Abstract

The Mauve Stinger (Pelagia noctiluca Forsskål, 1775) is one of the most venomous jellyfish species in the Mediterranean Sea, and its presence has been recorded in a number of Mediterranean countries. The present study aims to shed light on its outbreak along the Mediterranean coast of the Gaza Strip, Palestine, in March 2014. The importance of this modest study comes from the fact that it is the first study to address this species in the Gaza Strip. Repeated visits were made to the Gaza Strip beach, meetings and discussions were held with various stakeholders, and the necessary measurements of specimens and photography were taken. The number of the Mauve Stinger that washed up on the Gaza Strip beach in March 2014 was estimated to be in the millions, with sizes ranging from 5 to 14 cm in diameter, and their density on the beach was estimated at about eight specimens per square meter. The outbreak occurred in late winter and early spring (March 2014), when only a small number of Gazans go to the sea and its beach, which explains the small number of Gazans stung by these jellyfish. The stings caused local symptoms such as redness, swelling, rashes and sometimes severe allergic reactions among Gazans, and no deaths were recorded. The Gazan scientific community attributed the spread of this phenomenon to rapid global climate change, poaching and by-catch of natural enemies, overfishing, and abundance of nutrients due to pollution of the marine environment. The media and social networking sites were abuzz with this Mauve Stinger outbreak event. After conducting tests, the Directorate General of Fisheries at the Ministry of Agriculture attributed the appearance of red or pink secretions near the anus of Atlantic Mackerels (Scomber scombrus Linnaeus, 1758) caught at that time to the feeding of these fish on the Mauve Stinger. Finally, the study recommends the need to raise environmental health awareness of the risks of jellyfish to public health and human activities in the Gaza Strip.

Keywords: Mauve Stinge; Pelagia noctiluca; Outbreak, stings; Atlantic Mackerel; Scomber scombrus; Mediterranean coast; Gaza Strip; Palestine.

Introduction

Members of the phylum Cnidaria (Coelenterata) are characterized by a generally radially symmetrical body structure, two layers of tissue (endoderm and ectoderm) separated by a middle layer known as a mesoglea, and a diffuse, net-like nervous system that lacks any form of centralization [1]. Cnidaria are so named because they possess stinging cells, known as cnidocytes, containing a bursting organelle known as a nematocyst, which under stimulation releases a long, often spiny tube that can penetrate the animal’s tissues and deliver venom [2,3]. Of the phylum Cnidaria, jellyfish, forming the class Scyphozoa, have received increasing attention over the years all over the world, especially in the Mediterranean basin, where the variety of jellyfish species and their risks to public health and the marine ecosystems of countries are of great concern [4]. The presence of jellyfish on beaches frequented by people poses a significant risk to public health, recreational activities and fishing [5].

The Mauve Stinger or Purple Jellyfish [6], which is bioluminescent, and can be seen at night with flashes of purple light, is a holoplanktonic Scyphozoan jellyfish, i.e. lacking a benthic polyp stage [7]. It is considered the most toxic or venomous in the Mediterranean Sea [8] and its nematocyst venom has hemolytic and cytolytic activity [9]. Its presence has been recorded in countries along the Mediterranean Sea, and its adjacent seas [10-30]. Some previous studies have shown that the occurrence and distribution of the Mauve Stinger in the Eastern Mediterranean basin has not been adequately investigated and is still far from satisfactory though the blooms of the Mauve Stinger in the Mediterranean Sea were generally restricted to the western basin and the Adriatic Sea. These jellyfish show a peak of their distribution, sometimes with devastating effects, in some parts of the Mediterranean, mostly due to climatic factors.

In Palestine, there are no scientific studies on the Mauve Stinger, although it is a rare visitor to the marine ecosystem. However, a Palestinian news website indicated that this species spread by the millions in March 2014 along the Mediterranean coast in the Gaza Strip [31]. In contrast, very few Palestinian studies and reports have indicated the spread of the invasive Nomadic Jellyfish (Rhopilema nomadica), a Lessepsian migrant [32,33], in the marine ecosystem of the Gaza Strip, causing stings to Gazans who go to the sea for swimming, diving and summer vacations [34-37]. Accordingly, the present study aims to shed light on the outbreak of the Mauve Stinger or Purple Jellyfish along the Mediterranean coast of the Gaza Strip, Palestine, in March 2014. This is the first study to examine this species of jellyfish, the most venomous in the Mediterranean.

Methodology

The Gaza Strip

The Gaza Strip is an arid to semi-arid strip of Palestinian territory along the southeastern Mediterranean Sea. Its area is approximately 365 square kilometers, and its population is constantly increasing due to high fertility and currently stands at approximately 2.4 million, the majority of whom are refugees who live in eight Palestinian refugee camps in the Gaza Strip. The Gaza Strip is one of the most densely populated areas in the world [38]. The sandy beaches of the Gaza Strip stretch for approximately 42 kilometers from north to south, and are easily accessible to swimmers, fishermen, vacationers and visitors, especially in the summer.

