DEAKIN University marine scientists are part of a global team working to take the sting out of jellyfish blooms.
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In a discovery that could save millions of dollars for the aquaculture and other industries, Warrnambool-based marine science chairman Graeme Hays and colleagues at the UK’s Swansea University have discovered jellyfish have the ability to detect the direction of ocean currents and swim strongly against them.
It is not yet clear how the jellyfish figure out which way to go, but Professor Hays said it was possible they detected current shear across their body surface, or could indirectly assess the direction of drift using other cues, such as the earth’s magnetic field or infrasound.
“Understanding the distribution of jellyfish in the open ocean may be practically useful for predicting and avoiding troublesome jellyfish blooms and, for example, aquaculture farms can use that information to protect their fish,” he said.
“While jellyfish do play an important role in ocean ecosystems as prey for leatherback sea turtles and other animals, they can also clog fishing nets and sting beachgoers.”
The researchers tracked the movements of free-ranging barrel-jellyfish with GPS loggers and used GPS-tracked floats to record the current flows in waters off the coast of northern France. They found that while jellyfish don’t have an actual brain or heart, they have the ability to swim against the current.
“We now know that jellyfish are not just bags of jelly drifting passively in the oceans,” Professor Hays said.
“They are incredibly advanced in their orientation abilities.”