Invasion of the jellyfish

The article you linked reeks od tabloid sensationalism - after reading it one might get an impression real invasion is on the way and also there is a hint that you will surely die if stung by PMOW. In fact more people die every year from complications of bee stings then from encounters with this species. There are only few recorded cases of death caused by PMOW or its Australian relative Blue Bottle. One of these cases involved swallowing of the blue bottle which is much smaller then its northern relative.

These organisms prefer open waters of deep ocean and it is very unlikely they will settle in Mediterranean as the article implies.

Last but not least Portugese Men Of War is not a jelly fish it is macro-holoplankton or to be more precise floating hydrozoan colony, made up of four polyp types, each contributing to different function in the colony: pneumatophore (float), dactylozooids (tentacles for defense and prey capture), gastrozooids (feeding), and gonozooids (reproduction). Talking about a team work! ;)
 
I thought the article worth noting not for the obviously sensational aspects but perhaps because it was indicative of the effects of what rapid climate change (cooling rather than warming) might be having on an animal population. In this specific example maybe changes in ocean currents/ temperatures or wind directions ( slightly speculative granted). Unusual changes in any species distribution, population numbers or behaviour, I think, are worth paying attention to. Maybe I should have not been so lazy and commented on this in first post. :)
 
I agree that is was worth noting. I didn't see it so much as sensational (the UK Independent is not a tabloid) as just the way science news is normally presented for the consumption of the average reader. It's usually never very accurate but close enough.

Finally, if you have ever been in an encounter with a Portuguese Man o'War, you might wish you were dead ... I was and did so wish and have never gone in the water at a beach since (over 25 years) without trepidation. In fact, I avoid beaches and prefer swimming in pools.
 
treesparrow said:
Maybe I should have not been so lazy and commented on this in first post. :)
Click to expand...
Well that's always the best choice - not to be lazy, but we are all guilty of it one time or another :)

I am aware Independent is not a tabloid, however the article indeed has the tabloid flavor.
Here is an example of more balanced reporting :
Guardian said:
The Portuguese man-of-war invertebrates, with their sometimes lethal stings, have made an unusual visit to Mediterranean waters off southern Spain. The water is usually considered to be too warm for the jelly like creature with it's burning sting which in extreme cases can cause heart attacks to people who are allergic to them...

Scientists said that westerly winds have blown the invertebrate through the Straits of Gibraltar and along the length of the southern coast of Spain. "They go wherever they are driven by the wind," Xavier Pastor, of the Oceana NGO organisation, explained. "They have little sails and that means that, if the wind is blowing in towards the coast, they end up on the coast."

They have been seen off the coast of Malaga and the Costa del Sol a few weeks ago. Latest sightings show them to also be around Murcia. Pastor said that there did not appear to be enough of them to form a permanent colony in Med., but warned of dramatic consequences to tourism if they did. "It would be a big problem for the tourist industry and for swimmers," he said. "This is far worse than having jellyfish."

The man-of-war has tentacles reaching up to thirty metres in length, which are strung with stinging capsules which survive even if they are broken off. The capsules contain small triggers which release the stings when touched and hang below a pink-tinged blue bubble that acts as the sail.
Click to expand...

It seems the headline of The Independent article is outright lie as this PMOW Mediterranean excursion- not invasion, is NOT the first time in a decade:

"Given the importance of beaches to the Spanish economy, jellyfish swarms are regularly reported in the local press in summer. Despite these warnings, hundreds of people are stung every day up and down the Spanish Mediterranean. 11,571 people were attended by health authorities last year in Valencia alone. Probably the commonest jellyfish in the Spanish Mediterranean is a nasty little one called the Sea nettle or Mauve stinger ('medusa luminiscente' Pelagia noctiluca). It swarms can lead to beaches being closed. Also beware of the Compass jellyfish (Chrysaora hysoscella), identified by a ring of brown dots around a white saucer-shaped body, as it gives a potent sting which can produce extremely painful, long lasting weals. More worryingly, in 2005, dozens of Portuguese Man-o-war (Carabela portuguesa - Physalia physalis) were detected off the Asturian coast among swarms of harmless Velella velella. The purple Man-o-war is not a true jellyfish, but a colony of hydrozoan polyps. It can in extreme cases provoke a cardiac arrest and death in particularly sensitive persons."

* News 01/07/2006 Jellyfish numbers to increase in Spanish Med, and Portuguese Man O'War may be on their way (El Mundo/CSIC).

FWIW :boat:
 
Well, "invade" - to an English speaker - can mean either just a small intrusion or a large one. It's not number specific. For example, we often describe the seeping of a small amount of something into something else as invading and it's not an exciting term as you have taken it. I could say that moles have invaded my garden and mean only one or two of them.

It can mean to intrude upon or infest.

I think that the journalist was just playing with words by juxtaposing "Man o'War" with "invade." Maybe she had been stung by one herself and was just out to defame 'em!

Why don't you make your comments count? There is a place for comments on the Independent article.
 
