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Jellyfish Outbreaks a Sign of Nature Out of Sync
physorg.com — The dramatic proliferation of jellyfish in oceans around the world, driven by overfishing and climate change, is a sure sign of ecosystems out of kilter, warn experts.
ArnoldPettibone- 795 diggs
- digg it
- louiebaur, on 06/18/2008, -7/+31Man I got stung by one of those things before that sucked!
- Mswldflwr, on 06/18/2008, -0/+11Did you have anybody pee on it? I hear that works pretty good.
- fudged71, on 06/19/2008, -1/+5*flashback to Survivor*
*shivers* - DestroyFascism, on 06/19/2008, -0/+1It sounds like a good excuse...
- fudged71, on 06/19/2008, -1/+5*flashback to Survivor*
- ivan423, on 06/19/2008, -1/+19I just got an idea for a crazy porno.
- WiseWeasel, on 06/19/2008, -0/+21Sorry, Japan beat you to it...
- fudged71, on 06/19/2008, -0/+6I fear for your sanity
- Archer007, on 06/19/2008, -1/+1I don't, I know it's gone away. To Japan.
- udee79, on 06/19/2008, -4/+3When my daughter got stung someone ran and got adolph meat tenderizer. Its enzyme is supposed to break down the toxin
- inhaler, on 06/19/2008, -0/+9If it's not pee, I don't think anyone is interested. :P
- Dotcommer, on 06/19/2008, -1/+2It doesn't have to be urine. Vinegar will do as well.
- poet, on 06/19/2008, -0/+5All I read was "HITLER".
- ivan423, on 06/19/2008, -0/+3Jellyfish + Pee + Japan + Insanity + Meat Tenderizer + Vinegar + Hitler = One hell of a porno
- NgrHader, on 06/19/2008, -5/+1Must the the Patriots doing this!
- burjzyntski, on 06/19/2008, -1/+0What did it feel like before it sucked?
- Mswldflwr, on 06/18/2008, -0/+11Did you have anybody pee on it? I hear that works pretty good.
- cashman57, on 06/18/2008, -12/+20Jellyfish are not a "sure sign of climate change".When conditions are ideal, as in plenty of food and space, their population will increase and as those conditions change again, as they constantly do, the population will show that result as well.
Jellyfish can live in the cold waters of the Bering and the warm waters of the Carribean.- WiseWeasel, on 06/19/2008, -5/+16I think you missed the whole 'overfishing' part of the argument. If we eliminate their natural predators, then their numbers increase. It's a similar situation to rising populations of deer in many places after wolves were eliminated from the ecosystem.
- cnot3, on 06/19/2008, -5/+4What eats jellyfish? They are covered in stinging cells, I would imagine they have very few predators because of that fact. If anything, the elimination of other fish species would cause a rise in copepod populations, since both jellyfish and small fish feed on them, if fish are eliminated, that leaves more room for jellyfish to prosper.
- NovaPrime9, on 06/19/2008, -1/+4Well, I know that sea turtles eat jellyfish. But a quick Google search turned this up: "Jellyfish are eaten mostly by spadefish, sunfish, and loggerhead turtles. People in China and Japan like to eat the mushroom jellyfish. Both fresh and pickled mushroom jellyfish are eaten."
- WiseWeasel, on 06/19/2008, -0/+4A quick google search yields:
http://ph.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=200 ...
"Tuna, swordfish, moonfish, triggerfish and certain kinds of sea turtles - especially the leatherback turtle-which is a major jellyfish predator." - ExitMoose, on 06/19/2008, -0/+4@WiseWeasel
It makes you wonder why people speculate so much on the internet, when there are facts everywhere to be found. Maybe it's just that people are lazy. - DarkPrincess74, on 06/19/2008, -0/+1You've never had a peanut butter and jellyfish sandwich with the crusts off? mmmm sooo good.
- cnot3, on 06/19/2008, -5/+4What eats jellyfish? They are covered in stinging cells, I would imagine they have very few predators because of that fact. If anything, the elimination of other fish species would cause a rise in copepod populations, since both jellyfish and small fish feed on them, if fish are eliminated, that leaves more room for jellyfish to prosper.
