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= Aurelia labiata =

General:
Aurelia labiata is a moon jellyfish, meaning it is a member of the genus Aurelia, in the family Ulmaridae and the Phylum Cnidaria. It is distinct in that it has a fleshy manubrium- something its cousin, the Aurelia aurita, lacks- along with shortened oral arms that come out of the manubrium as opposed to the long tentacles seen on other jellyfish. The Aurelia labiata is found in the Pacific, particularly near the coast of California, far less widespread than its relative, Aurelia aurita. When trying to differentiate between species of Moon Jellyfish, scientists named the Aurelia labiata at one of the earliest stages in taxonomy, as early as 1910 and before.

Physical Description:
As mentioned, Aurelia labiata are often mislabeled as another species of moon jellyfish, Aurelia aurita, which is often used mistakenly to classify any of the moon jellies. The Aurelia labiata is distinct in its fleshy manubrium mentioned above, the four oral arms attached to the manubrium, as well as a 16-scalloped bell margin, and higher number of radial canals in A. labiata. These 16 scallops on the bell are due to secondary notches between rhopalia, which is unique to the A. labiata and gives it double the scalloping of the Aurelia aurita.

Range:
Aurelia labiata are found in the Eastern Pacific Ocean, ranging from San Diego all the way to Prince William Sound in Alaska, and are far less widespread than their close relatives, the Aurelia aurita, allthough there is currently debate about the prevalence of mis-identification of A. labiata as A. aurita. When placed in warmer temperatures, Aurelia aurita and labiata both increased respiration in medusa and polyp stages in a study done with them over five years.

Aurelia labiata have become increasingly studied because they have been seen to thrive in their polyp stage on man-made structures, a phenomenon called "bio-fouling". In their polyp and planula stages, they prefer to live on plastic substrates, which means they may have a severe impact on man-made structures put in their habitat made of these plastics.

Behaviors:
One of the distinctive behaviors of the Aurelia labiata is their vertical migration to avoid predation or respond to cues from their chemoreceptors. Moon jellies will migrate to the top of the water column when disturbed or prodded, but only when the salinity of the water is a high enough rate, at least 20 ppt. When the salinity is too low for the Aurelia labiata, they will not migrate to the surface, even when disturbed.

During reproduction, the moon jellyfish larvae, called planulae, incubate on the manubrium before being released into the water column. Although all Cnidarians have nematocysts, the sting of a moon jelly's nematocysts is not harmful to humans.

Aurelia labiata are also known for their mass aggregations close to shore, numbering in the hundreds and up to millions of jellies, sticking together to avoid predation, mate, or find food near shore.

Feeding:
Aurelia labiata feed on a number of smaller organisms. They have been found to consume large numbers of euphausiids and can deplete euphausiid populations, which makes them heavy competitors with fish populations off the coast of California above Cape Blanco, in the Northern California Current. The moon jellyfish will eat many forms of prey, differentiating their predatory behavior only slightly to accommodate different types of prey; vegetation, animals, and cellulose were captured and digested by the Aurelia labiata without discrimination. Aurelia labiata are also a large driver in population decrease of planktonic species and fish larvae. Aurelia species in general form mass aggregations and were shown to eliminate species biomass of both plankton and ichthyoplankton. They eat copepods and nauplii larvae, and they are often predators of fish species that have significant economic value, reducing population sizes of fish like herring, salmon, and walleye. Aurelia labiata have also been found to prefer and prey on crustaceans, but will eat any zooplankton or larvae small enough.

Predators:
Jellyfish do not seem like good food sources because of their gelatinous structure and high water concentration, but they are a major food source of the leatherback sea turtle, Dermochelys coriacea, who is immune to the toxins jellies release. Recent studies have also found jellyfish may be prey for fish larvae and marine birds. Studies have found that Jellyfish make up a significant portion of the diets of seabirds, such as albatrosses and Mollymawks; in one study, albatrosses were calculated to have consumed water-like prey during 45% of their hunts. Jellyfish are one of the Mola mola's (sunfish) most substantial prey, and recent studies have determined that they will dive to depths of up to 200 meters to feed on pelagic prey, including Siphonophores. A main predator of Scyphozoans is other Scyphozoans.

As polyps, one of the biggest predators of Aurelia labiata is the Nudibranch family, who eats A. labiata and tunicates in large numbers. They help limit the population growth of jellyfish, whose populations have been rapidly expanding in recent years. Nudibranchs thrive on Jellyfish polyps, and the bigger Nudibranchs have been found to eat more elly polyps on average, making them a good option for controlling Jellyfish population sizes.

References:
Albert, David J. “Field Observations of Four Aurelia Labiata Jellyfish Behaviours: Swimming down in Response to Low Salinity Pre-Empted Swimming up in Response to Touch, but Animal and Plant Materials Were Captured Equally.” Hydrobiologia, vol. 736, no. 1, 2014, pp. 61–72., doi:10.1007/s10750-014-1887-4.

Arai, Mary Needler. “Predation on Pelagic Coelenterates: a Review.” Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the UK, vol. 85, no. 3, 2005, pp. 523–536., doi:10.1017/s0025315405011458.

Catry, P, et al. “Foraging Strategies of Grey-Headed Albatrosses Thalassarche Chrysostoma: Integration of Movements, Activity and Feeding Events.” Marine Ecology Progress Series, vol. 280, 2004, pp. 261–273., doi:10.3354/meps280261.

Dawson M.N., Martin L.E. (2001) Geographic variation and ecological adaptation in Aurelia (Scyphozoa, Semaeostomeae): some implications from molecular phylogenetics. In: Purcell J.E., Graham W.M., Dumont H.J. (eds) Jellyfish         Blooms: Ecological and Societal Importance. Developments in Hydrobiology, vol 155. Springer, Dordrecht

Dawson, Michael N (2003). "Macro-morphological variation among cryptic species of the moon jellyfish, Aurelia (Cnidaria: Scyphozoa)". Marine Biology 143 (2): 369–379. doi:10.1007/s00227-003-1070-3.

Gambill, Maria, and Myron A. Peck. “Respiration Rates of the Polyps of Four Jellyfish Species: Potential Thermal Triggers and Limits.” Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology, vol. 459, 2014, pp. 17–22., doi:10.1016/j.jembe.2014.05.005.

Gershwin, Lisa-Ann. “Systematics and Biogeography of the Jellyfish Aurelia Labiata (Cnidaria: Scyphozoa).” The Biological Bulletin, vol. 201, no. 1, 2001, pp. 104–119., doi:10.2307/1543531.

Hoover, Richard A., et al. “Nudibranch Predation and Dietary Preference for the Polyps of Aurelia Labiata (Cnidaria: Scyphozoa).” Hydrobiologia, vol. 690, no. 1, 2012, pp. 199–213., doi:10.1007/s10750-012-1044-x.

Hoover, Richard A., and Jennifer E. Purcell. “Substrate Preferences of Scyphozoan Aurelia Labiata Polyps among Common Dock-Building Materials.” Hydrobiologia, vol. 616, no. 1, 2008, pp. 259–267., doi:10.1007/s10750-008-9595-6.

Houghton, Jonathan D. R., et al. “Jellyfish Aggregations And Leatherback Turtle Foraging Patterns In A Temperate Coastal Environment.” Ecology, vol. 87, no. 8, 2006, pp. 1967–1972., doi:10.1890/0012-9658(2006)87[1967:jaaltf]2.0.co;2.

MacMullan, Chelsea. “Aurelia Labiata (Moon Jellyfish).” ADW: Rhinoceros: CLASSIFICATION, University of Michigan Museum of Zoology, 2005, animaldiversity.org/accounts/Aurelia_labiata/#a26ef5b2cc6e881acdd62d76457ad76d.

Nakamura, Itsumi, et al. “Ocean Sunfish Rewarm at the Surface after Deep Excursions to Forage for Siphonophores.” Journal of Animal Ecology, vol. 84, no. 3, 2015, pp. 590–603., doi:10.1111/1365-2656.12346.

Purcell, Je. “Predation on Zooplankton by Large Jellyfish, Aurelia, Cyanea and Aequorea, in Prince William Sound, Alaska.” Marine Ecology Progress Series, vol. 246, 2003, pp. 137–152., doi:10.3354/meps246137.

Suchman, Cl, et al. “Feeding Patterns and Predation Potential  of Scyphomedusae in a Highly Productive Upwelling Region.” Marine Ecology Progress Series, vol. 358, 2008, pp. 161–172., doi:10.3354/meps07313.

Article Review: Jellyfish Wikipedia Entry

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