Date of Award

5-2024

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

College/School

College of Science and Mathematics

Department/Program

Marine Biology and Coastal Sciences

Thesis Sponsor/Dissertation Chair/Project Chair

Paul A. X. Bologna

Committee Member

Kirsten Monsen

Committee Member

Matthew Schuler

Abstract

Jellyfish blooms have gained increased attention in recent decades due to their negative impacts on ecosystems and human activities. Urban development, pollution, and overfishing are some of many possible impacts that can bolster the frequency, duration, and intensity of jellyfish blooms. In Barnegat Bay, NJ, USA, the invasive bay nettle Chrysaora chesapeakei exerts top-down predation pressure on zooplankton, including ctenophores, hydrozoans, crustaceans, and ichthyoplankton. Bay nettle populations rely on hard substrates for larval settlement and polyp clonal growth. To determine whether abatement efforts targeted at bay nettle polyps can disrupt the life cycle and limit medusae populations, a three-year sampling project was conducted between June 2021 and August 2023. Scrubbing efforts to remove bay nettle polyps were conducted at two sites, while a third site was used as a control without scrubbing. One year after polyp removal efforts began, there were significantly fewer ephyrae present in the scrubbed lagoons when compared to the control, as well as a significant reduction in ephyrae density from pre-scrubbing to post-scrubbing. No significant decreases of adult medusae were observed at any site, likely due to the mobility of medusae generated from polyps located throughout these interconnected lagoon communities, despite the local reductions in ephyrae. As such, to fully mitigate medusae blooms of C. chesapeakei in lagoon developments, a community effort is needed to disrupt the polyp life-history stage and achieve mitigative goals. Nonetheless, the significant decreases observed in ephyrae densities demonstrate the efficacy of dock and bulkhead scrubbing in reducing C. chesapeakei populations.

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