- prince87x, on 06/19/2008, -0/+11It may not be a sure sign of climate change, but how many signs must we be given before we realize something is wrong? Oh sure the bee crisis was just a fluctuation of the ecosystem, the warming of the Earth is a natural process, large asteroids coming out of the sky and annihilatimg all life on earth, and now the jellyfish. The ecosystem is going to fluctuate, but whether or not people want to believe it we have an impact on those systems in some form or another so wouldn't it be better to be safe then sorry?
- LucifersDad, on 06/19/2008, -1/+1Humans learn by disasters.
It would take a very large thing to go wrong before humans will change, and the change will have to affect those in power otherwise nothing will happen.
Watching earth is like watching the titanic. The rich and powerful at the top are happily pushing on the accelerator as the ship heads into an iceberg we cannot see, hoping that nothing happens, but fail to realize if the planet turns to ***** they will be blamed, and moving to Dubai will not save them.
- LucifersDad, on 06/19/2008, -1/+1Humans learn by disasters.
- heresy_fnord, on 06/19/2008, -2/+2Scientists say one thing?
cashman57 aka "random internet expert" says another and of course he gets dugg up. Why? Because he said it on the internet and of course it's true.
You gotta love random internwebs experts! - monoa, on 06/19/2008, -0/+1Dun, dun, duhhhhhh! It's Captain Dunning Kruger Effect!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holocene_extinction_e ...
- WiseWeasel, on 06/19/2008, -5/+16I think you missed the whole 'overfishing' part of the argument. If we eliminate their natural predators, then their numbers increase. It's a similar situation to rising populations of deer in many places after wolves were eliminated from the ecosystem.
- kickingback77, on 06/18/2008, -3/+5Scary....
- deckarddigg, on 06/18/2008, -6/+31The ecosystem is always "in balance": it's a closed system. We're just changing its configuration in way that kicks our own asses.
- Majorkerina, on 06/19/2008, -1/+8*nods* There was a good point made in a film I saw. "Saving the Environment" isn't, when it comes down to it, about..."aww...all the baby seals are okay" so much as ultimately being "so human beings can survive." The environment will gladly crush us like a vengeful mother if we can't make further adaptations as a civilization and species.
- ronaldmonster, on 06/19/2008, -0/+1*inserts jokes about windows*
- monoa, on 06/19/2008, -1/+1What a clueless assertion. Ever heard of 'mass extinctions'? The possibly biggest is happening right now and humans are the cause:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holocene_extinction_e ...
- Majorkerina, on 06/19/2008, -1/+8*nods* There was a good point made in a film I saw. "Saving the Environment" isn't, when it comes down to it, about..."aww...all the baby seals are okay" so much as ultimately being "so human beings can survive." The environment will gladly crush us like a vengeful mother if we can't make further adaptations as a civilization and species.
- WiseWeasel, on 06/19/2008, -7/+6I think the solution is clear: we find a way to make fuel from jellyfish (FSM knows you can't eat the vile creatures, made in His image).
- Brian48216, on 06/19/2008, -1/+3"FSM knows you can't eat the vile creatures"
You haven't been to a chinese restaurant lately have you - 2Deluxe, on 06/19/2008, -0/+2I mean this seriously, Jellyfish is ***** delcicious with like a sesame sauce.
.. I think I'm gonna go for chinese now.. - DavidtheDuke, on 06/19/2008, -1/+2That's not actually a half-bad idea. BURN THEM!
- WiseWeasel, on 06/19/2008, -0/+1@Brian and 2Deluxe, I love Japanese, Chinese and Thai food, and I've had octopus and squid of many varieties, but I've never come across jellyfish, at least to my knowledge... If it's as delicious as you say it is, I'm going to have to check it out, if they even serve the stuff around here...
- ketsugi, on 06/19/2008, -0/+2I'm Chinese and while I don't *regularly* eat jellyfish, I've found it on my plate occasionally, usually at fancy dinners... not so much part of mom's everyday cooking.
