Abstract
A series of experiments to investigate the effects of different combinations of water temperature and food availability on the growth, budding, and strobilation of Aurelia aurita polyps was conducted in the laboratory. The growth rate of A. aurita polyps increased with higher ambient water temperature and greater food availability. Asexual reproduction including daughter polyp production and strobilation also increased with increasing food availability. The highest mean number of discs per strobila was 20.8, when an excess of food was supplied continuously. Strobilation is induced not only by a lowering of water temperature but also by food depletion. The relationship of this finding to mass occurrences of medusae is discussed.