Procedure

In April 2014, the marine ecosystem and its beaches in the Gaza Strip witnessed a strange event that the Gazans (people of Gaza) had never witnessed before, as the sea and its beaches were filled with millions of specimens of Mauve Stinger, which caused fear and panic among the Gazans and the scientific community in the Gaza Strip. At that time, the researcher, accompanied by students from the Department of Marine Sciences at the Islamic University of Gaza, headed to the beach of Gaza City to observe this phenomenon, examine it, and take the necessary measurements of the specimens that the Mediterranean waters washed ashore. The researcher was hosted by some local and international media outlets to talk about the strange phenomenon of the Mauve Stinger. Finally, a digital camera was used and photographs were taken for documentation and verification purposes.

Results

The late winter of 2014 brought incredible numbers of the Mauve Stinger, unwanted guest, to the Mediterranean coast of the Gaza Strip.

Description and Measurements of the Mauve Stinger

The Mauve Stinger specimens that stranded or washed up on the Gaza Strip shore (Figure 1 A, B, and C), estimated to number in millions, were not all the same size, some were small and some were larger. In general, it was noted that dozens of specimens examined from different locations on the site had bell diameters ranging from 5 to 14 cm and sometimes more. The density of the Mauve Stinger on the beach was estimated at about eight individuals per square meter (8 specimens / m²). The color was variable, ranging from violet, pink to light brown. Specimens have four long, serrated oral arms and eight long marginal tentacles extending from the edge of the animal’s bell. It has been observed that some specimens of the Mauve Stinger in the evening hours have the ability to bioluminesce, or in other words, they produce a faint light that humans can clearly see at night.

Stings of the Mauve Stinger

Like other species of venomous jellyfish found in the marine waters of the Gaza Strip, live specimens or even those that have recently stranded or washed up on the beach have the ability to sting, and as the Directorate General of Fisheries at the Ministry of Agriculture indicated that, the Mauve Stinger is one of the most important stinging jellyfish in the Mediterranean Sea. The Directorate General of Fisheries also expressed its fear that these jellyfish will settle in the marine ecosystem of the Gaza Strip, negatively affecting swimmers, divers, fishermen and vacationers who ride the sea and frequent sandy beaches in the warm seasons of the year, by being exposed to the stings of these poisonous jellyfish. Fortunately, the Mauve Stinger appeared in late winter and early spring (March 2014), when few Gazans go to the sea or relax on the beaches, which explains the small number of people stung by this jellyfish. Although its stings are painful, they usually cause local symptoms such as redness, swelling, rashes and sometimes severe allergic reactions. In general, the stings are not very dangerous and no deaths were recorded from this jellyfish when it appeared in the Gaza Strip in 2014. The Directorate General of Fisheries at the Ministry of Agriculture and other local stakeholders pointed out that jellyfish blooms can highly affect some human activities, such as bathing, fishery, tourism, etc.

Possible reasons of Mauve Stinger outbreak

Scientific circles and Gazans have attributed the outbreak of jellyfish including the species in question in the marine ecosystem of the Gaza Strip to several factors including rapid global climate change, the catch and by-catch of marine animals that feed on jellyfish such as sea turtles, the depletion of fish species due to overfishing, which creates a vacuum in the marine environment that jellyfish fill, and the abundance of nutrients due to various solid and liquid pollutants being dumped into the marine environment.

Local media coverage of the Mauve Stinger outbreak

Some Palestinian and non-Palestinian media rushed to the shores of the Gaza Strip to cover this unique event in the coastal environment, and many photos were taken of the Mauve Stinger and their swarms that filled the waters and beaches of the Gaza Strip. Social media sites were also abuzz with this momentous event. Some media outlets and news agencies conducted interviews with the researcher (Figure 1 D) and some officials in the Directorate General of Fisheries at the Ministry of Agriculture to cover this unique event in the coastal environment of the Gaza Strip.

Feeding of the Atlantic Mackerel Scomber scombrus on the Mauve Stinger

On April 2, 2014, the Directorate General of Fisheries at the Ministry of Agriculture confirmed that the catch of large quantities of Atlantic Mackerel (Scomber scombrus Linnaeus, 1758) with red or pink secretions near the anus may be due to these fish feeding on the Mauve Stinger (Figure 2), which had spread widely in the marine ecosystem of the Gaza Strip in mid-March 2014. Laboratory analyses of Atlantic Mackerel specimens confirmed such feeding, with small pieces of Mauve Stinger seen in the stomachs of the fish, as well as pink color was observed in the small and large intestines of the fish specimens examined.

Discussion

This study led to the first record of a unique phenomenon of the outbreak of the Mauve Stinger on the Mediterranean coast of the Gaza Strip, Palestine, which is not considered a normal resident here. Very large numbers of these jellyfish, estimated in the millions, were observed along the 42 km long coast of the Gaza Strip in mid-March 2014. In fact, it seems strange that this phenomenon occurred in the Gaza Strip because the species in question is, in fact, a rare visitor to the Mediterranean coast of Palestine. The explanations for its occurrence may not be entirely clear. Although the reasons cited by local stakeholders for the spread and outbreak of the Mauve Stinger on the Mediterranean coast of the Gaza Strip can be generalized to other invasive species, some studies have reported that the numbers of this Mauve Stinger fluctuate so much that the species may not actually be recorded in an area for years, and then suddenly appear in huge swarms, sometimes covering tens of square kilometers and with densities of up to 500 individuals per cubic meter or more. Wilkerson and Dugdale [39] and Arai [40] attributed jellyfish blooms to sewage effluent and nutrient levels. However, some studies have suggested that this may be the result of natural cyclical fluctuations, linked to environmental or nutritional factors [41]. It is perhaps scientifically plausible to attribute the stranding of millions of the Mauve Stinger along the coast of the Gaza Strip in mid-March 2014 to the fact that these jellyfish have a limited ability to swim, and as a result, large swarms of them are carried by winds or sea currents to coastal areas, and sometimes they end up appearing in terrifying numbers on beaches [42]. Along the Tunisian coast, the Mauve Stinger appears most often in autumn and winter, depending on local and specific winds and currents.

The toxicity of Cnidaria is a topic of concern because of its effect on humans. As far as the stinging of the Mauve Stinger is concerned, several international scientific forums have shown that the Mauve Stinger is one of the most important and dangerous jellyfish in the Mediterranean Sea, as its tentacles and bell - which is unusual among jellyfish - are covered with stinging cells or cnidocytes [43], and even recently dead individuals that have washed up or stranded on beaches can sting. In fact, the symptoms of the Mauve Stinger stings in the Gaza Strip appear general and non-specific due to the scarcity of this jellyfish in Palestinian marine waters, but in places where jellyfish are widespread or invade in large numbers, the symptoms are multiple and can be frightening [44-47]. In addition to public health, local stakeholders admitted that jellyfish blooms of most jellyfish species in the Gaza Strip such as the Barrel Jellyfish (Rhizostoma pulmo) and the Nomadic Jellyfish (Rhopilema nomadica) can highly affect human economical activities, such as bathing, fishery, tourism, etc. Such blooms were found to interfere with operation of desalination plants in Israel [48] Purcell et al. [49] reviewed several reports of power plants and aquaculture affected by jellyfish blooms in several countries around the world.

The outbreak or blooming of the Mauve Stinger in the Mediterranean coast of the Gaza Strip in March 2014 was a major local event that received unique media coverage. The Gaza Strip, with its small area (365 km²), large population (2.4 million people) and high population density (about 5,000 people/km²), deserves significant media attention, especially with regard to marine creatures. The Gaza Strip witnessed frequently the catch, by-catch or stranding of many marine species that are unique worldwide due to their ecological role, threats they face or the danger they pose to public health. The Ocean Sunfish (Mola mola), the Silver-Cheeked Toadfish (Lagocephalus sceleratus), different species of sea turtles, and sharks are important examples that received media coverage whenever they appear in the Gaza Strip [50-52]. Social media sites were also abuzz with this momentous event (Personal Communications). The importance of jellyfish species in marine food chains and webs has become clear through the current study, as it was found that Atlantic Mackerel, and probably other marine creatures, feed on Mauve Stinger, according to what was indicated by the Directorate General of Fisheries at the Ministry of Agriculture. In this regard, Milisenda et al. [53] noted the frequency of predation and selective foraging by Bogue (Boops boops) on the Mauve Stinger in the Strait of Messina (NE Sicily) in Southern Italy. Runge et al. [54] confirmed the feeding of Atlantic Mackerel on other jellyfish species such as the Pink Helmet (Aglantha digitale), which is a small, transparent jellyfish common in temperate and boreal waters. Furthermore, Atlantic Mackerels, along with other fishes such as European Pilchard (Sardina pilchardus) and European Spart or Brisling Sardines (Sprattus sprattus), were found to feed on hydrozoan jellyfish in the Celtic Sea and the western English Channel [55]. Large predators such as sea turtles have been identified as natural enemies of jellyfish worldwide. For example, Houghton et al. [56] and Heaslip et al. [57] confirmed the voracious feeding of Leatherback Sea Turtles (Dermochelys coriacea) on entire jellyfish species. In the Gaza Strip, poaching by some fishermen to and the by-catch of the Ocean Sunfish (Mola mola) and various species of sea turtles, which are natural enemies of jellyfish, appear to contribute to some extent to the spread of jellyfish. The study concludes with a recommendation to raise environmental health awareness of the risks of jellyfish to public health and human activities, in order to ensure the comfort and safety of beach and sea-goers in the Gaza Strip.

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