Spatial distribution of the upside-down jellyfish Cassiopea sp. within fringing coral reef environments of the Northern Red Sea: implications for its life cycle

Table 2 Cassiopea sp. abundance, benthic coverage, diameter and association with Idiomysis tsurnamali in the respective benthic habitat

Site	Mean abundance (animals m⁻²)	Maximum abundance (animals m⁻²)	Mean diameter (cm)	Mean benthic coverage (%)	Unoccupied, bare sand flats (%)	Cassiopea–mysids association (%)	Mysids swarm size distribution (0:1:2:3)
Reef	1.6 ± 2.2	31	10.3 ± 2.3	1.0 ± 1.1	24 ± 19	81.5	19:30:30:22
Transition zone	7.9 ± 6.7	27	13.1 ± 2.7	7.5 ± 5.8	84 ± 11	92.9	7:11:21:61
Seagrass meadow	0.4 ± 0.8	5	8.3 ± 3.2	0.1 ± 0.3	8 ± 9	18.2	81:5:0:14
Sand flat	1.3 ± 1.4	14	13.5 ± 2.4	1.6 ± 1.8	95 ± 4	61.1	39:14:8:39

Swarm size categories describe abundance of mysids per jellyfish (0 = no mysids, 1 = 0–4 mysids, 2 = 5–9 mysids, 3 = more than 10 mysids)

ISSN: 1438-3888