Spatial patterns of large jellyfish Chrysaora plocamia blooms in the Northern Humboldt Upwelling System in relation to biological drivers and climate

ADAMS, GRANT D; QUIÑONES, JAVIER; MIANZAN, HERMES W; CHIAVERANO, LUCIANO M; ACHA, E MARCELO; AYÓN, PATRICIA

ICES JOURNAL OF MARINE SCIENCE

OXFORD UNIV PRESS

Lugar: Oxford; Año: 2018

1054-3139

In the Northern Humboldt Upwelling System (NHUS), one of the most productive ecosystems in the world, the large jellyfish Chrysaora plocamiaexhibits high inter-annual variability in population size, often resulting in massive blooms. In this study, we examined the geographic patternsC. plocamia in the NHUS and their spatial overlap with ichthyoplankton, zooplankton, and chlorophyll a concentration (Chl a) duringtwo El Ni~no (EN) years (1982?1983 and 1986?1987), and a neutral year (2014). During EN years, the spatial extent of C. plocamia medusaewas larger than in the neutral year. In 1982?1983, medusae were concentrated mainly in the central-southern and southern regions of Peru,where they were associated with zooplankton, sardine larvae, and Chl a. In 1986?1987, medusae occurred in the northern and southern regionsand spatially overlapped with sardine larvae and Chl a, and with zooplankton and anchoveta larvae, respectively. In 2014, medusae occurredmainly in the northern region, where they were associated with zooplankton, Chl a, and anchoveta eggs and larvae. Our resultsindicate strong EN effects on the distribution and abundance of C. plocamia, which can have consequences for zooplankton and ichthyoplanktonabundance, as well as fisheries, in the NHUS.