Massive stranding of Physalia physalis (Hydrozoa: Physaliidae) on the Northwestern coast of Cuba ...

• Main Authors: Torres-Conde, Eduardo Gabriel, Rodríguez-Martínez, Rosa E.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Centro de Investigaciones Marinas 2024
• Subjects: Beach cast.; bloom; dimorphism; health risk; juvenile colonies; Portuguese man-of-war; Western Atlantic; Arctic; Human health
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.11000091; https://zenodo.org/doi/10.5281/zenodo.11000091

Historically, Physalis physalis (Linnæus, 1758) massive stranding events have been either infrequent or poorly documented. However, their occurrence can significantly affect human health and the stability of coastal ecosystems. This study analyzes a massive P. physalis stranding that affected Cuba’s NW coast in December 2022. During the event, eighty-five people were stung, with 38 having strong allergic reactions. To determine P. physalis abundance, we counted all colonies during the massive event along ~ 3 km coast within a 5 m strip. Density, dimorphic form (left/right-handed), and colony size were quantified using a 0,25 m2 quadrat placed every 50 m, 10 m from the shoreline. Over ten thousand beach cast colonies were recorded, making this the event with the highest mean colony density (29,3 per m2) ever reported. The massive stranding coincided with the lowest Arctic Oscillation index (-2,59) in the past 11 years during December, which led to northeasterly winds reaching up to 24 km/h, which might have ...