Biodiversity and distribution patterns of blooming jellyfish in the Bohai Sea revealed by eDNA metabarcoding
Abstract Background The mass occurrence of scyphozoan jellyfish severely affects marine ecosystems and coastal economies, and the study of blooming jellyfish population dynamics has emerged in response. However, traditional ecological survey methods required for such research have difficulties in de...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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BMC
2024-03-01
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| Series: | BMC Ecology and Evolution |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12862-024-02224-3 |
| _version_ | 1797247572966899712 |
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| author | Lijing Ye Saijun Peng Yuanqing Ma Wenjing Zhang Lei Wang Xiyan Sun Chen Zhang Munjira Yeasmin Jianmin Zhao Zhijun Dong |
| author_facet | Lijing Ye Saijun Peng Yuanqing Ma Wenjing Zhang Lei Wang Xiyan Sun Chen Zhang Munjira Yeasmin Jianmin Zhao Zhijun Dong |
| author_sort | Lijing Ye |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Background The mass occurrence of scyphozoan jellyfish severely affects marine ecosystems and coastal economies, and the study of blooming jellyfish population dynamics has emerged in response. However, traditional ecological survey methods required for such research have difficulties in detecting cryptic life stages and surveying population dynamics owing to high spatiotemporal variations in their occurrence. The environmental DNA (eDNA) technique is an effective tool for overcoming these limitations. Results In this study, we investigated the biodiversity and spatial distribution characteristics of blooming jellyfish in the Bohai Sea of China using an eDNA metabarcoding approach, which covered the surface, middle, and bottom seawater layers, and sediments. Six jellyfish taxa were identified, of which Aurelia coerulea, Nemopilema nomurai, and Cyanea nozakii were the most dominant. These three blooming jellyfish presented a marked vertical distribution pattern in the offshore regions. A. coerulea was mainly distributed in the surface layer, whereas C. nozakii and N. nomurai showed a upper-middle and middle-bottom aggregation, respectively. Horizontally, A. coerulea and C. nozakii were more abundant in the inshore regions, whereas N. nomurai was mainly distributed offshore. Spearman’s correlation analysis revealed a strong correlation between the eDNA of the three dominant blooming jellyfish species and temperature, salinity, and nutrients. Conclusions Our study confirms the applicability of the eDNA approach to both biodiverstiy evaluation of blooming jellyfish and investigating their spatial distribution, and it can be used as a supplementary tool to traditional survey methods. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-24T20:00:50Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-ead8591ff12c43d08c9e8fd60767d424 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2730-7182 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-24T20:00:50Z |
| publishDate | 2024-03-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | BMC Ecology and Evolution |
| spelling | doaj.art-ead8591ff12c43d08c9e8fd60767d4242024-03-24T12:08:26ZengBMCBMC Ecology and Evolution2730-71822024-03-0124111310.1186/s12862-024-02224-3Biodiversity and distribution patterns of blooming jellyfish in the Bohai Sea revealed by eDNA metabarcodingLijing Ye0Saijun Peng1Yuanqing Ma2Wenjing Zhang3Lei Wang4Xiyan Sun5Chen Zhang6Munjira Yeasmin7Jianmin Zhao8Zhijun Dong9Yantai UniversityMuping Coastal Environment Research Station, Yantai Institute of Coastal Zone Research, Chinese Academy of SciencesShandong Key Laboratory of Marine Ecological Restoration, Shandong Marine Resource and Environment Research InstituteMuping Coastal Environment Research Station, Yantai Institute of Coastal Zone Research, Chinese Academy of SciencesMuping Coastal Environment Research Station, Yantai Institute of Coastal Zone Research, Chinese Academy of SciencesMuping Coastal Environment Research Station, Yantai Institute of Coastal Zone Research, Chinese Academy of SciencesMuping Coastal Environment Research Station, Yantai Institute of Coastal Zone Research, Chinese Academy of SciencesMuping Coastal Environment Research Station, Yantai Institute of Coastal Zone Research, Chinese Academy of SciencesMuping Coastal Environment Research Station, Yantai Institute of Coastal Zone Research, Chinese Academy of SciencesMuping Coastal Environment Research Station, Yantai Institute of Coastal Zone Research, Chinese Academy of SciencesAbstract Background The mass occurrence of scyphozoan jellyfish severely affects marine ecosystems and coastal economies, and the study of blooming jellyfish population dynamics has emerged in response. However, traditional ecological survey methods required for such research have difficulties in detecting cryptic life stages and surveying population dynamics owing to high spatiotemporal variations in their occurrence. The environmental DNA (eDNA) technique is an effective tool for overcoming these limitations. Results In this study, we investigated the biodiversity and spatial distribution characteristics of blooming jellyfish in the Bohai Sea of China using an eDNA metabarcoding approach, which covered the surface, middle, and bottom seawater layers, and sediments. Six jellyfish taxa were identified, of which Aurelia coerulea, Nemopilema nomurai, and Cyanea nozakii were the most dominant. These three blooming jellyfish presented a marked vertical distribution pattern in the offshore regions. A. coerulea was mainly distributed in the surface layer, whereas C. nozakii and N. nomurai showed a upper-middle and middle-bottom aggregation, respectively. Horizontally, A. coerulea and C. nozakii were more abundant in the inshore regions, whereas N. nomurai was mainly distributed offshore. Spearman’s correlation analysis revealed a strong correlation between the eDNA of the three dominant blooming jellyfish species and temperature, salinity, and nutrients. Conclusions Our study confirms the applicability of the eDNA approach to both biodiverstiy evaluation of blooming jellyfish and investigating their spatial distribution, and it can be used as a supplementary tool to traditional survey methods.https://doi.org/10.1186/s12862-024-02224-3Environmental DNA metabarcodingJellyfish bloomBiodiversitySpatial distribution |
| spellingShingle | Lijing Ye Saijun Peng Yuanqing Ma Wenjing Zhang Lei Wang Xiyan Sun Chen Zhang Munjira Yeasmin Jianmin Zhao Zhijun Dong Biodiversity and distribution patterns of blooming jellyfish in the Bohai Sea revealed by eDNA metabarcoding BMC Ecology and Evolution Environmental DNA metabarcoding Jellyfish bloom Biodiversity Spatial distribution |
| title | Biodiversity and distribution patterns of blooming jellyfish in the Bohai Sea revealed by eDNA metabarcoding |
| title_full | Biodiversity and distribution patterns of blooming jellyfish in the Bohai Sea revealed by eDNA metabarcoding |
| title_fullStr | Biodiversity and distribution patterns of blooming jellyfish in the Bohai Sea revealed by eDNA metabarcoding |
| title_full_unstemmed | Biodiversity and distribution patterns of blooming jellyfish in the Bohai Sea revealed by eDNA metabarcoding |
| title_short | Biodiversity and distribution patterns of blooming jellyfish in the Bohai Sea revealed by eDNA metabarcoding |
| title_sort | biodiversity and distribution patterns of blooming jellyfish in the bohai sea revealed by edna metabarcoding |
| topic | Environmental DNA metabarcoding Jellyfish bloom Biodiversity Spatial distribution |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12862-024-02224-3 |
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