Decadal Changes in Hydrozoan Community Structure
Presentation Type
Poster
Faculty Advisor
Paul Bologna
Access Type
Event
Start Date
26-4-2023 1:44 PM
End Date
26-4-2023 2:45 PM
Description
In response to two noticeable blooms in gelatinous zooplankton following Hurricane Sandy and the closure of the Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station, a continual jellyfish community evaluation has been conducted in Barnegat Bay, NJ, since 2012. Plankton tows and lift nets were used at various sites throughout the bay to sample organisms and collect density data. Initially, the community was dominated by the scyphozoan Chrysaora chesapeakei and the ctenophore Mnemiopsis leidyi, both of which contributed to great reductions in other gelatinous species. When Hurricane Sandy struck the western Mid-Atlantic coast in 2012, disturbances to aquatic communities caused a significant decrease in C. chesapeakei densities in subsequent years, resulting in the growth and expansion of numerous hydrozoans species including Turritopsis dohrnii, Nemopsis bachei, Rathkea spp., and Gonionemus vertens. When the Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station was shut down in 2018—whose operation for over 50 years had negatively impacted Barnegat Bay through cooling system mortalities and significant thermal loading—we again saw an emergence of several key hydrozoans including T. dohrnii, as well as other non-native hydrozoans including Eucheilota maculata and Aequora australis; significant increases were especially noted for N. bachei. The combined freedom from predation, and destruction and stress from the power plant has led to the emergence of a robust hydrozoan medusae community in Barnegat Bay. What is unknown is whether the continued recovery of the apex predator C. chesapeakei will cause future declines in the abundance and distribution of hydrozoan medusae.
Decadal Changes in Hydrozoan Community Structure
In response to two noticeable blooms in gelatinous zooplankton following Hurricane Sandy and the closure of the Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station, a continual jellyfish community evaluation has been conducted in Barnegat Bay, NJ, since 2012. Plankton tows and lift nets were used at various sites throughout the bay to sample organisms and collect density data. Initially, the community was dominated by the scyphozoan Chrysaora chesapeakei and the ctenophore Mnemiopsis leidyi, both of which contributed to great reductions in other gelatinous species. When Hurricane Sandy struck the western Mid-Atlantic coast in 2012, disturbances to aquatic communities caused a significant decrease in C. chesapeakei densities in subsequent years, resulting in the growth and expansion of numerous hydrozoans species including Turritopsis dohrnii, Nemopsis bachei, Rathkea spp., and Gonionemus vertens. When the Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station was shut down in 2018—whose operation for over 50 years had negatively impacted Barnegat Bay through cooling system mortalities and significant thermal loading—we again saw an emergence of several key hydrozoans including T. dohrnii, as well as other non-native hydrozoans including Eucheilota maculata and Aequora australis; significant increases were especially noted for N. bachei. The combined freedom from predation, and destruction and stress from the power plant has led to the emergence of a robust hydrozoan medusae community in Barnegat Bay. What is unknown is whether the continued recovery of the apex predator C. chesapeakei will cause future declines in the abundance and distribution of hydrozoan medusae.