Millions of jellyfish gather in a marine lake in Palau in the Pacific. Scientists believe that some jellyfish swarms are natural phenomena and that some jellyfish swarms are promoted by human activities. Click on image for full size (49 Kb) Image Courtesy of Michael Dawson, University of California, Merced

Massive swarms of stinging jellyfish and jellyfish-like animals are transforming many world-class fisheries and tourist destinations into veritable jellytoriums that are intermittently jammed with pulsating, gelatinous creatures. Areas that are currently particularly hard-hit by these squishy animals include Hawaii, the Gulf of Mexico, the east coast of the U.S., the Bering Sea, the Mediterranean Sea, Australia, the Black Sea and other European seas, the Sea of Japan, the North Sea and Namibia.

Massive jellyfish swarms--some of which cover hundreds of square miles--have caused injuries and even occasional deaths to water enthusiasts, and have caused serious damage to fisheries, fish farms, marine mines, desalination plants, ships and nuclear power plants. Since the 1980s, jellyfish swarms have cost the world's fishing and tourism industries alone hundreds of millions of dollars and perhaps even billions of dollars.

From large swarms of potentially deadly, peanut-sized jellyfish in Australia to swarms of hundreds of millions of refrigerator-sized jellyfish in the Sea of Japan, suspicion is growing that population explosions of jellyfish are being generated by human activities. Human activities that have been suggested by media reports and scientists as possible causes of some jellyfish swarms include pollution, climate change, introductions of non-native species, overfishing and the presence of artificial structures, such as oil and gas rigs. But which of these human activities, if any of them, are really to blame?

Surprising insights about the causes and character of jellyfish blooms are revealed in a new online multi-media report by the National Science Foundation. Titled Jellyfish Gone Wild: Environmental Change and Jellyfish Swarms, the report is posted at: http://www.nsf.gov/news/special_reports/jellyfish/index.jsp.

Jellyfish Gone Wild features eye-popping photos and videos of jellyfish, stinging statistics about jellyfish swarms and thought-provoking explanations of how and why jellyfish swarms form. This reader-friendly report provides a serious overview of the science of jellyfish swarms that is nevertheless tinged with the kind of humor (jelly jollies) demanded by such intrinsically creepy creatures. Jellyfish Gone Wild is ideal for reporters, general readers, beach-goers, fishermen, teachers, students, researchers and conservation organizations.

Text above is courtesy of the National Science Foundation

Millions of jellyfish gather in a marine lake in Palau in the Pacific. Scientists believe that some jellyfish swarms are natural phenomena and that some jellyfish swarms are promoted by human activities. Click on image for full size (49 Kb) Image Courtesy of Michael Dawson, University of California, Merced

Huge swarms of stinging jellyfish and jellyfish-like animals are turning parts of the world's ocean into "jellytoriums" that are sometimes jam-packed with these slimy creatures. Areas that are currently hard-hit by jellyfish include Hawaii, the Gulf of Mexico, the east coast of the U.S., the Bering Sea, the Mediterranean Sea, Australia, the Black Sea, the Sea of Japan, the North Sea, and Namibia.

Massive jellyfish swarms--some of which cover hundreds of square miles--have caused injuries and even occasional deaths to people in the ocean, and have caused serious damage to fisheries, fish farms, marine mines, ships, and nuclear power plants.

These swarms include potentially deadly, peanut-sized jellyfish in Australia and hundreds of millions of refrigerator-sized jellyfish in the Sea of Japan. Scientists think the population explosions of jellyfish are being caused by human activities like pollution, climate change, introductions of non-native species, overfishing, and the presence of human-made structures like oil and gas rigs. But which of these human activities, if any of them, are really to blame?

The National Science Foundation has released a new multi-media report that has information about the causes and character of jellyfish blooms. It is called Jellyfish Gone Wild: Environmental Change and Jellyfish Swarms, and can be found at: http://www.nsf.gov/news/special_reports/jellyfish/index.jsp.

Jellyfish Gone Wild features eye-popping photos and videos of jellyfish, stinging statistics about jellyfish swarms, and thought-provoking explanations of how and why jellyfish swarms form.

Millions of jellyfish gather in a marine lake in Palau in the Pacific. Scientists believe that some jellyfish swarms are natural phenomena and that some jellyfish swarms are promoted by human activities. Click on image for full size (49 Kb) Image Courtesy of Michael Dawson, University of California, Merced

Parts of the ocean are filling up with swarms of stinging jellyfish and jellyfish-like animals. Areas that are hard-hit by jellyfish include Hawaii, the Gulf of Mexico, the east coast of the U.S., the Bering Sea, the Mediterranean Sea, Australia, the Black Sea, and the Sea of Japan.

Massive jellyfish swarms have caused injuries and even occasional deaths to people in the ocean. They have also caused serious damage to fisheries, fish farms, ships, and nuclear power plants. Some of these swarms cover hundreds of square miles.

Scientists think the population explosions of jellyfish are being caused by human activities like pollution, climate change, overfishing, and structures like oil and gas rigs. But which of these human activities, if any of them, are really to blame?

The National Science Foundation has released Jellyfish Gone Wild, which features eye-popping photos and videos of jellyfish, stinging statistics about jellyfish swarms, and interesting explanations of how and why jellyfish swarms form. The report can be found at: http://www.nsf.gov/news/special_reports/jellyfish/index.jsp.