Pdfs

Global expansion of jellyfish blooms: Magnitude, causes and consequences

Why is there a global expansion of jellyfish blooms?

Jellyfish have an important role in the undersea food chain. Even though they are tiny creatures and they seem to be really simple, they help to keep the balance in the delicate ecosystem of the ocean. Due to the fact that jellyfish have relatively small bodies they cannot swim against currents in the ocean as others animals do. In the same way they cannot hunt for food as many other animals because of the same reason.

However, the fact that they cannot hunt effectively does not take away the importance of jellyfish in the food chain of the ocean. Jellyfish are food for a reasonable number of species in the ocean. Even in some Asian countries people eat them.

According to The National Center for Ecological Analysis of synthesis jellyfish are an important and often conspicuous component of oceanic food. However, during the last years they have increase outrageously causing some damages to industries, fisheries, and tourism.

The NCEA project is to investigate everything about this increase. Their main objectives right now are to set up their hypothesis, to look for the effects that this exaggerated increase has caused, to see what consequences can happen in the future, and the last one but not least one to inform people about what is going on....