Areal expansion of the box jellyfish Carybdea marsupialis (Linnaeus, 1758) towards the Ionian coasts of the Basilicata region (Italy)
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.47193/mafis.3812025010106Keywords:
Cnidaria, Cubozoa, Mediterranean Sea, sea warmingAbstract
The study documents the presence of the box jellyfish Carybdea marsupialis in the waters of the Ionian Sea in Italy, which constitutes important data for the knowledge of new areal distribution of this species along the coasts of the Mediterranean basin. Carybdea marsupialis belongs to the phylum Cnidaria, class Cubozoa, and is known for its stinging and potentially dangerous stings for humans, making it a species of significant ecological and health interest. The species has previously been observed in other areas of the western Mediterranean, but the report in the Ionian Sea represents an eastward expansion of its distribution range. Results suggest that climate change, influenced by global warming processes and anthropogenic activities, facilitated the expansion of this species into the rest of the Mediterranean Sea. The work highlights the importance of continuous monitoring of indigenous and non-indigenous species and calls for international cooperation to manage any ecological impacts linked to the spread of these marine species.
Downloads
Metrics
Author Biography
Achille Palma, Metaponto Research Centre, Regional Agency for the Environmental Prevention and Protection of Basilicata (ARPAB), S. S. Jonica 106, 75012 Metaponto, Italy.
References
Acevedo M. 2016. Biology, ecology and ecophysiology of the box jellyfish Carybdea marsupialis (Cnidaria: Cubozoa) [PhD thesis]. Barcelona: Polytechnic University of Catalunya. 129 p.
Avian M, Budri N, Rottini Sandrini L. 1997. The nematocysts of Carybdea marsupialis Linnaeus, 1758 (Cubozoa). In: den Harlog JC, editor. Proceedings of the 6th International Conference on Celenterate Biology. The Leeuwenhorst, Noordwijkerhout, The Neherlands. 16-21 July 1995. Leiden: Nationaal Natuurhistorisch Museum p. 21-26.
Bailey PM, Bakker AJ, Seymour JE, Wilce JA. 2005. A functional comparison of the venom of three Australian jellyfish-Chironex fleckeri, Chiropsalmus sp., and Carybdea xaymacana-on cytosolic Ca2+, haemolysis and Artemia sp. lethality. Toxicon. 45 (2): 233-242.
Bentlage B, Peterson AT, Cartwright P. 2009. Inferring distributions of chirodropid box-jellyfishes (Cnidaria: Cubozoa) in geographic and ecological space using ecological niche modeling. Mar Ecol Prog Ser. 384: 121-133.
Bianchi CN, Morri C. 2003. Global sea warming and “tropicalization” of the Mediterranean Sea: biogeographic and ecological aspects. Biogeographia. 24 (1): 319-327.
Boero F. 2013. Review of jellyfish blooms in the Mediterranean and Black Sea. Studies and Reviews. General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean. 92. Roma: FAO. 53 p.
Boero F, Bouillon J, Gravili C, Miglietta MP, Parsons T, Piraino S. 2008. Gelatinous plankton: irregularities rule the world (sometimes). Mar Ecol Prog Ser. 356: 299-310.
Bordehore C, Fuentes VL, Atienza D, Barberá C, Fernandez-Jover D, Roig M, Acevedo-Dudley MJ, Canepa AJ, Gili JM. 2011. Detection of an unusual presence of the cubozoan Carybdea marsupialis at shallow beaches located near Denia, Spain (southwestern Mediterranean). Mar Biodivers Rec. 4: e69.
Bordehore C, Manchado-Pérez S, Fonfría ES. 2023. Swimming ability of the Carybdea marsupialis (Cnidaria: Cubozoa: Carybdeidae): implications for its spatial distribution. BioRxiv. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1101/2023.05.06.539705
Canepa A, Fuentes V, Bosch-Belmar M, Acevedo M, Toledo-Guedes K, Ortiz A, Durá E, Bordehore C, Gili J-M. 2017. Environmental factors influencing the spatiotemporal distribution of Carybdea marsupialis (Lineo, 1978, Cubozoa) in South-Western Mediterranean coasts. PLoS ONE. 12 (7): e0181611.
Chiu JMY, Zhang R, Wang H, Thiyagarajan V, Qian PY. 2008. Nutrient effects on intertidal community: from bacteria to invertebrates. Mar Ecol Prog Ser. 358: 41-50.