Here is something interesting:

Florida life guard's encounter with PMOW:
Man-of-War Sting Like a Hot Knife

How to help yourself if stung:
First Aid Advice

Finally I am really delighted I managed to find this, last few summers I had to give up my daily swims due unbelievable numbers of Mauve Stingers in the island waters. This revolutionary product promises jellyfish will never again be a threat :clap::
Swimming with Meduses

there is also a demonstration video here but it is all in Norwegian
Safe Sea Video
 
Ha, that lifeguard is pictured on a beach I spent many hours enjoying! And yeah, that's what it looks like to get zapped by one of those critters. I was lucky, it was only my arm.

As for protection... I think I'll just stick to swimming pools made for humans and leave the sea for the sea critters.
 
First time I ever swam in the ocean, it got hit by a sea wasp...a kind of small jelly fish. Next time we were snorkeling in the Keys, and I met up with an 8 foot bull shark the dive guys called "George".

I had a full on asthma attack and they had to pull me out of the water. 8 feet looks pretty big when it swims along side you. :shock:

Once I calmed down, I went right back in and finished my time snorkeling.

Would I do this all again?

No. I now prefer pools too. :lol:
 
Apparently one was sighted this week in St. Paul's Bay area- north coast of Malta according to the word of mouth. Have not been able to find any official confirmation, yet.
 
Thousands of jellyfish wash ashore on South Padre Island

Catherine Penz and her husband Pat Rakowski are Winter Texans from Canada.

They love visiting South Padre Island because they enjoy the fishing but they spotted something strange while reeling in their catch near Beach Access Six on Monday.

"I dont know why, but everywhere on the beach here there were quite a few of them, Rakowski said. “I was kind of surprised."

Rakowski said he and his wife have been coming to South Padre Island for five years and have never seen so many.

Viewer Louis Balderas sent a picture of what happened to the Action 4 News Facebook Fan Page.

It shows what seem to be hundreds of Portuguese Man-O-War jellyfish - on the shores of the north end of South Padre Island.

The photo has been circulating among Rio Grande Valley residents on Facebook and Twitter.

Tony Reisinger is a coastal resources agent with the State of Texas.

He told Action 4 News that the concentration of man-o-war jellyfish was in an isolated area several miles north of Beach Access Six

Reisinger said that the jellyfish likely washed ashore after preying on fish in the area.

"They go where there's food and they depend on the wind and we usually have what we call blooms in different areas and right now there's a lot of fish that are spawning,” he said.

Reisinger warns people not to touch the man-o-war because even out of the water, certain parts of the jellyfish are poisonous and could sting..

"If you touch the tentacles, they will stick little tiny harpoons into your body with a toxin on them so that it will affect you,” he said.

Anyone who gets stung is asked to remove any part still stuck to their skin and try soothing the sting with meat tenderizer.

Reisinger said although it may not have been a typical site, there's nothing unusual about the amount of jellyfish that washed up to shore.

He said there's nothing to do at this point, but let mother nature take its course.

City of South Padre Island officials told Action 4 News that the jellyfish are not on city beaches and that they are safe to visit.

City of South Padre Island Statement:

The City of South Padre Island beaches are clear from the presence of jellyfish and are safe to visit. The concentration of jellyfish that was reported was in an isolated area several miles north of County Beach Access #6.

An extensive patrol was conducted by city staff and a minor presence of jellyfish was visible along City beaches.

“City beaches are currently not being impacted by the influx of jellyfish that washed up yesterday at the county beaches to the north,” said Coastal Resources Manager, Reuben Treviño.

As a precaution, City staff recommends being careful while visiting the beach and enjoying the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico.
Click to expand...

Video report -

http://www.valleycentral.com/news/story.aspx?id=722250
 
Nasty surprise waiting on Southland beaches

Visitors to Oreti Beach near Invercargill in recent days will have noticed the bodies of thousands of bluebottle jellyfish washed up on the sand.

Department of Conservation biodiversity programme manager Jessyca Bernard - who said she was "99.9 per cent certain" they were bluebottle jellyfish - warned they were dangerous even when dead.

People who saw them on the beach should not touch them and should keep their pets away from them, she said.

"They may remain potent for hours or even days after the death of the creature or the detachment of the tentacles."

If stung an allergic reaction could follow and those affected should seek medical assistance, she said.

When alive and in the ocean the gas-filled bladders of the jellyfish remained on the water's surface and the remainder of the body including tentacles were submerged, she said.

Because they had no means of propulsion they were moved along by a combination of winds, currents, and tides, often congregating in thousands and sometimes being blown onto beaches.

Ms Bernard said when the jellyfish were blown onto the beach their tentacles invariably detached from the bodies and washed into the sand, leaving only the bladders and jelly of the jellyfish, which varied between 9 centimetres to 30cm in size, visible to the public on the beach.
Click to expand...

_http://www.stuff.co.nz/southland-times/news/8077924/Nasty-surprise-waiting-on-Southland-beaches
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Trending content

Back
Top Bottom