Simulating the effects of climate change on the marine environment: How are jellyfish (Scyphozoa) populations affected by rising temperatures?

• Grant number: 24/16304-3
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Master
• Start date: July 01, 2025
• End date: June 30, 2026
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Zoology - Morphology of Recent Groups
• Principal Investigator: André Carrara Morandini
• Grantee: Karina Lima Siqueira de Macedo
• Host Institution: Instituto de Biociências (IB). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Climate change is a well documented and highly relevant phenomenon, due to its drastic socioeconomic and environmental consequences. But the scale of the problem is still a subject of ongoing studies, as the effects range from localized phenomena to global climate change dynamics. In this context, one of the most affected environments is the ocean, which is essential to sustain life. The phenomenon of blooms, characterized by a sharp increase in the number of individuals of a certain population of gelatinous planktonic animals, has become more constant in recent years and may have a direct correlation with changes in water temperature. However, there are controversies in literature and few studies correlating blooms with climate change. Blooms of Scyphozoa class cause numerous impacts on marine food chains and the economy, so understanding their causes is important for better resource management. Given the different forms of clonal reproduction of scyphozoan polyps, this stage is crucial for understanding blooms. This project aims to verify and understand the possible correlation between climate change (temperature increase) in the oceans and population variations in species of the class Scyphozoa, focusing on the polyp stage and reproduction by strobilization - using the following genera as models: Aurelia, Chrysaora, Lychnorhiza and Nausithoe.