[CIESM] Commission Internationale pour l’Exploration Scientifique de la Mer Méditerranée. 2001. Gelatinous zooplankton outbreaks: theory and practice. Naples: CIESM Workshop Monographs. no. 14. 112 p.
Di Camillo C, Bo M, Puce S, Tazioli S, Bavestrello G. 2006. The cnidome of Carybdea marsupialis (Cnidaria: Cubomedusae) from the Adriatic Sea. J Mar Biol Assoc UK. 86 (4): 705-709.
Dong Z, Liu D, Keesing JK. 2010. Jellyfish blooms in China: dominant species, causes and consequences. Mar Pollut Bull. 60 (7): 954-963.
Duarte CM, Pitt KA, Lucas CH, Purcell JE, Uye SI, Robinson K, Brotz L, Decker MB, Shuterland KR, Malej A, et al. 2013. Is global ocean sprawl a cause of jellyfish blooms? Front Ecol Environ. 11 (2): 91-97.
[GBIF] Global Biodiversity Information Facility. 2024. Global distribution map of Carybdea marsupialis. [accessed 2024 Sep 10]. https://www.gbif.org.
Gershwin LA, Richardson AJ, Winkel KD, Fenner PJ, Lippmann J, Hore R, Avila-Soria G, Brewer D, Kloser RJ, Steven A, Condie S. 2013. Biology and ecology of Irukandji jellyfish (Cnidaria: Cubozoa). Adv Mar Biol. 66. 1-85. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-408096-6.00001-8
Giorgi F. 2006. Climate change hot‐spots. Geophys Res Lett. 33 (8): L08707. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1029/2006GL025734
Graham WM, Kroutil RM. 2001. Size-based prey selectivity and dietary shifts in the jellyfish, Aurelia aurita. J Plankton Res. 23 (1): 67-74.
Gueroun SKM, Acevedo MJ, Kéfi-Daly Yahia O, Deidun A, Fuentes VL, Piraino S, Daly Yahia MN. 2015. First records of Carybdea marsupialis proliferation (Cnidaria: Cubozoa) along the eastern Tunisian coast (Central Mediterranean). Ital J Zool. 82 (3): 430-435.
Hamner WM, Jones MS, Hamner PP. 1995. Swimming, feeding, circulation and vision in the Australian box jellyfish, Chironex fleckeri (Cnidaria: Cubozoa). Mar Freshwat Res. 46 (7): 985-990.
Katsanevakis S, Wallentinus I, Zenetos A, Leppäkoski E, Cinar ME, Oztürk B, Grabowski M, Golani D, Cardoso AC. 2014. Impacts of invasive alien marine species on ecosystem services and biodiversity: a pan-European review. Aquat Invasions. 9 (4): 391-423.
Keesing JK, Strzelecki J, Stowar M, Wakeford M, Miller KJ, Gershwin LA, Liu D. 2016. Abundant box jellyfish, Chironex sp. (Cnidaria: Cubozoa: Chirodropidae), discovered at depths of over 50 m on western Australian coastal reefs. Sci Rep. 6 (1): 22290.
Larson RJ. 1976. Cubomedusae: feeding-functional morphology, behavior and phylogenetic position. In: Mackie GO, editor. Coelenterate ecology and behavior. Boston: Springer. p. 237-245.
Lejeusne C, Chevaldonné P, Pergent-Martini C, Boudouresque CF, Pérez T. 2010. Climate change effects on a miniature ocean: the highly diverse, highly impacted Mediterranean Sea. Trends Ecol Evol. 25 (4): 250-260.
Lillo AO, D’Orlando G, Filippo G, D’Amore A, Longo S, Palma A, Trabace T. 2024. Occurrence of the blue button Porpita porpita along the Italian Ionian and Tyrrhenian coasts. Mar Fish Sci. 37 (4): 667-671. DOI: https://doi.org/10.47193/mafis.3742024010707
Lillo AO, Tiralongo F, Tondo E. 2019. New records of Porpita porpita (Linnaeus, 1758) (Cnidaria: Hydrozoa) in the Mediterranean Sea. Nat Eng Sci. 4 (3): 293-298.
Mancini F, Lillo AO, Bardelli R, Vizzini S, Mancinelli G. 2022. Variation in the stable isotope trophic position of the bluefish Pomatomus saltatrix (Linnaeus, 1766) from two Mediterranean sites: insights from a global meta-analysis. Mediterr Mar Sci. 23 (4): 850-863.
