Jelly Fish
By: Tanya S
Age: 16
Hyderabad, India
By: Tanya S
Age: 16
Hyderabad, India
When approaching the idea of invasive species, one would think of something that is usually destructive and possibly dangerous. Jellyfish fit that criteria perfectly. For years jellyfish have been disrupting their ecological environment. Jellyfish are composed of an elementary nervous system, an epidermis, and the most basic intestinal organs, furthermore, they are over 95% water-based. One of their few neuro-capabilities is their sensitivity to light which allows them to drift deeper in the sea when faced with bright afternoon sun. They play an important role in their habitat as they are carnivorous. They feed on zooplankton, other jellyfish, and in some cases the eggs and larvae of other fish.
Jellyfish occupy almost every ocean in the world, as they drift with currents and sometimes gather in estuaries and bays. Jellyfish in the eyes of science are extremely complex creatures despite their simple composition, due to their survival skills. Jellyfish thrive even in the weakest ecosystems. They persist in hypoxic zones (oxygen deprived zones), acidic water, and rising sea temperatures. Blooms of jellyfish have been interrupting and diminishing fisheries, harming individual fishermen, and ultimately playing a huge role in our worlds’ economic markets.
There have been many instances in which jellyfish have proved detrimental to the ocean’s environment. In November of 2007, a horrifying swarm of baby mauve stringers native to the warmer southern regions decimated the farmed-salmon population in Northern Ireland. Billions of jellyfish descended and created a 10 mile wide and 42-foot thick killing machine. Reports state that overnight a stunning 120,000 fish were reduced to bits that bobbed up to the surface. The loss of the salmon through stings and oxygen deprivation cost over $2 million. The rapid multiplication of jellyfish has plagued the Spanish coast, the French Riviera, and most of the Mediterranean harming thousands of beachgoers.
Comb jellies were involved in one of the most serious expressions of invasive species to our environment in decades. The Black sea was used as an industrial waste dump, though it was a popular anchovy fishery. In 1982, the comb jellies notoriously invaded the port through a ship’s ballast water from another ocean. Most marine life dies in ballast water but the jellyfish survives. The mackerel, one of the jelly’s natural predators, was fished out long before, allowing the foreign jellyfish to thrive and topple the balance of the underwater ecosystems. By the 1990s, they accounted for an alarming 90% of the biomass in the black sea. They affected dolphin numbers, ruined ecosystems surrounding them which were already plagued with overfishing and pollution. This particular isolated case cost the fishing industry over $1 billion.
The sudden and rapid multiplication of jellyfish is a man-made phenomenon. Due to global warming, acidification of our oceans, pollution and overfishing we have caused a disturbance in many ecosystems around the world. This means that in order to control jellyfish blooms we have to try our best to reverse eutrophication (excessive presence of nutrients because of run offs from farms causing unnatural overgrowth of algae in water bodies), increase their natural predators like ocean sunfish, tuna and whales, and attempt mass coral restorations. We must curb global warming, ensure limits concerning fishing and enforce laws on pollution. One of the most innovative ways of coral restoration is through coral gardeners. They allow certified divers into decimated coral reefs to pick up broken coral bits, and any pollution. The organization then rehabilitates these corals and then replants them back in the reefs. Attempt their ecotour, be inspired, donate, adopt a coral, and spread the word.
Jellyfish occupy almost every ocean in the world, as they drift with currents and sometimes gather in estuaries and bays. Jellyfish in the eyes of science are extremely complex creatures despite their simple composition, due to their survival skills. Jellyfish thrive even in the weakest ecosystems. They persist in hypoxic zones (oxygen deprived zones), acidic water, and rising sea temperatures. Blooms of jellyfish have been interrupting and diminishing fisheries, harming individual fishermen, and ultimately playing a huge role in our worlds’ economic markets.
There have been many instances in which jellyfish have proved detrimental to the ocean’s environment. In November of 2007, a horrifying swarm of baby mauve stringers native to the warmer southern regions decimated the farmed-salmon population in Northern Ireland. Billions of jellyfish descended and created a 10 mile wide and 42-foot thick killing machine. Reports state that overnight a stunning 120,000 fish were reduced to bits that bobbed up to the surface. The loss of the salmon through stings and oxygen deprivation cost over $2 million. The rapid multiplication of jellyfish has plagued the Spanish coast, the French Riviera, and most of the Mediterranean harming thousands of beachgoers.
