Jellyfish Surge Is Ocean Call for Help

Overfishing has led to wildly unbalanced ecosystem

(NEWSER) - Want to help restore the ocean’s severely unbalanced ecoysystem? Develop a taste for anchovies and sardines. A new study shows that a worldwide appetite for smaller, “grazing” fish would do wonders to restore balance after years of overfishing the more popular, and larger, varieties. Humans tend to like tuna, cod, and other predatory fish from the top of the food chain, the Independent reports. But after years of eating those varieties, their numbers are in a catastrophic decline, having fallen by two-thirds over the past century. More»

Great White it's not, but huge critter wreaks havoc

(NEWSER) - A jellyfish the size of a trash can lid raised a posthumous ruckus yesterday, stinging up to 150 at a New Hampshire beach and sending five of those to the hospital. Beach officials had apparently tried to remove its carcass earlier, causing it to break up into pieces that floated through the water stinging swimmers. Officials responding to the scene found a pavilion and beach packed with children crying "like they had been stung by a bee," says a firefighter. More»

Creatures' movements may carry carbon dioxide to ocean depths

(NEWSER) - Jellyfish may be secretly affecting the climate of the oceans: Their movements appear to help change the balance of carbon in the atmosphere, NPR reports. Many jellyfish hide from predators deep underwater during the day and head to the surface at night for a snack, says an oceanographer. When they return, a study in Nature says, they may be carrying carbon dioxide dissolved in surface water down with them. More»

(NEWSER) - Bathers at a British beach were flummoxed today by the sight of a 4-foot jellyfish that washed up on the shore near Devon, the Telegraph reports. It’s one of the biggest jellies to be found in the UK and unusually large for the Rootmouth species, which experts say usually grow to about 12 inches. Their tentacles pack a nasty sting. More»

New device can retrieve live creatures from high-pressure deep-sea zones

(NEWSER) - Scientists have captured a live fish from a record 7,500 feet under the Atlantic Ocean, the BBC reports. A new device allows recovery of live creatures from much farther down than was previously possible. The expedition to learn more about life around hydrothermal vents deep beneath the ocean also brought back three species of deep-sea shrimp. More»