Invasion of the Jellyfish

    Some deadly sea creatures are taking over the world’s oceans. 

    In the Philippines, millions of these creatures swarmed a power plant. They cut off electricity—causing the country’s largest island to go dark. 

    In Australia, the creatures shut down the cooling system of a giant U.S. Navy ship. The ship had been built to stand up to the world’s mightiest armed forces. But it was no match for these scary beasts.

    And off the coast of Ireland, the creatures attacked a group of salmon. When the violence was over, 100,000 fish were dead.

    What are these monsters from the deep? A mob of angry killer whales? An evil gang of great white sharks? An army of giant squid?

    In fact, the villains are . . . jellyfish.

    Some deadly sea creatures are taking over the world’s oceans. 

    In the Philippines, millions of the creatures swarmed a power plant. They cut off electricity. They caused the country’s largest island to go dark. 

    In Australia, the creatures shut down the cooling system of a giant U.S. Navy ship. The ship was built to stand up to enemies. But it was no match for these beasts.

    In Ireland, the creatures attacked a group of salmon. One hundred thousand fish were killed.

    What are these monsters? A mob of killer whales? A gang of sharks?

    Nope. These villains are . . . jellyfish.

    Some deadly sea creatures are taking over the world’s oceans. 

    In the Philippines, millions of these creatures swarmed a power plant, cutting off electricity and causing the country’s largest island to go dark. 

    In Australia, the creatures shut down the cooling system of a giant U.S. Navy ship. The ship had been built to stand up to the world’s mightiest armed forces, but it was no match for these dangerous beasts.

    Off the coast of Ireland, the creatures attacked a group of salmon—and when the violence was over, 100,000 fish were dead.

    What are these monsters from the deep? A mob of angry killer whales? An evil gang of great white sharks? An army of giant squid?

    In fact, the villains are jellyfish.

    There are nearly 4,000 species of jellyfish in the ocean. They come in all sizes. 

    The creeping jellyfish is so small you need a microscope to see it. The lion’s mane jellyfish has tentacles that can grow up to 120 feet long. It is the longest creature on Earth. 

    Most jellyfish can’t hurt humans too badly. But some species can kill. The Irukandji [i-roo-kan-gee] jellyfish has venom in its tentacles. When this type of jellyfish stings, its venom can stop a human heart in three minutes.

    There are nearly 4,000 species of jellyfish in the ocean. They come in all sizes. 

    The creeping jellyfish is very small. You need a microscope to see it. The lion’s mane jellyfish is the longest creature on Earth. Its tentacles can grow up to 120 feet.  

    Most jellyfish can’t hurt humans badly. But some species can kill. The Irukandji [i-roo-kan-gee] jellyfish has venom in its tentacles. Its sting can stop a human heart in three minutes.

    There are nearly 4,000 species of jellyfish in the ocean. They can be as small as the creeping jellyfish, which can’t be seen without a microscope. Or, they can be as huge as the lion’s mane jellyfish—which has tentacles that can grow up to 120 feet long, making it the longest creature on Earth. 

    Most jellyfish can’t hurt humans too badly, but some species can kill. The Irukandji [i-roo-kan-gee] jellyfish has venom in its tentacles. When this type of jellyfish stings, its venom can stop a human heart in three minutes.

    Right now, jellyfish rule the ocean. They wash onto Australian beaches by the thousands. Giant jellies invade Japanese waters by the millions. In the Mediterranean sea—between Africa and Europe—there are four times more jellyfish than there were 13 years ago. 

    It’s a population explosion that has scientists worried—and a little bit puzzled.

    Jellyfish, after all, seem like lifeless blobs. They have no brain, no bones, no heart, and no blood. One scientist describes them as a “bag of goo” with a stomach and nerves. Many species don’t even swim—they just drift.

    Right now, jellyfish rule the ocean. Thousands wash onto Australian beaches. Millions of giant jellies invade Japanese waters. In the Mediterranean Sea—between Africa and Europe—there are four times more jellies than there were 13 years ago.

    This population explosion has experts worried. Experts are puzzled too.

    Jellyfish seem like lifeless blobs. They have no brain. No bones. No heart. No blood. One scientist describes them as a “bag of goo” with a stomach and nerves. Many species don’t even swim. They just drift.

    Right now, jellyfish rule the ocean. They wash onto Australian beaches by the thousands. Giant jellies invade Japanese waters by the millions. In the Mediterranean Sea—between Africa and Europe—there are four times more jellyfish than there were 13 years ago. 

    It’s a population explosion that has scientists worried—and somewhat puzzled.

    Jellyfish, after all, seem like nothing more than lifeless blobs with no brain, no bones, no heart, and no blood. One scientist describes them as a “bag of goo” with a stomach and nerves. Many jellyfish species don’t even swim—they just drift.

    So how are these brainless, boneless blobs taking over our waters? They’re hard to kill—and quick to multiply.

