Citizen science substantiates jellyfish occurrence in the Mediterranean Sea.

ABSTRACT: In recent decades, gelatinous plankton blooms have attracted media attention due to their damaging effects on fisheries, aquaculture, tourism, human health and power/desalination plants. The scientific community often failed to recognize the rise of jellyfish, due to difficulties in monitoring their appearances and disappearances. In Italian waters, a citizen science approach was employed to monitor the presence and distribution of gelatinous zooplankton over wide spatio-temporal scales. From 2009 to March 2016, citizens identified 27 jellyfish taxa and documented their geographical distribution and seasonal occurrence across the Italian Seas. The main blooming species was Pelagia noctiluca (30% of total sightings), mainly distributed in the western Mediterranean, followed by Rhizostoma pu

SUBMITTER: Zampardi S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12214690 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature