Environment & Energy
Related: About this forumA jellyfish 'epidemic' has Australian scientists wondering whether climate change is to be blamed
Source: Washington Post
A jellyfish epidemic has Australian scientists wondering whether climate change is to be blamed
By Rick Noack January 7 at 5:23 AM
MELBOURNE, Australia Authorities in Queensland, Australia, were forced to close beaches across the region over the weekend amid what local officials said was a jellyfish epidemic. Thousands of stings were recorded in Queensland alone last week, according to rescue organizations.
While the vast majority of those stings are not life-threatening and were caused by bluebottle colonies, researchers say that the number of more serious injuries from less common jellyfish is also at above-average levels.
Some researchers also say this jellyfish infestation could be one more thing to blame on climate change.
Unlike other species, jellyfish are stimulated by just about any change to the ecosystem. So, its reasonable to say that the jellyfish might potentially be responding to the warmer-than-usual weather, said marine life researcher Lisa Gershwin, who works with the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization, which is Australias national science agency.
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Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2019/01/07/jellyfish-epidemic-has-australian-scientists-wondering-if-climate-change-is-be-blamed/
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Source: ABC News (Australia)
Jellyfish are causing mayhem as pollution, climate change see numbers boom
By Hong Jiang and Sasha Fegan for Late Night Live
Updated yesterday at 5:46pm
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Some scientists think jellyfish numbers are increasing as the climate changes the creatures reproduce well in warmer waters.
Jellyfish also fare better than many other sea creatures in polluted waters, as they don't need much oxygen.
Berwald says that can give them the upper hand over predators.
"They can sort of slip into polluted waters, into low oxygen waters, and hide from predation there better than a fish that has a higher oxygen demand," she says.
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Read more: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-01-06/the-magic-and-mayhem-of-jellyfish/10377112
littlemissmartypants
(22,418 posts)They need a bunch of hungry whatever it may be to help out. Please don't bash me for being on the predator side. I'm just driven by my penchant for looking for solutions to problems. It might not help with the big picture, climate change, but it could have an influence in ways that are not clear at the present moment. Time itself has a way of working things out, even if sometimes not for the better.
Thanks for the post, Eugene. I enjoy reading your posts.