W
hat is up with the big blue blobs right
now? They’re a frequent visitor to the
Queensland coast and over the years we’ve
seen them occasionally boom and sometimes
not turn up at all - but why are they here right
now in seemingly plague proportions?
Normal seasonal fluctuation in numbers are
hard to predict, but it has been suggested
that this year the combination of favourable
meteorological and climate along with ever
diminishing populations of the jellies’ natural
predators is contributing to the so-called
bloom. But the verdict is still out on whether
or not the world’s jellyfish populations are in
fact increasing with climate change, global
warming and other man-made factors such
as over fishing.
The jellocalypse, as it is referred to by some,
may just be a myth, with a recent international
study suggesting that there is no tangible
evidence global jellyfish numbers have
actually increased over the last 200 years.
The study and report entitled Recurrent
Jellyfish Blooms are a Consequence of Global
Oscillations was led by Dr Rob Condon of
the Dauphin Island Sea Lab in Alabama US,
along with experts from the Global Jellyfish
Group - a group of over 30 key researchers
including lead co-author Winthrop Professor
Carlos Duarte of The University of Western
Australia’s Oceans Institute.
“The important aspect about our work is that
we have provided the long-term baseline
backed with all data available to science,
which will enable scientists to build on and