- Brian48216, on 06/19/2008, -1/+3"FSM knows you can't eat the vile creatures"
- Gimjee, on 06/19/2008, -8/+2Not a sign of anything. They're just reproducing like crazy, with no predators or any real threat against them.
- cnot3, on 06/19/2008, -0/+4Its probably a sign of competing fish species being overfished. Both Jellyfish and many bony fish feed on copepods, if the fish are eliminated, that leaves more room for Jellyfish populations to grow, since they have very few natural predators. The article stated that fish populations were declining, but I don't see any way of controlling fishing activities in international waters.
- Jareth86, on 06/19/2008, -1/+3Yeah! We don't believe anything unless Ron Paul tells us to!
- bmcnally, on 06/19/2008, -8/+3I thought that such blooms happened every so often, like a red tide, algae bloom, or other massive overpopulation of a certain species. If it doesn't return to normal, i.e., if the predators don't bounce back THEN you have a problem. Otherwise, it's just a natural cycle - like deer and wolves.
- santaliqueur, on 06/19/2008, -2/+6Nope, the only reason anything happens is because humans are ***** things up, and this is no different. Let's all kill ourselves.
- sleepyjjk, on 06/19/2008, -1/+7Researchers would have considered this an anomaly if it just happened once or twice, but as the article states:
"Two centuries worth of data shows that jellyfish populations naturally swell every 12 years, remain stable four or six years, and then subside.
2008, however, will be the eighth consecutive year that medusae, as they are also known, will be present in massive numbers."
I would say that this is clearly not an anomaly, and that there is some outside force affecting the jellyfish's abnormal populations. - breezytrees, on 06/19/2008, -1/+3orly? kinda like humanity's constant growth and the constant regression of our prey, ie fish?
- ndgcs, on 06/19/2008, -7/+4Why are they called jellyfish?
Should be just called amorphous blob animal instead.- helliottlaw, on 06/19/2008, -0/+4Do you write jokes for Jay Leno?
- DestroyFascism, on 06/19/2008, -0/+1So did jelly come before jelly fish?
How about painful poisonous *****!
- vladimirp00pen, on 11/13/2008, -3/+6BLAH BLAH - Same exact story - less page noise
http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2008/06/18/jellyfish ...- maxwhirl, on 06/19/2008, -0/+2Isn't that weird that the physorg.com makes no citation or credit that the story is from Discovery.com? They steal the content and slap ads all over it. T'ain't right.
- Lagger, on 06/19/2008, -11/+6What DOESN'T global warming cause?
- follower64, on 06/19/2008, -2/+1Al Gore's energy plan, that's what! He can-- Oh, wait... nevermind...
- edein, on 06/19/2008, -1/+9girls to be attracted to me. :(
- falese, on 06/19/2008, -0/+2herpes.
that bitch juanita down the block causes that.
:(
- kenvsryu, on 06/19/2008, -7/+3I go to the clinic when I get outbreaks.
- gallagherFTW, on 06/19/2008, -5/+3This is the plot for The Happening 2
- oveedrx, on 06/19/2008, -1/+0dammit you beat me to the punch
- Duositex, on 06/19/2008, -0/+2I think Jellyfish would be scarier.
- MrTito, on 06/19/2008, -2/+11Damn. The last two summers I've gone to the beach and wondered why there was so many of those bastards. Last year 4 out of the 5 of us were stung. Never thought about this as the reason though.
But we did learn that, besides ammonia, vodka neutralizes the sting pretty well.- blugger, on 06/19/2008, -0/+9Wait. Do you pour the vodka over the sting or just drink it?
- WhoDoneIt, on 06/19/2008, -0/+3They drink the vodka in large amounts so they can pee more on the stings. Circle pee!!
- mal1964, on 06/19/2008, -0/+1You're right it works and is always handy.
- WhoDoneIt, on 06/19/2008, -0/+3They drink the vodka in large amounts so they can pee more on the stings. Circle pee!!
- blugger, on 06/19/2008, -0/+9Wait. Do you pour the vodka over the sting or just drink it?
