Relationship between bell diameter and number of branching points (i.e., age) in <i>Aurelia</i> medusae from the Gulf of Mexico.

<p>A: <i>Aurelia</i> sp. 9. B: <i>Aurelia</i> c.f. sp. 2. Grey (2003) and hollow (2005) bars represent medusae collected from the Central Northern Gulf of Mexico (Dauphin Island, AL), while black bars represent individuals collected in the Southeastern Gulf of Mexico (Long Key, FL 2006). Means with different letters are significantly different (Tukey’s, P< 0.001). Bars: SD. Asterisks: outliers</p

Global phylogeny of <i>Aurelia</i> based on cytochrome C oxidase subunit 1 (<i>COI</i>).

<p>Numbers indicate bootstrap values higher than 50% (maximum likelihood, 1,000 realizations). DI: Dauphin Island, Alabama. LK: Long Key, Florida. Sequences obtained in this study are shaded. The rest of sequences were obtained from GenBank (see <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0156588#pone.0156588.s003" target="_blank">S1 Table</a> for details). <i>Aurelia aurita</i> (Turkey, Sweden, Boston-USA), 2) <i>Aurelia labiata</i> (British Columbia-Canada), 3) <i>Aurelia</i> sp. 1 (Los Angeles-USA, Australia, Japan), 4) <i>Aurelia</i> sp. 2 (Brazil), 5) <i>Aurelia</i> sp. 3 (Palau), 6) <i>Aurelia</i> sp. 4 (Hawaii-USA, Indonesia, Palau), 7) <i>Aurelia</i> sp. 5 (Mljet Lake, Croatia), 8) <i>Aurelia</i> sp. 6 (Palau, New Guinea), 9) <i>Aurelia</i> sp. 7 (Tasmania, Australia), 10) <i>Aurelia</i> sp. 8 (North Adriatic, Croatia), 11) <i>Aurelia</i> sp. 9 (Gulf of Mexico, USA; this study), 12) <i>Aurelia limbata</i> (<i>Aurelia</i> sp. 10, Japan), 13) <i>Aurelia</i> sp. 11 (Marshall Islands), 14) <i>Aurelia</i> c.f. sp. 2 (Gulf of Mexico, USA; this study), 15) <i>Aurelia</i> sp. DI’03–4 (Gulf of Mexico, USA; this study).</p

Morphological variation in <i>Aurelia</i> medusae from the Gulf of Mexico based on categorical morphological features.

<p>Top: Cluster analysis. Red lines indicated morphologically homogeneous clusters detected by SIMPROF. Bottom: Multi-dimensional scaling analysis (MDS). Numbers correspond to the same main clusters detected by SIMPROF using continuous features. Letters indicate sub-clusters within main clusters. Different symbols indicate different monophyletic <i>Aurelia</i> clades based on COI. Circles: <i>Aurelia</i> sp. 9. Squares: <i>Aureli</i>a c.f. sp. 2. Solid symbols represent individuals with molecular + morphological data, while open symbols are individuals with only morphological data. Cluster 1: <i>Aurelia</i> sp. 9 from Long Key (2006). Cluster 2: <i>Aurelia</i> sp. 9 from Dauphin Island (2003 and 2005). Cluster 3: <i>Aurelia</i> c.f. sp. 2 from Dauphin Island (2003 and 2005) and Long Key (2006). Contours represent 95% confidence.</p

MODIS-Aqua image of sea surface temperature in the Gulf of Mexico during Fall.

<p>Sampling sites are represented by asterisks. Dauphin Island, AL (white asterisk) represents the Central Northern GoM, while Long Key, FL (black asterisk) represents the Southeastern GoM. This image is 10-day composite of sea surface temperature (4 km resolution. Level 2) from October 20 to October 30 2003. Isothermal lines were obtained using the “m_countour” function in MatLab. Image was obtained from the Ocean Color data website (<a href="http://oceandata.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/" target="_blank">http://oceandata.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov</a>) and can be accessed at <a href="http://doi.org/10.5067/AQUA/MODIS_OC.2014.0" target="_blank">http://doi.org/10.5067/AQUA/MODIS_OC.2014.0</a>.</p

Morphological variation in categorical features of <i>Aurelia</i> medusae in the Gulf of Mexico.

<p>A-B: Ordinal categorical features. C-D: nominal categorical features. DI: Dauphin Island (AL), which represents the Central Northern Gulf of Mexico. LK: Long Key (FL), which represents the Southeastern Gulf of Mexico. Features explaining 90% of the total morphological variation (SIMPER) are shown. Different letters above whiskers indicate significant differences among groups detected by post-hoc Kruskal-Wallis tests (P< 0.001; A-B) and <i>Chi-square</i> tests (P < 0.001; C-D). Gonad shape in panel C are: U-shape (hollow bars), horseshoe (gray bars) and drop-like (black bars). Boxes: median, the 25–75% quartiles. Whiskers: Non-outlier range.</p

Continuous and meristic morphological features recorded in this study.

<p>Cross-sectional (A) and sub-umbrellar (B) views of an <i>Aurelia</i> medusa. Categorical features are not shown. Refer to <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0156588#pone.0156588.s004" target="_blank">S2 Table</a> for feature descriptions.</p

Morphological variation in continuous, size-corrected features of <i>Aurelia</i> medusae in the Gulf of Mexico.

<p>DI: Dauphin Island (AL), which represents the Central Northern Gulf of Mexico. LK: Long Key (FL), which represents the Southeastern Gulf of Mexico. Features explaining 90% of the total morphological variation (SIMPER) are shown. Different letters above whiskers indicate significant differences among groups detected by post-hoc Tukey’s tests (P < 0.0001). Boxes: median, the 25–75% quartiles. Whiskers: Non-outlier range. Circles: outliers</p

<i>Aurelia</i> medusae from the Gulf of Mexico (GoM).

<p>The specimen on the left represents a medusa of <i>Aurelia</i> sp. 9, while the specimen on the right represents a medusa of <i>Aurelia</i> c.f. sp. 2. <i>Aurelia</i> lineages in the GoM were determined by molecular analysis of mitochondrial (<i>COI</i>) and nuclear (<i>ITS-1</i>) DNA. These two particular specimens were collected in Long Key (FL) on September 28, 2006.</p

Total bottlenose dolphin strandings by state (1 January – 30 April 2011).

<p>LA  =  Louisiana, MS  =  Mississippi, AL  =  Alabama, FL  =  Florida. NMFS independently validated Marine Mammal Health and Stranding Response Program data up to 2008, and data from February 2010 through August 2011 have been audited by NMFS. Data are subject to change prior to NMFS validation.</p

Dolphin strandings in 2011.

<p><b>A</b>) Total weekly bottlenose dolphin strandings for each state compared to surface water temperature (30 min intervals), flow (15 min intervals), and salinity (30 min intervals) measured at Mobile Bay, AL. <b>B</b>) Weekly perinatal dolphin strandings, separated by state (following the same legend as panel A). <b>C</b>) Total weekly bottlenose dolphin strandings, separated by carcass condition on the day of response in 2011. Carcass condition is reported using NMFS standard 5-point code in which 1 is live stranded, 2 is freshly dead, and 5 is most highly decomposed. NR  =  Not reported.</p