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14.8 Conclusions
W.M. Graham and K.M. Bayha
Due to a few noteworthy cases described in this chapter, jellyfish have gained
notoriety as potentially invasive animals. In fact, when one considers the
physiological, ecological, and life-history traits of jellyfish (i.e., rapid growth,
asexual propagation, intensive predators, crypsis, and morphological plasticity),
this make them almost perfectly suited as invasive organisms. Yet, the
limited examples presented here reflect the paucity of information we have
regarding rates of jellyfish invasions in marine ecosystems. The likelihood
remains that many invasions of jellyfish have gone undetected. Perhaps the
greater concern should be that, until appropriate techniques and taxonomic
appreciation are further developed, many more invasions by jellyfish will
occur in the future.
Acknowledgements. While we owe the body of this work to numerous researchers, we
especially appreciate communications and collaborations with T.F. Bolton, M.N. Dawson,
G.R. Harbison, and A.E. Kideys. Funds in support of the authors’ own research were provided
by the Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant Consortium (WMG), and Sigma Xi GIAR
(KMB).
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