Presenting Box Jellyfish Research in Japan

Here at the 4^th International Jellyfish Blooms Symposium (IJBS) in Hiroshima, Japan (June 5-7) I am presenting a poster highlighting my collaborative work on the highly venomous box jellyfish Alatina.

The main objectives of this research are:

1)     To redescribe the species Alatina alata (Reyanaud 1830), and establish a neotype from the Atlantic Ocean.

2)     To report on the sexual behavior and ecology of the species, which forms monthly reproductive swarms 8-10 days after the full moon off the coast of Bonaire (Dutch Caribbean). A. alata is also collected in deep oceanic localities at depths up to 1800 m. 

3)     Present molecular and morphological findings suggesting that A. alata is a single widely distributed species that maintains metapopulation cohesion by way of deep sea dispersal of the medusa. 

4)     Report on our ongoing Whole Genome Sequencing project on Alatina. This species is highlighted in the new joint NMNH-NHGRI Genomics exhibit opening June 13, 2013. We aim to use genomics, transcriptomics, and proteomics to understand the molecular basis of the cnidome in this species, and also to use a phylogenetic framework for a comparative analysis of venom across the phylum Cnidaria.

IJBS features talks and posters by jellyfish researchers form 29 countries and multiple institutions worldwide.

The symposium ends June 5 with a tour of Miyajima and a farewell dinner. You can be sure that karaoke, Okonomiyaki, and kurage (aka jellyfish) are all on the menu!

by Cheryl Lewis Ames

Comments

[Allen Collins]

Yes, box jellyfish can be found in India. The group needs more study in this region.

[daya]

Is box jellyfish found in India ???