A 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