The diet of cubomedusae (cnidaria, cubozoa) in southern Brazil

Nogueira Júnior, Miodeli; Haddad, Maria Angélica

Abstracts

The diet of cubomedusae Tamoya haplonema Müller, 1859 (Carybdeidae) and Chiropsalmus quadrumanus (Müller, 1859) (Chirodropidae) was examined in specimens collected on the Southern Brazilian coast (25º20' - 25º55'S; 48º10' - 48º35'W), between December 1998 and December 2004. This is the first study to analyze this biological aspect in cubomedusae from the South Atlantic. The gastrovascular cavities of most (55%; n = 29) specimens of T. haplonema were empty while the remainder had teleosteans parts such as scales, vertebrae and otoliths. In C. quadrumanus (n = 726), the most important items were the pelagic sergestid shrimp Peisos petrunkevitchi Burkenroad, 1945 and Brachyura larvae, mainly megalops. Small crabs, isopods, fish, fish eggs and nematodes were less common. A dietary shift was clearly observed during C. quadrumanus growth. Smaller individuals consumed a greater variety of prey, mostly Brachyura larvae, and they also had higher frequencies of empty stomachs. As their size increased, megalopas decreased and P. petrunkevitchi became the most important item in their diet.

Chiropsalmus quadrumanus; Feeding biology; Jellyfish; Medusae; Ontogenetic dietary shift; Tamoya haplonema

A dieta das cubomedusas Tamoya haplonema Müller, 1859 (Carybdeidae) e Chiropsalmus quadrumanus (Müller, 1859) (Chirodropidae) foi analisada em espécimes coletados no litoral do Paraná (25º20' - 25º55'S; 48º10' - 48º35'W), sul do Brasil, entre dezembro de 1998 e dezembro de 2004, e é o primeiro estudo a abordar este aspecto da biologia de Cubozoa no Atlântico Sul. A cavidade gastrovascular da maioria (55%) dos 29 exemplares de T. haplonema mostrou-se vazia, e dos demais continha partes corporais de peixes teleósteos, como escamas, vértebras e otólitos. Em 726 exemplares de C. quadrumanus os itens alimentares mais importantes foram o camarão sergestídeo Peisos petrunkevitchi Burkenroad, 1945 e larvas de Brachyura, principalmente megalopas. Pequenos caranguejos, isópodes, peixes, ovos de peixes e nematóides foram menos comuns. Mudanças na dieta evidenciaram-se durante o crescimento de C. quadrumanus. Indivíduos menores alimentaram-se de maior variedade de presas, principalmente de larvas de Brachyura, e também apresentaram freqüência mais alta de estômagos vazios. À medida que cresciam, a ingestão de larvas diminuía de importância enquanto a do camarão P. petrunkevitchi aumentava, até este se tornar o principal item na dieta da espécie.

Água-viva; Biologia alimentar; Chiropsalmus quadrumanus; Medusa; Mudança ontogenética; Tamoya haplonema

