Electronic Supplementary Material (ESM)
ESM Table 1. Summary of observed blooms of Crambione mastigophora in north-western Australia. The locations referred to are shown in Figure 1 in the
main text.
Location
Ningaloo Reef
Date
12-13 April
2013
Cable Beach, Broome
August October
2012
80 Mile Beach, southern
11
Observations
The bloom was located between Cape Range (21.783333o S) extending south to Yardie creek
(22.283333o S) and spread west from Ningaloo Reef to about 3 miles offshore becoming
more sparse in the seaward direction. The highest concentrations were in bands about 50m
wide associated with tide lines running north-south. They were less abundant in the lagoon.
Numbers built up during a period of light northerly winds from 9 April to a peak on 12 and 13
April and had disappeared by 15 April after moderate south/south-westerly winds. During
the same period C. mastigophora were present at Coral Bay further south but only in small
numbers.
Numbers of C. mastigophora built up from 12 August with the first significant strandings on
27-29 August and then became even more dense from 12-15 September (Figure 2). The first
day the beach was closed to swimmers was 12 September. The last significant stranding was
on 17 October and were uncommon by 23 October. The jellyfish were present throughout
this period but the very large strandings of many thousands of individuals occurred on
12,13,14,15, 28, 29 September and 1, 4, 5, 8, 9, 10, 12, 15,16, 17 October. On days in
between there were fewer jellyfish washed up but very high densities were being seen
offshore. Log book records of the Broome Shire Life Guards and ourselves confirmed very
high densities offshore of Cable Beach on 3 September, the mouth of Dampier Creek in
Roebuck Bay on 17 September, jellyfish still very abundant offshore of Gantheaume Point 19
September, another large influx was observed offshore of Cable Beach observed 28
September. In the days following 12 September and as late as 20 September when we (JK,
DB) surveyed to about 60 km north of Broome, small numbers of jellyfish could be observed
along the Dampier Peninsula but campers and tourists reported no large standings. We (TT)
found jellyfish stranded in large numbers from Gantheaume Point as far north as Coconut
Wells on 8 October. They may have occurred further north as this was as far as observations
were made. Swimmers were treated for C. mastigophora stings on many days in August,
September and October.
Large numbers first appeared on 11 November 2011 at Anna Plains (19.368611oS,
1
Source
Reported to Lisa Gershwin
and John Keesing by John
Totterdell, Marine
Information and Research
Group, Australia and Corey
Hann, Tahlulla Productions,
Australia
Tim Trew, John Keesing and
Douglas Bearham
Chris Hassell Global Flyway
121.308056oE), no sightings on the previous day. Strandings extended for at least 26km. Also
79 km south-west of this, a report of large numbers washed ashore regularly between mid
September and mid November at the 80 Mile Beach by the proprietors of the Caravan Park
(19.754986°S, 120.672419°E) and for a distance of 10 km further south-west along the
beach.
Low to moderate numbers from 10 August onwards and then significant numbers in the
water and on the beach 19 September and then between 11 and 13 October at which time
20 stings were treated in one day.
Observed large number on the Eighty Mile Beach between approximately 19.127419°S,
121.488636°E to 19.486717°S, 121.191753°E. Time of first observation was 0630 h and the
size of jellyfish was approximately 20-30cm in diameter. The sea jellies appeared fresh from
the overnight high tide, as they were highly decomposed the following day. Also, a month
later (8 December 2011), Liz Rosenberg and Chris Hassell returned to Eighty Mile Beach and
noted that the mass red sea jelly stranding was no longer present, though there were
sporadic, less abundant strandings of Cyanea mjobergi.
When videoing whale sharks (Rhincodon typus), very high densities of C. mastigophora were
observed 2 km offshore and 5km south of Black Rock passage which is 43 km north of the
town of Coral Bay. Crambione mastigophora were being predated upon by the lion’s mane
jellyfish Cyanea capillata. Whale sharks were observed to actively avoid swarms of the C.
mastigophora.
16.354444⁰S, 121.733333⁰E
Highly abundant with jellyfish dense enough to clog Bongo and Neuston nets towed from the
vessel. The absence of records in the life guard jellyfish log books indicate Crambione were
not present or present only in low numbers on Cable Beach between April and October 2010
Vast numbers off Ningaloo Reef, first seen 25 March 2007. Some were transported as far
south as Rottnest island (latitude 32oS)
Kimberley region
November
2012
Cable Beach, Broome
80 Mile Beach, southern
Kimberley region
August –
October
2011
8 November
2011
Ningaloo Reef, central
Western Australia
Mid May
2010
Offshore from King Sound,
southern Kimberley
region
29 April
2010 – 5
May
Ningaloo Reef, central
Western Australia
March-April
2007
Cable Beach, Broome
September
and October
2006
April 2000
C. mastigophora stranded on the beach between 12 September and 23 October 2006 with
the heaviest strandings of many thousands of individuals daily between 12 and 15
September, between 21 and 29 September and again on 6 October
Vast numbers off Ningaloo Reef seen from sea and air. Some were transported as far south
as Rottnest island (latitude 32oS) and observed there in June 2000
April 1987
Present at Turtle Bay, Ningaloo (numbers not stated)
Ningaloo Reef, central
Western Australia
Ningaloo Reef, central
Western Australia
2
Network as part of regular
migrating bird counts
Tim Trew
Kim Onton of the Western
Australian Department of
Environment and
Conservation, Liz Rosenberg
and Chris Hassell
Reported to John Keesing by
Corey Hann, Tahlulla
Productions, Australia
Joanna Strzelecki aboard the
RV Southern Surveyor
Marsh and Slack-Smith
(2010), Observed by Kim
Onton
Tim Trew, recorded in the log
books of the Broome Shire
Council life guards
Marsh and Slack-Smith
(2010), pers. comm. Loisette
Marsh, Western Australian
Museum
Marsh and Slack-Smith
(2010), Loisette Marsh,
Ningaloo Reef, central
Western Australia
20 May 1980
Present in moderate numbers offshore of Mangrove Bay
Karratha, Pilbara region,
north-western Australia
August 1976
The power plant was forced to shut down when large numbers of C. mastigophora clogged
the intake pipes for the cooling water system.
3
Western Australian Museum
(pers. comm.)
Loisette Marsh, Western
Australian Museum (pers.
comm.)
Marsh and Slack-Smith
(2010), Loisette Marsh,
Western Australian Museum
(pers. comm.)
ESM Figure 1. Satellite-derived sea surface temperature (Eight-day composited MODIS Aqua 4km x
4km) for the region north and south of Broome for the period from 4th August, 2012 to 30th October,
2012.
4
ESM Figure 2. Satellite-derived sea surface chlorophyll-a concentration (Eight-day composited
MODIS Aqua 4km x 4km) for the region north and south of Broome for the period from 4th August,
2012 to 30th October, 2012.
5