- threemagic, on 06/19/2008, -1/+6They've escaped Jellyfish Fields?
- LordBoreal51, on 06/19/2008, -0/+5So rare is a SpongeBob reference on Digg. Kudos, nonetheless.
- flagrant, on 06/19/2008, -1/+12Jellyfish, the second most annoying thing at the Jersey shore.
- CaviMike, on 06/19/2008, -1/+2What's the first thing?
- follower64, on 06/19/2008, -1/+2What's the first?
- Yookji, on 06/19/2008, -0/+9Douchebags.
- falese, on 06/19/2008, -0/+2New Jersey.
- omegared, on 06/19/2008, -5/+5Ok, sorry to tell everyone that comes comments and says something about global warming being the cause of everything, to dismiss the article, should read the article. Guess what there are problems that humans cause to other animals and the environment, that is not associated with global warming.
- digitallysick, on 06/19/2008, -8/+3I wish we could destroy all jelly fish, that would be nice
- migshark, on 06/19/2008, -0/+0You should do some research on their toxins, they're quite advanced on the evolutionary scale. They may offer quite a lot of insight medically, as well as their cousins - such as the blue ringed octopus.
- ufia, on 06/19/2008, -0/+4Jellyfish tastes like stinging.
- KurtangleTN, on 06/19/2008, -3/+9I got attacked by jellyfish, musta got stung like probably a good like 15 times, and when I finally got back to shore I saw a beached jelly fish, and I thought "revenge time bitch" stomped on him with my flippers and the bitch sprayed ***** all over my face (or I busted the ***** out)
- TyrannousDotNet, on 06/19/2008, -1/+2think of jellyfish as symbolizing humans.
clever commentary jellyfish... - kreatre2007, on 06/19/2008, -9/+11I am so ***** sick and tired of "climate change" and "global warming" being injected into every news story about anything having to do with a change in what we consider to be the "norm" where it concerns the ecology, weather, etc. When did the scientists stop doing real research and start rubber stamping conclusions on everything? This is pathetic.
- prosayik, on 06/19/2008, -1/+4I would also like to disregard my bank account, my health, and many other factors. Things seem to work out okay, but I still pay attention to it.
I am not an climatologist. Nor am I an expert on stabbing, drugs, or alcohol. I won't take my chances though.
It may all be bunk, I don't know. But an anomaly as strong as this deserve attention. Even if it turns out to be part of a normal cycle (the article mentions this defies 200 years of data-- but okay make an argument about how in geological time that's nothing) yet it still deserves attention.
I'm all for not claiming that the sky is *not* falling or Y2K will *not* create a race of Ataris hell bent on eating human flesh thinking its 1900.
However, skepticism and caution are not mutually exclusive.- Lazydriver, on 06/19/2008, -0/+2You do realize he was telling Scientists to think -or rather, the sensationalist reporters to think instead of blaming it on 'global warming'? SPECIFICS ARE VITAL!
- Onyxblaze, on 06/19/2008, -0/+4It has nothing to do with global warming or climate change douche.
- Yookji, on 06/19/2008, -0/+6Scientists aren't stamping "climate change" onto everything -- the media is.
Now, climate change is inevitable, it's just how Earth's climate works regardless of humanities' interactions with it. But I sure as hell don't want to sacrifice a chunk of the economy just to attempt to prevent it from changing. Trying to control a system as large and mind-bogglingly complex as weather is a completely futile exercise.
- prosayik, on 06/19/2008, -1/+4I would also like to disregard my bank account, my health, and many other factors. Things seem to work out okay, but I still pay attention to it.
- SpykerSpeed, on 06/19/2008, -2/+5Could someone explain to me why Jellyfish are bad and Polar Bears are good? Why are you we applying our human ethics to the natural ebb and flow of species population?
- Jareth86, on 06/19/2008, -2/+5What the hell are you talking about? Polar bears are going extinct, and these things are over producing. You're talking about two completely different problems...
- patm1987, on 06/19/2008, -0/+1so... it's not global warming killing the jellyfish. It's the polar bears being jerks and dying.
