Impact of warming and acidification of the Mediterranean Sea on statolith formation of the scyphozoan jellyfish Rhizostoma pulmo Macri (1778)

Abstract

Ocean warming and acidification negatively affect organisms and biogeochemical cycles. To date, emphasis has been placed on the study of the impact on the structures of calcifying species; however, there is limited knowledge about the influence of the increase of these two variables on the solid structures of non-calcifying species as jellyfish. Here, we study the effects that the increase of temperature and acidity would cause on the statoliths of newly released ephyrae of the Mediterranean jellyfish Rhizostoma pulmo. Six combinations of temperature and PCO2 (18, 24 and 30 °C with a PCO2 of 500 and 1000 ppm each), according to the projections of the SSP5-8.5 (IPCC, 2021) scenario for the year 2100, were applied during 32 days to different groups of polyps randomly selected. Statoliths of the released ephyrae were counted and their size was measured. Our results show that, even though neither temperature nor PCO2 increase exerted a representative effect on the amount of statoliths synthesized in newly released ephyra from R. pulmo, it did exert an impact on the size of these structures: warming led to the formation of larger statoliths, while the rise in PCO2 induced the production of smaller structures. Under the simultaneous increase of both variables, acidification attenuated the effects of temperature, but still slightly larger statoliths were synthesized. The size differences observed in these structures could negatively impact the equilibrium system of this jellyfish species, potentially affecting its ability to survive.