Thursday, 3 November 2022

Jelly Bellies

'Jellyfish' ia a common name applied to the medusae of some Coelenterates. Twenty years of 'citizen science' by the Marine Conservation Society (MCS), has recorded an increasing number of 'new' species on UK beaches (https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/nov/03/climate-crisis-brings-growing-numbers-of-unusual-jellyfish-to-uk-seas ). The MCS note that, many of the 'new' species washing up on Britain's beaches, are more typically found in warmer seas. Three typical medusae from Welsh beaches are shown. In addition the citizen scientists have been noting comb jellies (like Pleurobrachia pileus) and even the Portuguese man o' war (Physalia physalia) on UK shores. Neither of these last two are strictly 'jellyfish'. Comb jellies are Ctenophora (not Coelenterates) and the man o' war is a floating colony of specialised individuals.

No comments:

Food For Thought?

The link between global heating and food prices is clearly illustrated in a recent CarbonBrief ( https://www.carbonbrief.org/five-charts-ho...