- Jareth86, on 06/19/2008, -0/+1I meant that extinction and over population are different (not as obvious to some here as you'd think). Not that they're unrelated.
- senkmajer, on 06/19/2008, -0/+1Search "Polar Bear Populations Increasing." There are a LOT of articles that talk about how it appears that the Polar Bear numbers seem to be going up, not down. There's a lot of information there. Do with it what you like.
- patm1987, on 06/19/2008, -0/+1so... it's not global warming killing the jellyfish. It's the polar bears being jerks and dying.
- prosayik, on 06/19/2008, -2/+2Could someone explain to me why mutual bonds are good? I don't have them so they don't relate to me.
I'm sure they are good for some people.
I'm not going to say death to them or they are useless or they don't matter.
In fact, I think if they disappeared (mutual bonds) I would suffer consequences.
So no, I don't have a pet polar bear or jelly fish. Yet I won't claim to be an expert in why they should go away or don't matter simply because I see no direct benefit. - mrraven200, on 06/19/2008, -2/+1Lou the money laundering lardass??? Is that you???
http://www.thebestpageintheuniverse.net/c.cgi?u=mu ... - fuse13, on 06/19/2008, -1/+0Haha oh man. As dumb as many of the pro-climate-changist people are, the anti ones are there to prove they are waaay dumber.
- Jareth86, on 06/19/2008, -2/+5What the hell are you talking about? Polar bears are going extinct, and these things are over producing. You're talking about two completely different problems...
- tdeveny, on 06/19/2008, -3/+2I'm convinced George Bush ordered and organized the jellyfish explosion!
- follower64, on 06/19/2008, -8/+2Nothing is out of sync. Humans are a part of nature, so any by-product of our excistence is part of nature as well.
- pintomp3, on 06/19/2008, -0/+1right, and lead occurs naturally there for food with lead in it is all natural.
- djclay, on 06/19/2008, -1/+1Lead is an natural element and could end up in food naturally, but it doesn't necessarily mean we should eat it.
- lilkitty20, on 06/19/2008, -1/+0Bills are not coming to my house every month. Banks are not threatening to foreclose my house. And the gas prices aren't going up. Everything is fine.
It's nice to live in our self-centered bubbles, isn't it? - follower64, on 06/19/2008, -0/+1So you're all saying that humans are unnatural?
- pintomp3, on 06/19/2008, -0/+1right, and lead occurs naturally there for food with lead in it is all natural.
- Jareth86, on 06/19/2008, -1/+8Looking at some of the above comments makes me wonder. How many signs will it take until conservatives finally acknowledge somethings wrong. I mean, I know you guys don't want to acknowledge the existence of any situation that would call for government intervention of any type, but this is getting kind of serious...
- defwheezer, on 06/19/2008, -0/+2When their stocks crash, they will listen. Until then... and as long as profits keep coming in, it's 'FTW' for the conservatives.
- jm1234567890, on 06/19/2008, -1/+1mmm jellyfish, yum!
- Yookji, on 06/19/2008, -5/+3The Earth's climate and ecosystems are, and always have been in constant change. Operating under the illusion that they should remain constant is pure silliness.
- mrraven200, on 06/19/2008, -2/+3Change yes but during what time frame? Does ever occur to you that rapid human induced climate change, over fishing, etc might occur at a rate that natural evolution can't handle leading to eco systems collapse? Oh that's right you conservatives are still back in the middle ages, good luck with that Ave Maris prayer when life dies out due to human stupidity and your non existent god doesn't save you.
- fuse13, on 06/19/2008, -1/+2Who said they should remain constant? Why are you arguing against some imaginary point that nobody is making?
- mrraven200, on 06/19/2008, -1/+2Yes that's what he is doing it's called the strawman fallacy
- ogre2112, on 06/19/2008, -0/+2Went swimming on the outer banks of NC a couple weeks ago. Jellyfish everywhere.. Mostly dead, but they still freak the ***** out of me when one floats by.
- WhoDoneIt, on 06/19/2008, -1/+2Simple fix. Toss in a big ***** jar of peanut butter and wonder bread!! Om nom nom.