ARAI, M. N. A functional biology of Scyphozoa London: Chapman & Hall, 1997. 316 p.
ARNESON, A. C.; CUTRESS, C. E. Life history of Carybdea alata Reynaud, 1830 (Cubomedusae). In: MACKIE, G.O. (Ed.) Coelenterate ecology and behavior New York: Plenunm Press, 1976. p. 227-236.
BAMSTEDT, U. Trophodinamycs of the scyphomedusae Aurelia aurita Predation rate in relation to abundance, size and type of prey organism. J. Plankt. Res, v. 12, n.1, p. 215-229, 1990.
BUSKEY, E. J. Behavioral adaptations of the cubozoan medusa Tripedalia cystophora for feeding on copepod (Dioithona oculata) swarms. Mar. Biol, v. 142, p. 225232, 2003.
CARRETTE, T.; ALDERSLADE, P.; SEYMOUR, J. Nematocyst and prey in two Australian cubomedusans, Chironex fleckeri and Chiropsalmus sp. Toxicon, v. 40, p. 1547-1551, 2002.
COATES, M. M. Visual ecology and functional morphology of Cubozoa (Cnidaria). Integr. comp. Biol, v. 43, p. 542-548, 2003.
COLIN, S. P.; COSTELLO, J. H. Morphology, swimming performance and propulsive mode of six co-occurring hydromedusae. J. exp. Biol, v. 205, p. 427-437, 2002.
COLIN, S. P.; COSTELLO, J. H.; KLOS, E. In situ swimming and feeding behavior of eigth co-occurring hydromedusae. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser,v. 253, p. 305309, 2003.
COSTA, R. C.; FRANSOZO, A.; MELO, G. A. S.; FREIRE, F. A. M. Chave ilustrada para identificação dos camarões Dendrobranchiata do litoral norte do estado de São Paulo, Brasil. Biota Neotrop,v. 3, n. 1, p. 1-12, 2003.
CORRÊA, D. D. Os celenterados estudados por Fritz Müller. Ciência Cult, S Paulo, v. 18, n. 4, p. 382-383, 1966.
COSTELLO, J. H.; COLIN, S.P. Prey resource use by coexistent hydromedusae from Friday Harbor, Washington. Limnol. Oceanogr, v. 47, n.4, p. 934-942, 2002.
FRANC, A. Classe des Scyphozoaires. In: GRASSE, P.P. ; DOUMENC, D. (Ed.). Traité de Zoologie, Anatomie, Systématique, Biologie Tome III, Fascicule 2. Paris : Masson, 1994. p. 596 - 884.
GOY, J. Campagne de la Calypso au large des côtes atlantiques de l'Amérique du sud (1961-1962). Méduses. In : Résultats Scientifiques des Campagnes de la Calypso, 11, p. 263-296, 1979.
GUEST, W. C. The occurrence of the jellyfish Chiropsalmus quadrumanus in Matagorda bay, Texas. Bull. mar. Sci. of the Gulf and Carib, v. 9, n.1, p. 79-83, 1959.
HADDAD, M. A. Cnidaria. In: RIBEIRO-COSTA, C.S. ; ROCHA, R.M. (Ed.). Invertebrados: manual de aulas práticas Ribeirão Preto:Holos, p. 25-50, 2002.
HADDAD JR, V.; SILVEIRA, F. L.; CARDOSO, J. C. L.;MORANDINI, A. C. A report of 49 cases of Cnidarian envenoming from southeastern Brazilian Coastal Waters. Toxicon v. 40, p. 1445-1450, 2002.
HAMNER, W. M.; JONES, M. S. ; HAMNER, P. P. Swimming, feeding, circulation and vision in the Australian box jellyfish Chironex fleckeri (Cnidaria: Cubozoa). Mar. freshwat. Res, v. 46, p. 985-990, 1995.
HARTWICK, R. F. Observations on the anatomy, behaviour, reproduction and life cycle of the cubozoan Carybdea sivickisi Hydrobiologia, n. 216/217, p. 171-179, 1991a.
HARTWICK, R. F. Distributional ecology and behaviour of the early life estages of the box-jellyfish Chironex fleckeri Hydrobiologia, v. 216/217, p. 181-180, 1991b.
KRAMP, P. L. The medusae of the tropical west coast of Africa. Atlantide Rept, v. 3, p. 239-325, 1955.
KRAMP, P. L. Synopsis of the Medusae of the World. J. mar. biol. Ass. U.K., v. 40, n. 1-469, 1961.