Mariottini GL, Pane L. 2010. Mediterranean jellyfish venoms: a review on scyphomedusae. Mar Drugs. 8 (4): 1122-1152.
Mills CE. 2001. Jellyfish blooms: are populations increasing globally in response to changing ocean conditions? Hydrobiologia. 451: 55-68.
Morandini AC, Stampar SN, Kubota S. 2014. Mass occurrence of the cubomedusa Copula sivickisi (Cnidaria: Cubozoa) at Seto Harbor, Shirahama, Wakayama, Japan, in summer of 2013; a possible recent example of global warming. Publ Seto Mar Biol Lab. 42: 108-111.
Peca G, Rafanelli S, Galassi G, Di Bartolo P, Bertini S, Alberani M, Beccari G. 1997. Contact reactions to the jellyfish Carybdea marsupialis: observation of 40 cases. Contact Dermatitis. 36 (3): 124-126. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1600-0536.1997.tb00392.x
Petrosillo I, Scardia Scardia AMS, Ungaro N, Specchiulli A, Fanelli G, Centoducati G, De Serio F, Carlucci R, Valente D, Barbone E, et al. 2023. Towards sustainable marine spatial planning of aquaculture. Ecol Indic. 154: 110542.
Purcell JE. 2005. Climate effects on formation of jellyfish and ctenophore blooms: a review. J Mar Biol Assoc UK. 85 (3): 461-476.
Purcell JE, Uye SI, Lo WT. 2007. Anthropogenic causes of jellyfish blooms and their direct consequences for humans: a review. Mar Ecol Prog Ser. 350: 153-174.
Richardson AJ, Bakun A, Hays GC, Gibbons MJ. 2009. The jellyfish joyride: causes, consequences and management responses to a more gelatinous future. Trends Ecol Evol. 24 (6): 312-322.
Rottini G, Gusmani L, Parovel E, Avian M, Patriarca P. 1995. Purification and properties of a cytolytic toxin in venom of the jellyfish Carybdea marsupialis. Toxicon. 33 (3): 315-326.
Saygın Ö. 2017. On the occurrence of blue button, Porpita porpita (Cnidaria: Hydrozoa) from Levantine coast of Turkey. Nat Eng Sci. 2 (2): 33-36.
Somot S, Sevault F, Déqué M, Crépon M. 2008. 21st century climate change scenario of the Mediterranean using a coupled atmosphere-ocean regional climate model. Glob Planet Change. 63 (2-3): 112-126. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloplacha.2007.10.003
Tiralongo F, Lillo AO, Tibullo D, Tondo E, Martire CL, D’Agnese R, Mcali A, Mancini E, Giovos I, Coco S, Azzurro E. 2019. Monitoring uncommon and non-indigenous fishes in Italian waters: One year of results for the AlienFish project. Reg Stud Mar Sci. 28: 100606.
Tiralongo F, Crocetta F, Riginella E, Lillo AO, Tondo E, Macali A, Mancini E, Russo F, Coco S, Paolillo G, Azzurro E. 2020. Snapshot of rare, exotic and overlooked fish species in the Italian seas: a citizen science survey. J Sea Res. 164: 101930.
Zangaro F, Pinna M, Specchia V. 2024. Environmental DNA as early warning for alien species in Mediterranean coastal lagoons: implications for conservation and management. Diversity. 16 (9): 525.
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Antonio O. Lillo, Gianvito Gianvito, Giovanna Filippo, Salvatore Longo, Alessandro Pipino, Achille Palma, Teresa Trabace
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Authors of articles published in Marine and Fishery Sciences retain copyright on their articles, except for any third-party images and other materials added by Marine and Fishery Sciences, which are subject to copyright of their respective owners. Authors are therefore free to disseminate and re-publish their articles, subject to any requirements of third-party copyright owners and subject to the original publication being fully cited. Visitors may also download and forward articles subject to the citation requirements. The ability to copy, download, forward or otherwise distribute any materials is always subject to any copyright notices displayed. Copyright notices must be displayed prominently and may not be obliterated, deleted or hidden, totally or partially.
This journal offers authors an Open Access policy. Users are allowed to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of the articles, or use them for any other legal purpose within the Creative Commons 4.0 license (BY-NC-SA), without asking prior permission from the publisher or the author. This is in accordance with the BOAI definition of Open Access.
