Predicting Jellyfish Strandings in the Moroccan North-West Mediterranean Coastline

Abstract

In the recent years, the frequency and the geographic distribution of jellyfish blooms have been increased in the Mediterranean north-west coastline of Morocco. Since 2011 this area has been subjected to successive blooms and stranding of Pelagia noctiluca. Our research was aimed to study the reasons of jellyfish blooms and to predict their stranding in our coastline. We have evaluated three parameters that we are suspecting to be responsible of Jellyfish blooms and stranding on the northern coast of the Mediterranean Sea in Morocco. The evaluation of the relations between sea surface temperature, waves height and the wind direction causing the stranding of Jellyfish, demonstrated that the correlation scores were found to be statistically significant with r(33) =0.445, p < 0.01, for sea surface temperature (°C) and r(33) =0. 694, p< 0.001 for waves height (m). Moreover a one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was calculated on wind direction causing stranding of jellyfish; the analysis was found to be very significant, F (1, 31) = 25.823, p = 0.001.