LARSON, R. J. Cubomedusa: feeding - functional morphology, behavior and phylogenetic Position. In: MACKIE, G.O. (Ed.). Coelenterate ecology and behavior New York: Plenunm Press, 1976. p. 237-245.
MAYER, A. G. The medusae of the world, III: The Scyphomedusae. Washington: Carnegie Institution, 1910. p. 499-735.
MIANZAN, H. M.; CORNELIUS, P. F. S. Scyphomedusae and Cubomedusae of the south Atlantic. In: BOLTOVSKOY, D. (Ed.). South Atlantic Zooplankton, Vol. 1. Leiden: SPB Academic Publishing, 1999. p. 513-559.
MILLS, C. E. Diversity of swimming behaviors in hydromedusae as related to feeding and utilization of space. Mar. Biol, v. 64, p. 185-189, 1981.
MORANDINI, A. C. Deep-Sea medusae (Cnidaria: Cubozoa, Hydrozoa and Scyphozoa) from the coast of Bahia (western South Atlantic, Brazil). Mitt. Hamb. Zool. Mus. Inst, v. 100, p. 13-25, 2003.
MORANDINI, A .C.; ASCHER, D.; STAMPAR, S. N. ; FERREIRA, J. F. V. Cubozoa e Scyphozoa (Cnidaria: Medusozoa) de águas costeiras do Brasil. Iheringia, Sér. Zool, v. 95, n. 3, p. 281-294, 2005.
MORANDINI, A.C.; SOARES, M.O.; MATTHEWSCASCON, H.; MARQUES, A. C. A survey of the Scyphozoa and Cubozoa (Cnidaria, Medusozoa) from the Ceará coast (NE Brazil). Biota Neotrop, v. 6, n. 2, p. 18, 2006.
NOGUEIRA JÚNIOR, M.; HADDAD, M. A. Macromedusae (Cnidaria) from the Paraná Coast, Southern Brazil. J. coast. Res, SI 39 , p. 1161-1164, 2006a. (Proceedings of the Intern. Coastal Symposium, 8.
NOGUEIRA JÚNIOR, M.; HADDAD, M. A. Relações de tamanho e peso das grandes medusas (Cnidaria) no do Paraná, sul do Brasil. Rvta. Bras. Zool, v. 23, n. 4, p. 1231-1234, 2006b.
OBA, A.; HIDAKA, M.; IWANAGA, S. Nematocyst composition of the cubomedusan Chiropsalmus quadrigatus changes with growth. Hydrobiologia, n. 530/531, p. 173-177, 2004.
OLESEN, N. J.; FRANDSEN, K.; RIISGARD, H. U. Population dynamics, growth and energetics of jellyfish Aurelia aurita in a shallow fjord. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser, v. 105, p. 9-18, 1994.
PAGES, F.; GILI, J-M. ; BOUILLON, J. Medusae (Hydrozoa, Scyphozoa, Cubozoa) of the Benguela Current (southeastern Atlantic). Sci. Mar, v. 56, n. 1,p. 1-64, 1992.
PASTORINO, G. New record of the cubomedusae Tamoya haplonema Müller, 1859 (Cnidaria: Scyphozoa) in the South Atlantic. Bull. mar. Sci,v. 68, n. 2, p.357-360, 2001.
PHILLIPS, P. J.; BURKE, W. D. The occurrence of sea wasps (Cubomedusae) in Mississippi sound in the northern Gulf of Mexico. Bull. mar. Sci, v. 20, n.4, p. 853-859, 1970.
PHILLIPS, P. J.; BURKE, W. D.; KEENER, E. . Observations on the trophic significance of jellyfishes in Mississipi Sound with quantitative data on the associative behavior of small fishes with medusae. Trans. Am. Fish. Soc, v. 4, p. 703 - 712, 1969.
SEYMOUR, J. E.; CARRETTE, T. J. ; SUTHERLAND, P. A. Do box jellyfish sleep at night? Med. J. Aust, v. 181, n. 11/12, p. 707, 2003.
VANNUCCI, M. Hydrozoa e Scyphozoa existentes no Instituto Oceanográfico II. Bolm Inst. ocean., S Paulo, v. 5, n.1/2, p. 95-148, 1954.
VANNUCCI, M. Distribuição de Scyphozoa nas costas do Brasil. An. Acad. Bras. Ciênc, v. 29, p. 593-598, 1957.
YOUNGBLUTH, M.J.; BAMSTEDT, U. Distribution, behavior and metabolism of Periphylla periphylla a mesopelagic coronate medusa in a Norwegian fjord. Hydrobiologia, n. 451, p. 321-333, 2001.

