Jellyfish Bloom Explained

The sea nettle is the Bering Sea's most common jellyfish. Its tentacles may reach six meters (nearly 20 feet). A new study helps explain a cyclic increase and decrease of jellyfish populations, showing that the availability of food for the animals may cap the potential size of the Bering Sea's jellyfish population, even while other factors, such as rising temperatures, encourage continued growth.

The results indicate that any increase in temperatures in the Bering Sea will not necessarily lead to excessive jellyfish blooms, even though jellyfish populations spike in warmer latitudes as temperatures rise. The study provides potentially good news for the Bering Sea's fishing industry, source for more than half of U.S. fish and shellfish, which has been damaged by jellyfish in the past.

Credit: Kevin Raskoff