- donkeySays, on 06/19/2008, -1/+4Expert Input on Generating Electricity using Jellyfish
Keep a monkey farm, and a couple of jellyfish. Make the jellyfish sting the monkeys intermittently. Everytime a monkey is stung, it has to pull a lever to ease the pain. Pulling the lever moves a magnetic coil, which in turn converts mechanical energy into electric energy.
Oh, and don't bother trying to steal my invention. I am already at the patent office.- zombo, on 06/19/2008, -0/+2Are you planning on growing the bananas on site?
- mriegger, on 06/19/2008, -1/+2 I don't like jellyfish
They're not a fish, they're just a blob
They don't have eyes, fins or scales
Like a cod
They float about blind
Stinging people in the seas
And no-one eats jellyfish with chips and mushy peas
Get rid of 'em- MadroxKran, on 06/19/2008, -0/+0You have a think or two to learn about haiku.
- s0urce, on 06/19/2008, -1/+1Yea, but the fact that there are more jellyfish is a clear sign that nature is getting things back in sync.
- sfriedlander, on 06/19/2008, -0/+1why have there been so many front page articles about jellyfish lately?
- RetardoCrisp, on 06/19/2008, -0/+2Jellyfish among other micro organisms essentially dictate the temp of the oceans and in turn our climactic temperatures. We are screwing ourselves here...why do humans claim to be the most intelligent and yet refuse to change the obvious? Death by convenience.
- kou5oku, on 06/19/2008, -1/+2I For One, Welcome our new squishie overlords
- thedinomeister, on 06/19/2008, -1/+1so much climate change *****, so little time
- jrm71588, on 06/19/2008, -0/+0Well damn if the mass flooding, disease and famine, and hurricanes don't kill us all as a result of climate change, the jellyfish sure as hell will
- speedXdesign, on 06/19/2008, -0/+1Jellyfish + Plastic.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eScDfYzMEEw - mrbulldog, on 06/19/2008, -2/+1But obviously an outbreak of Humans over the years is not a sign of this? Evolution is not a "plan" or "fixed constant" and such changes can happen on a massive scale in any species. Sigh, more scare work by the people who if they don't cry wolf would not have a job.
- Areiadebondi, on 06/19/2008, -1/+1Climate change? So is the reason global warming or the next ice age now?
- MadroxKran, on 06/19/2008, -0/+0I'm going with the bronze age.
- liuite, on 06/19/2008, -0/+1we should popularize jellyfish salad...this would help drive them to extinction
- onionoino, on 06/19/2008, -0/+1i read a long while ago that increased jellyfish population is a sign of polluted waters. i dont know why for sure or even if it is true. But jellyfish are next to useless to human beings and when one species in an ecosystem becomes over-populated they tend to choke out all the other species. or die from starvation whichever. just the same though we humans are having a profound effect on our environment, its definitely not a positive effect, people really need to step back and look at the big picture and decide whether or not our ***** consumerist culture of waste and excess is really worth ***** over future generations for. Lets leave a planet worth living on for our children.
And to christians and jehovahs witness' the apocalypse is not coming soon, stop using that as an excuse to waste more and pollute. - jayscot, on 06/19/2008, -0/+1What is the "standard" by which they "measure" "out of sync"?
- DestroyFascism, on 06/19/2008, -0/+1The "When I was a boy" standard.
- Durrok, on 06/19/2008, -0/+1Was on vacation on Boston all last week and we couldn't go swimming due to all the jellyfish. I heard a lot of "Damn there are a lot of jellyfish out. I hope they go away soon" but no one acted like it was out of the norm. Makes me wonder now though.
- beauley, on 06/19/2008, -0/+1With all due respect to former Vice-President Al Gore, given his many years of dedication and his recently awarded Pulitzer Prize for his work on making the world aware of “Global Warming” and though still shrouded in some controversy, our even greater world problem is “Global Pollution”.
http://www.quazen.com/News/Opinions/Al-Gores-Decre ...
Al Gore's Decree on Global Warming is Not Our Only Crisis - gdha, on 06/19/2008, -0/+1Noooo good.
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