Publication Dates

Publication in this collection
25 Sept 2008
Date of issue
Sept 2008

History

Accepted
12 Dec 2007
Received
24 Oct 2005
Reviewed
05 May 2006

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

[1] ARAI, M. N. A functional biology of Scyphozoa London: Chapman & Hall, 1997. 316 p.

[2] ARNESON, A. C.; CUTRESS, C. E. Life history of Carybdea alata Reynaud, 1830 (Cubomedusae). In: MACKIE, G.O. (Ed.) Coelenterate ecology and behavior New York: Plenunm Press, 1976. p. 227-236.

[3] BAMSTEDT, U. Trophodinamycs of the scyphomedusae Aurelia aurita Predation rate in relation to abundance, size and type of prey organism. J. Plankt. Res, v. 12, n.1, p. 215-229, 1990.

[4] BUSKEY, E. J. Behavioral adaptations of the cubozoan medusa Tripedalia cystophora for feeding on copepod (Dioithona oculata) swarms. Mar. Biol, v. 142, p. 225232, 2003.

[5] CARRETTE, T.; ALDERSLADE, P.; SEYMOUR, J. Nematocyst and prey in two Australian cubomedusans, Chironex fleckeri and Chiropsalmus sp. Toxicon, v. 40, p. 1547-1551, 2002.

[6] COATES, M. M. Visual ecology and functional morphology of Cubozoa (Cnidaria). Integr. comp. Biol, v. 43, p. 542-548, 2003.

[7] COLIN, S. P.; COSTELLO, J. H. Morphology, swimming performance and propulsive mode of six co-occurring hydromedusae. J. exp. Biol, v. 205, p. 427-437, 2002.

[8] COLIN, S. P.; COSTELLO, J. H.; KLOS, E. In situ swimming and feeding behavior of eigth co-occurring hydromedusae. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser,v. 253, p. 305309, 2003.

[9] COSTA, R. C.; FRANSOZO, A.; MELO, G. A. S.; FREIRE, F. A. M. Chave ilustrada para identificação dos camarões Dendrobranchiata do litoral norte do estado de São Paulo, Brasil. Biota Neotrop,v. 3, n. 1, p. 1-12, 2003.

[10] CORRÊA, D. D. Os celenterados estudados por Fritz Müller. Ciência Cult, S Paulo, v. 18, n. 4, p. 382-383, 1966.

[11] COSTELLO, J. H.; COLIN, S.P. Prey resource use by coexistent hydromedusae from Friday Harbor, Washington. Limnol. Oceanogr, v. 47, n.4, p. 934-942, 2002.

[12] FRANC, A. Classe des Scyphozoaires. In: GRASSE, P.P. ; DOUMENC, D. (Ed.). Traité de Zoologie, Anatomie, Systématique, Biologie Tome III, Fascicule 2. Paris : Masson, 1994. p. 596 - 884.

[13] GOY, J. Campagne de la Calypso au large des côtes atlantiques de l'Amérique du sud (1961-1962). Méduses. In : Résultats Scientifiques des Campagnes de la Calypso, 11, p. 263-296, 1979.

[14] GUEST, W. C. The occurrence of the jellyfish Chiropsalmus quadrumanus in Matagorda bay, Texas. Bull. mar. Sci. of the Gulf and Carib, v. 9, n.1, p. 79-83, 1959.

[15] HADDAD, M. A. Cnidaria. In: RIBEIRO-COSTA, C.S. ; ROCHA, R.M. (Ed.). Invertebrados: manual de aulas práticas Ribeirão Preto:Holos, p. 25-50, 2002.

[16] HADDAD JR, V.; SILVEIRA, F. L.; CARDOSO, J. C. L.;MORANDINI, A. C. A report of 49 cases of Cnidarian envenoming from southeastern Brazilian Coastal Waters. Toxicon v. 40, p. 1445-1450, 2002.

[17] HAMNER, W. M.; JONES, M. S. ; HAMNER, P. P. Swimming, feeding, circulation and vision in the Australian box jellyfish Chironex fleckeri (Cnidaria: Cubozoa). Mar. freshwat. Res, v. 46, p. 985-990, 1995.

[18] HARTWICK, R. F. Observations on the anatomy, behaviour, reproduction and life cycle of the cubozoan Carybdea sivickisi Hydrobiologia, n. 216/217, p. 171-179, 1991a.

[19] HARTWICK, R. F. Distributional ecology and behaviour of the early life estages of the box-jellyfish Chironex fleckeri Hydrobiologia, v. 216/217, p. 181-180, 1991b.

[20] KRAMP, P. L. The medusae of the tropical west coast of Africa. Atlantide Rept, v. 3, p. 239-325, 1955.

[21] KRAMP, P. L. Synopsis of the Medusae of the World. J. mar. biol. Ass. U.K., v. 40, n. 1-469, 1961.

[22] LARSON, R. J. Cubomedusa: feeding - functional morphology, behavior and phylogenetic Position. In: MACKIE, G.O. (Ed.). Coelenterate ecology and behavior New York: Plenunm Press, 1976. p. 237-245.

[23] MAYER, A. G. The medusae of the world, III: The Scyphomedusae. Washington: Carnegie Institution, 1910. p. 499-735.

