Long‐distance horizontal migrations of zooplankton (Scyphomedusae: Mastigias)1

1981/05/01 by William M. Ilamner, Ivan R. Hauri · 1 voice · 7 citations
Earth and Planetary Sciences · Environmental Science · #Coral and Marine Ecosystems Studies #Marine Biology and Ecology Research #Marine Invertebrate Physiology and Ecology

paper · doi:10.4319/lo.1981.26.3.0414

openalex publication_date 1981/05/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/05/21

Abstract

Perennial swarms of sexually immature medusae of the germs Mastigias occur at high densities in three marine lakes in Palau, Western Caroline Islands. Numbers per lake are 1.76 ± 0.10 × 10 5 , 1.61 ± 0.17 × 10 6 , and 4.69 ± 0.51 × 10 6 . Local density within a swarm may exceed 1,000·m ‒2 . Behaviorally generated swarms form in the early morning and late afternoon and are temporarily dispersed by directional horizontal migration of the entire swarm twice a day to opposite ends of the lake. Distance swum each day is up to 1 km, depending on the size of the lake. Compass direction of migration is different in each lake and appears to depend on both light and basin morphometry.

Cited by

• Jellyfish swarms, tourists, and the Christ-child
• Variegated mesocosms as alternatives to shore-based planktonkreisels: notes on the husbandry of jellyfish from marine lakes
• Geographic variation and behavioral evolution in marine plankton: the case of Mastigias (Scyphozoa, Rhizostomeae)
• The physical, chemical, and biological characteristics of a stratified, saline, sulfide lake in Palau1
• STRATIFIED MARINE LAKES OF PALAU (WESTERN CAROLINE ISLANDS)
• Five new subspecies of Mastigias (Scyphozoa: Rhizostomeae: Mastigiidae) from marine lakes, Palau, Micronesia
• Jellyfish Lake [wikipedia]

Discussions

• During the day, spotted jellies and their subspecies the golden jellies swarm at the surface of their lagoons and marine lakes, where they typically swim east to west, following the sun, and then back [bsky, 0 points, 1 comments]