Jellyfish Take Over By Rosalind Fonem

Imagine this. There are glowing lights all around a ship in the middle of the ocean. An 18th-century sailorwould most likely think that a monster was surrounding the ship—ready to ingest it and all the people onboard. Today, we know that the lights come from the phosphorescent glow of jellyfish. Although swarms of jellyfish can be beautiful, they can also be a central part of an ecological disaster in the making.

For an animal that has does not have a brain, a heart, or blood, jellyfish have a negative impact in many places in the world. Normally, jellyfish travel in groups called swarms. When these swarms multiply and their numbers grow out of control, they are called blooms. Some species of jellyfish can release up to 40,000 eggs daily! It’s no wonder that these swarms could turn into blooms.

In the Black Sea, blooms of Mnemiopsis jellyfish are responsible for millions of dollars in