1093-1096Beach stranding of the jelly Porpita porpita (Linnaeus 1758) was observed in stretches from Astaranga to Puri (Odisha) during May 2016. A study was carried out by taking environmental parameters to decipher the possible causes. These jellies were abundant in the coastal waters during this period. It was found out that this jellyfish was observed in large numbers in this coast during March-May (summer season). From the satellite derived current and wind data, it was observed that the beach stranding was due to drifting of the jellyfishes favoured by shoreward current and wind.

Baliarsingh, S K

Sahu, B K

Samanta, A

Singh, S

Srichandan, S

NOPR

  Indian Journal of Geo Marine Sciences Vol. 49 (06), June 2020, pp. 1093-1096   Short Communication  Mass beach stranding of blue button jellies (Porpita porpita, Linnaeus, 1758) along Odisha coast during summer season B K Sahu*,a, S K Baliarsinghb, A Samantab,  S Srichandanb & S Singhc aEnvironment and Sustainability Department, CSIR-IMMT, Bhubaneswar – 751 013, India bIndian National Centre for Ocean Information Services, Ministry of Earth Sciences, Govt. of India, Hyderabad – 500 090, India cXavier School of Sustainability, Xavier University,  Bhubaneswar – 752 050, India *[E-mail: birajkumar@gmail.com] Received 22 March 2019; revised 24 July 2019 Beach stranding of the jelly Porpita porpita (Linnaeus 1758) was observed in stretches from Astaranga to Puri (Odisha) during May 2016. A study was carried out by taking environmental parameters to decipher the possible causes. These jellies were abundant in the coastal waters during this period. It was found out that this jellyfish was observed in large numbers in this coast during March-May (summer season). From the satellite derived current and wind data, it was observed that the beach stranding was due to drifting of the jellyfishes favoured by shoreward current and wind.   [Keywords: Bay of Bengal, Hydrozoa, Jellyfish] Introduction Jellyfish (Phylum: Cnidaria) are ubiquitous in world ocean and their stings being commonly observed in warm tropical marine waters1,2. Swarms and blooms of this animal are natural phenomena, but their occurrence is increasingly associated with anthropogenic disturbance and alterations in coastal water biogeochemistry3. These swarms have become a menace for beach recreational activities. Some species of jellyfishes (e.g. Pelagia noctiluca) can cause skin rashes and inflammations2. Hence, it's imperative to predict such type of swarming in the coastal areas. The prediction of jellyfish stranding will help coastal management authorities to develop some sort of warning system towards the swimming and other recreational activities. In earlier studies by Keesing et al.3 and Gershwin et al.4, attempts were made to predict the blooming of jelly fish along Australian coast by understanding the role of environmental variables. Mass jellyfish stranding in beaches of central Odisha, east coast of India have been reported during first week of May5-7. Based on the information from news reports and local fishermen, an assessment of this event was carried out to provide the scientific basis considering different environmental factors.   Materials and Methods Field surveys were undertaken to different beaches immediately after information of jellyfish swarming in coastal waters of central Odisha. The beach stranding of jellyfishes was observed in different stretches of the coast line during first week of May 2016 from Astaranga to Puri (60 km beach distance; Fig. 1). Earlier information on the swarming from Odisha coast was collected from newspapers  and fishermen.  In order to find the link with primary producers, inter-annual eight day average (January to May) chlorophyll-a concentration (proxy of phytoplankton biomass) and Sea Surface Temperature (SST) of coastal waters were retrieved from ocean colour satellite Moderate Imaging Spectroradiometer onboard Aqua satellite (MODISA) with aid of SeaDAS (v.7.4) software. Sea surface current was generated with aid of Regional Ocean Modelling System (ROMS). Wind speed and direction were obtained from European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (http://www.ecmwf.int/).  Results and Discussion  Beach stranding of the jellyfish Porpita porpita (Linnaeus 1758) was observed in stretches from Astaranga to Puri during first week of May (Fig. 2). It was in discrete patches along the beach. During this period, the satellite retrieved average SST was  28.83 ºC and 29.40 ºC for the months of April and May 2016, respectively. From the satellite retrieved data, it was observed that the chlorophyll-a concentration starts increasing from the month of February (Fig. 3). So, this increase could be triggering the secondary production which is food for the button jelly8. INDIAN J GEO-MAR SCI, VOL 49, NO 06, JUNE 2020   1094Porpita porpita, commonly known as the blue button is native to tropical and sub-tropical waters of Pacific, Atlantic and Indian Ocean9. It belongs to family Porpitidae (Kingdom: Animalia, Phylum: Cnidaria, Class: Hydrozoa) and mostly inhabits in the surface water (pleuston). It maintains flotation by a disc-like chitinous float "pneumatophore", derived from the perisarc surrounded by soft living tissue. The pneumatophore consists of a colony of hydroids. These jellies have an imperceptible sting for humans and contain bioactive compounds having antimicrobial effect10,11. The nudibranchs viz. Glaucus atlanticus and Glaucilla marginata are predators of Porpita12. In addition, the shelled snails Janthina spp. construct rafts of bubbles to remain at the surface and prey upon Porpita13,14. It is also one of the preferred food items for neonate loggerhead turtles15. Interestingly, the stranding of nudibranch Glaucus sp. was also reported from the study area prior to  P. porpita stranding16. Many researchers have pointed out the co-occurrence of Porpita on the shore with other pelagic biota. Shoreward movement of the species in association with Janthina, Physalia and Glaucus was reported from the east coast of Guam, west Pacific17. In west coast of India (Veraval), large number of Porpita was also found washed ashore in monsoon season18. In Odisha coast, Sahu and Panigrahy19 reported the swarming of jellyfishes. Studies of Zavodnik20 and Graham et al.21 shows that the distribution of jellyfish is determined by physical factors viz. tides, winds and currents and these factors supposed to cause them to concentrate or swarm near to shore. Other reason for swarming is availability of abundant food8. The food of P. porpita consists of mostly carnivorous calanoid copepods (~90 %), and crab megalopa and fishes comprise less (~10 %)(ref. 22). It can be said that the increase in phytoplankton from February month would induce sufficient food for P. porpita that could lead to large aggregation/swarming. As the blooming of jellyfish was mostly observed during summer season, so it can be assumed that there might be a higher temperature preference for the species. Figure 4 shows a swarm of jellyfish off Rushikulya and it was observed from a coastal cruise during May 2017. So, it can be concluded that it is an annual event occurring during March-May (summer season).    Fig. 1 — Map showing location of Porpita mass beach stranding(black dots) in Odisha coast    Fig. 2 — (A) Mass beach stranding of Porpita porpita in Odishacoast (Source: The Prameya, Daily News Paper23), (B) A livespecimen of Porpita porpita    Fig. 3 — Variation of MODIS Aqua retrieved eight day averagedchlorophyll-a concentration during months of January to May in2016 and 2017   Fig. 4 — A patch of Porpita porpita off Rushikulya estuary observed from a coastal cruise during May 2017  SAHU et al.: JELLYFISH SWARMING   1095The satellite derived current and wind data from the study region shows that during the event the direction of the current and wind is towards the shore (Fig. 5). It can be said that the swarms in the open water came to shores and caused the mass beach stranding. Keesing et al.3 also got similar results in north-western Australian coast while studying the role of wind on beach stranding of a jellyfish Crambione mastigophora Mass (1903).  Conclusion From the above observations, it can be concluded that the present mass beach stranding of P. porpita was attributed to offshore aggregation/swarming and further drift away to the beach due to shoreward current and wind. The beaches of central Odisha are major tourist hotspots; hence conduct of awareness campaigns and early warnings of these events will be beneficial for the beach goers. For accurate prediction of these events, more studies required on life cycle of these organisms and associated environmental factors.   Acknowledgements The authors wish to acknowledge NASA-GSFC for making available satellite data of MODIS-Aqua. The 1st author (BKS) and 4th author (SS) extend thanks to DST-SERB (Govt. of India) for awarding National Post Doctoral Fellowship (PDF/2017/000522 and PDF/2016/002087 respectively). The authors are thankful to INCOIS-ROMS team for providing sea surface current data.  Conflict of Interest The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.  Author Contributions BKS and SKB conceived and conceptualized the study; SS (Sambit Singh) collected field information, BKS & SKB interpreted data; BKS prepared the first draft of the manuscript with critical input from SKB and SS (Suchismita Srichandan); AS acquired and processed chlorophyll, sea surface current and wind data. SKB prepared the graphical illustrations. All authors were involved in the revision and editing of the manuscript.  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Mass beach stranding of blue button jellies (Porpita porpita, Linnaeus, 1758) along Odisha coast during summer season

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Mass beach stranding of blue button jellies (Porpita porpita, Linnaeus, 1758) along Odisha coast during summer season

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