[24] MIANZAN, H. M.; CORNELIUS, P. F. S. Scyphomedusae and Cubomedusae of the south Atlantic. In: BOLTOVSKOY, D. (Ed.). South Atlantic Zooplankton, Vol. 1. Leiden: SPB Academic Publishing, 1999. p. 513-559.

[25] MILLS, C. E. Diversity of swimming behaviors in hydromedusae as related to feeding and utilization of space. Mar. Biol, v. 64, p. 185-189, 1981.

[26] MORANDINI, A. C. Deep-Sea medusae (Cnidaria: Cubozoa, Hydrozoa and Scyphozoa) from the coast of Bahia (western South Atlantic, Brazil). Mitt. Hamb. Zool. Mus. Inst, v. 100, p. 13-25, 2003.

[27] MORANDINI, A .C.; ASCHER, D.; STAMPAR, S. N. ; FERREIRA, J. F. V. Cubozoa e Scyphozoa (Cnidaria: Medusozoa) de águas costeiras do Brasil. Iheringia, Sér. Zool, v. 95, n. 3, p. 281-294, 2005.

[28] MORANDINI, A.C.; SOARES, M.O.; MATTHEWSCASCON, H.; MARQUES, A. C. A survey of the Scyphozoa and Cubozoa (Cnidaria, Medusozoa) from the Ceará coast (NE Brazil). Biota Neotrop, v. 6, n. 2, p. 18, 2006.

[29] NOGUEIRA JÚNIOR, M.; HADDAD, M. A. Macromedusae (Cnidaria) from the Paraná Coast, Southern Brazil. J. coast. Res, SI 39 , p. 1161-1164, 2006a. (Proceedings of the Intern. Coastal Symposium, 8.

[30] NOGUEIRA JÚNIOR, M.; HADDAD, M. A. Relações de tamanho e peso das grandes medusas (Cnidaria) no do Paraná, sul do Brasil. Rvta. Bras. Zool, v. 23, n. 4, p. 1231-1234, 2006b.

[31] OBA, A.; HIDAKA, M.; IWANAGA, S. Nematocyst composition of the cubomedusan Chiropsalmus quadrigatus changes with growth. Hydrobiologia, n. 530/531, p. 173-177, 2004.

[32] OLESEN, N. J.; FRANDSEN, K.; RIISGARD, H. U. Population dynamics, growth and energetics of jellyfish Aurelia aurita in a shallow fjord. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser, v. 105, p. 9-18, 1994.

[33] PAGES, F.; GILI, J-M. ; BOUILLON, J. Medusae (Hydrozoa, Scyphozoa, Cubozoa) of the Benguela Current (southeastern Atlantic). Sci. Mar, v. 56, n. 1,p. 1-64, 1992.

[34] PASTORINO, G. New record of the cubomedusae Tamoya haplonema Müller, 1859 (Cnidaria: Scyphozoa) in the South Atlantic. Bull. mar. Sci,v. 68, n. 2, p.357-360, 2001.

[35] PHILLIPS, P. J.; BURKE, W. D. The occurrence of sea wasps (Cubomedusae) in Mississippi sound in the northern Gulf of Mexico. Bull. mar. Sci, v. 20, n.4, p. 853-859, 1970.

[36] PHILLIPS, P. J.; BURKE, W. D.; KEENER, E. . Observations on the trophic significance of jellyfishes in Mississipi Sound with quantitative data on the associative behavior of small fishes with medusae. Trans. Am. Fish. Soc, v. 4, p. 703 - 712, 1969.

[37] SEYMOUR, J. E.; CARRETTE, T. J. ; SUTHERLAND, P. A. Do box jellyfish sleep at night? Med. J. Aust, v. 181, n. 11/12, p. 707, 2003.

[38] VANNUCCI, M. Hydrozoa e Scyphozoa existentes no Instituto Oceanográfico II. Bolm Inst. ocean., S Paulo, v. 5, n.1/2, p. 95-148, 1954.

[39] VANNUCCI, M. Distribuição de Scyphozoa nas costas do Brasil. An. Acad. Bras. Ciênc, v. 29, p. 593-598, 1957.

[40] YOUNGBLUTH, M.J.; BAMSTEDT, U. Distribution, behavior and metabolism of Periphylla periphylla a mesopelagic coronate medusa in a Norwegian fjord. Hydrobiologia, n. 451, p. 321-333, 2001.