    Fish such as tuna and swordfish eat jellyfish. But humans catch and eat a lot of tuna and swordfish. The more of them we catch, the fewer of them there are in the ocean to eat jellyfish. This helps the jellyfish population grow.

    Jellyfish also do their part to kill off their competition. Some jellies eat 10 times their own body weight every day. They feed on the eggs of other fish. They also eat up the food that other species need to survive. 

    Jellies can even live in polluted waters where other fish can’t. Farms and factories sometimes dump chemicals into rivers and oceans. These chemicals kill off many species. But in most areas, jellyfish survive.

    Even global warming may be good for jellies. Air pollution traps heat from the sun near Earth’s surface and heats up the oceans. The warmer water kills many fish. But jellyfish don’t seem to mind. In fact, some jellies have more babies in warmer water. 

    So how are these brainless, boneless blobs taking over our waters? They’re hard to kill. And they multiply quickly.

    Fish such as tuna and swordfish eat jellyfish. But humans catch and eat a lot of tuna and swordfish. That leaves fewer of these fish to hunt jellyfish. This helps the jellyfish population grow.

    And jellies eat the eggs of other fish too. They also eat the food that other fish need.

    Jellies can live in polluted waters. Farms sometimes dump chemicals into rivers and oceans. Factories do this too. The chemicals kill off many species. But jellies survive.

Even global warming may be good for jellies. Air pollution traps heat from the sun. The heat stays near Earth’s surface. It heats up the oceans. The warmer water kills many fish. But some jellies have more babies in warmer water. 

    So how are these brainless, boneless blobs taking over our waters? They’re hard to kill—and quick to multiply.

    Fish such as tuna and swordfish eat jellyfish, but humans catch and eat a lot of tuna and swordfish. The more of them we catch, the fewer there are in the ocean to eat jellyfish. This helps the jellyfish population grow.

    Jellyfish also do their part to kill off their competition. Some jellies eat 10 times their own body weight every day. They feed on the eggs of other fish and eat up the food that other species need to survive. 

    Jellies can even live in polluted waters where other fish can’t. Farms and factories sometimes dump chemicals into rivers and oceans. While these chemicals kill off many species living in those waters, somehow, the jellyfish survive.

    Even global warming may be good for jellies. Air pollution traps heat from the sun near Earth’s surface and heats up the oceans. The warmer water can be fatal to many fish, but jellyfish don’t seem to be affected. In fact, some jellies have more babies in warmer water. 

    Why are scientists worried about a few trillion brainless bags of goo? 

    First of all, jellyfish can ruin a good day at the beach. Their tentacles are coated with stinging venom. One touch of a tentacle stuns other fish—and hurts swimmers. Experts estimate that 150 million people around the world are stung by jellyfish every year. 

    Jellyfish can also cause major damage on land. They’ve gotten sucked into cooling systems at nuclear power plants in California, India, Sweden, and Japan. The plants had to shut down to avoid overheating. At one Japanese plant, workers had to clear out up to 150 tons of jellies a day.

    But are we really headed for a jellyfish disaster? Probably not. Jellies have been a natural part of ocean life for millions of years. Their numbers rise and fall naturally over time. 

    Still, right now jellyfish seem to own the water. And some scientists think we’d be smart to take that as a warning.

    Treat the ocean kindly, or get ready for the Invasion of the Jellies.

    Why are scientists worried about a few trillion brainless bags of goo? 

    First of all, jellyfish can ruin a day at the beach. How? Their tentacles are coated with stinging venom. One touch of a tentacle hurts swimmers. Worldwide, about 150 million people are stung by jellies every year. 

    Jellyfish can also cause major damage on land. They’ve gotten sucked into cooling systems at nuclear power plants. This has happened in California, India, Sweden, and Japan. The plants had to shut down. At one Japanese plant, workers had to clear out up to 150 tons of jellies a day.

    Are we really headed for a jellyfish disaster? Probably not. Jellies have been a natural part of ocean life for millions of years. Their numbers rise and fall naturally over time. 

    Still, right now jellyfish seem to own the water. And some scientists think we’d be smart to take that as a warning.

    Treat the ocean kindly, or get ready for the Invasion of the Jellies.

    Why are scientists worried about a few trillion brainless bags of goo? 

    First of all, jellyfish can ruin a good day at the beach, because their tentacles are coated with stinging venom. One touch of a tentacle stuns other fish—and hurts swimmers. Experts estimate that 150 million people around the world are stung by jellyfish every year. 

    Jellyfish can also cause serious damage on land. They’ve gotten sucked into cooling systems at nuclear power plants in California, India, Sweden, and Japan. The plants had to shut down to avoid overheating. At one Japanese plant, workers had to clear out up to 150 tons of jellies a day.

    We’re probably not really headed for a jellyfish disaster, though. Jellies have been a natural part of ocean life for millions of years, and their numbers rise and fall naturally over time. 

    Still, right now jellyfish seem to own the water, and some scientists think we’d be smart to take that as a warning: Treat the ocean kindly, or prepare for the Invasion of the Jellies.