Comb jellies were involved in one of the most serious expressions of invasive species to our environment in decades. The Black sea was used as an industrial waste dump, though it was a popular anchovy fishery. In 1982, the comb jellies notoriously invaded the port through a ship’s ballast water from another ocean. Most marine life dies in ballast water but the jellyfish survives. The mackerel, one of the jelly’s natural predators, was fished out long before, allowing the foreign jellyfish to thrive and topple the balance of the underwater ecosystems. By the 1990s, they accounted for an alarming 90% of the biomass in the black sea. They affected dolphin numbers, ruined ecosystems surrounding them which were already plagued with overfishing and pollution. This particular isolated case cost the fishing industry over $1 billion.
The sudden and rapid multiplication of jellyfish is a man-made phenomenon. Due to global warming, acidification of our oceans, pollution and overfishing we have caused a disturbance in many ecosystems around the world. This means that in order to control jellyfish blooms we have to try our best to reverse eutrophication (excessive presence of nutrients because of run offs from farms causing unnatural overgrowth of algae in water bodies), increase their natural predators like ocean sunfish, tuna and whales, and attempt mass coral restorations. We must curb global warming, ensure limits concerning fishing and enforce laws on pollution. One of the most innovative ways of coral restoration is through coral gardeners. They allow certified divers into decimated coral reefs to pick up broken coral bits, and any pollution. The organization then rehabilitates these corals and then replants them back in the reefs. Attempt their ecotour, be inspired, donate, adopt a coral, and spread the word.
Bibliography
Staff, Science Illustrated. “Jellyfish Invasion.” Popular Science, Popular Science, 18 Mar. 2019, www.popsci.com/environment/article/2008-06/jellyfish-invasion/.
US Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. What Are Jellyfish Made of? 12 Apr. 2010, oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/jellyfish.html.
Abbott, Billie. “The Jellyfish's Ecosystem & Its Specific Habitat.” Animals.mom.com, 14 Feb. 2019, animals.mom.me/the-jellyfishs-ecosystem-its-specific-habitat-6130345.html.
US Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. “What Is an Invasive Species?” NOAA's National Ocean Service, 2 Apr. 2019, oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/invasive.html.
Alberts , Elizabeth Claire. “Jellyfish Swarms Are Bad News for Ocean Ecosystems.” Earth Island Journal, 7 Feb. 2014, www.earthisland.org/journal/index.php/articles/entry/jellyfish_swarms_are_bad_news_for_ocean_ecosystems/.
McVeigh, Tracy. “Explosion in Jellyfish Numbers May Lead to Ecological Disaster, Warn Scientists.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 11 June 2011, www.theguardian.com/environment/2011/jun/12/jellyfish-plankton-ocean-acid.
“Shipping Problems: Alien Invaders.” WWF, 2020, wwf.panda.org/our_work/oceans/problems/shipping/alien_invaders/.
Expedition , Bio. “Jellyfish Predators.” Animal Facts and Information, 14 May 2012, www.bioexpedition.com/jellyfish-predators/.
Gardeners, Coral. CORAL GARDENERS, 2020, www.coralgardeners.org/.
Staff, Science Illustrated. “Jellyfish Invasion.” Popular Science, Popular Science, 18 Mar. 2019, www.popsci.com/environment/article/2008-06/jellyfish-invasion/.
US Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. What Are Jellyfish Made of? 12 Apr. 2010, oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/jellyfish.html.
Abbott, Billie. “The Jellyfish's Ecosystem & Its Specific Habitat.” Animals.mom.com, 14 Feb. 2019, animals.mom.me/the-jellyfishs-ecosystem-its-specific-habitat-6130345.html.
US Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. “What Is an Invasive Species?” NOAA's National Ocean Service, 2 Apr. 2019, oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/invasive.html.
Alberts , Elizabeth Claire. “Jellyfish Swarms Are Bad News for Ocean Ecosystems.” Earth Island Journal, 7 Feb. 2014, www.earthisland.org/journal/index.php/articles/entry/jellyfish_swarms_are_bad_news_for_ocean_ecosystems/.
McVeigh, Tracy. “Explosion in Jellyfish Numbers May Lead to Ecological Disaster, Warn Scientists.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 11 June 2011, www.theguardian.com/environment/2011/jun/12/jellyfish-plankton-ocean-acid.
“Shipping Problems: Alien Invaders.” WWF, 2020, wwf.panda.org/our_work/oceans/problems/shipping/alien_invaders/.
Expedition , Bio. “Jellyfish Predators.” Animal Facts and Information, 14 May 2012, www.bioexpedition.com/jellyfish-predators/.
Gardeners, Coral. CORAL GARDENERS, 2020, www.coralgardeners.org/.