I really dislike jellyfish. I love snorkeling, want to start scuba diving and generally love the water. The problem is, jellyfish are there, too.
When I saw a story in the current Smithsonian Magazine about the increasing jellyfish populations around the world, I was not too happy to be proved right. (I was convinced there were more of them swimming in the water with me!)
Seems that we humans are making parts of the oceans even more friendly to all kinds of jellyfish! They even can live in dead zones. Seriously. Apparently “dead” zones aren’t entirely depleted of life and jellyfish thrive there. They also thrive in warmer water, as a researcher at the Monterey Bay Aquarium has been proving.
So, thanks to our addiction to oil and increasing levels of global CO2, the planet is even more friendly to nasty, poisonous jellyfish.
Read the article! It also explains why an increasing jellyfish population is a problem for other everyone from fisherman, miners and even the Navy. (So, it’s not just me!).
ONE good thing about jellyfish: they really are pretty to look at – in pictures!
