyfish stings has traditionally focused on swimmers and divers being mindful of their behavior relative to swimming medusae (pelagic jellyfish). This framework must be restructured with the inclusion of the oblique risk posed by novel autonomous stinging [...] Read more.
Discussion around avoidance and mitigation of jellyfish stings has traditionally focused on swimmers and divers being mindful of their behavior relative to swimming medusae (pelagic jellyfish). This framework must be restructured with the inclusion of the oblique risk posed by novel autonomous stinging structures like cassiosomes from Cassiopea (a jellyfish genus of the taxonomic order Rhizostomeae). Cassiosomes are released by Cassiopea sp. into subtropical waters that can consequently sting human skin, causing varying degrees of pain and irritation; this trait extends to other rhizostome jellyfish species. Swimmers and waders may put themselves at risk simply by coming into contact with agitated water in the vicinity of Cassiopea medusae, even without touching any part of the jellyfish (medusa, tentacles, or otherwise). Herein, we highlight details provided by 46 researchers and professional aquarists reporting incidents in which they experienced “stinging water” sensations, which we also refer to as “contactless stings’’. We report these findings in order to increase the awareness of a public safety hazard the community may be unaware of in their own labs, aquariums, and sampling locations. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ecology, Evolution, and Systematics of Medusozoa (Aka Jellyfish))
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16 pages, 3090 KiB  
Article
Life Cycle of Edible Jellyfish Acromitus hardenbergi Stiasny, 1934 (Scyphozoa: Rhizostomeae) Inhabiting a Brackish-Water Environment
by Hiroshi Miyake, Shiho Honda, Jun Nishikawa and Fatimah Md. Yusoff
Animals 2021, 11(7), 2138; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani11072138 - 20 Jul 2021
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 4812
Abstract
The edible jellyfish Acromitus hardenbergi Stiasny, 1934 is harvested throughout the year at the mouth of the Perak River, Malaysia. Although this species is an important fishery resource in the local area, limited biological studies have been carried out on it. The aim [...] Read more.
The edible jellyfish Acromitus hardenbergi Stiasny, 1934 is harvested throughout the year at the mouth of the Perak River, Malaysia. Although this species is an important fishery resource in the local area, limited biological studies have been carried out on it. The aim of the present study was to elucidate the life cycle of this unique brackish-water jellyfish in order to conserve the species and develop sustainable jellyfish fisheries. Mature medusae were collected at the mouth of the Perak River. Embryonic and larval development after fertilization was completed within 24 h until the planula stage and within 48 h until the polyp stage. Primary polyps had a long stalk with a small stolon at the base of the calyx. Fully developed polyps were bowl-or goblet-shaped but became an elongated stalk under starved conditions. Asexual reproduction was accomplished only by means of budding, and no podocysts were produced. Strobilation was mono-disc type. These characteristics may be adaptations to the dynamic environmental conditions in the estuary of the Perak River, where salinity fluctuates widely due to strong inflows of highly turbid freshwater coupled with tidal changes. This study suggests that polyps of A. hardenbergi expand their population not by podocysts, but by budding as quickly as possible and forming one large ephyra by mono-disc strobilation without the residuum, because the polyp cannot remain for a long time at its settlement place in the sediment-rich environment with drastic salinity change. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ecology, Evolution, and Systematics of Medusozoa (Aka Jellyfish))
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