| dc.description.abstract | True jellyfishes of the class Scyphozoa exhibit a range of unique biological traits and are intrinsically linked to the ecosystems in which they reside. Despite this, their ecology, systematics and biology have long been understudied. Examining the photosynthetic jellyfish Cassiopea, I connect the biology, systematics and microbial ecology that inform the broader ecology of the genus. In this work, I demonstrate that Cassiopea xamachana ephyrae (the more motile immature stage) can survive for upwards of 6 weeks unfed when provided with light, a trait that may allow for higher dispersion. Examining wild Cassiopea, I identify the endemic species C. xamachana cooccurring with the non-native C. andromeda based on mitochondrial COI and 16S, as well as correct problems with the previously published Cassiopea global phylogenies. Using these same wild medusae, I describe for the first time the wild microbiome of Cassiopea xamachana within the Florida Keys. While the external microbiome of Cassiopea medusae is similar to the benthic community around it but enriched in Endozoicomonas, the internal community is low diversity with multiple possible stable states primarily enriched in Endozoicomonas, Mycoplasma and Vibrio. In addition to my work on Cassiopea, I provide a thorough review of associative interactions previously reported between jellyfish and crustaceans, covering 211 distinct associations, in order to facilitate future work on community ecology in jellyfishes. Altogether, this work provides new information on the ecological value in jellyfishes overall and greatly improves knowledge of the ecology of Cassiopea specifically. | |
