Author: Lisa-ann Gershwin
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 022621303X
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 455
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Book Description
Our oceans are becoming increasingly inhospitable to life—growing toxicity and rising temperatures coupled with overfishing have led many marine species to the brink of collapse. And yet there is one creature that is thriving in this seasick environment: the beautiful, dangerous, and now incredibly numerous jellyfish. As foremost jellyfish expert Lisa-ann Gershwin describes in Stung!, the jellyfish population bloom is highly indicative of the tragic state of the world’s ocean waters, while also revealing the incredible tenacity of these remarkable creatures. Recent documentaries about swarms of giant jellyfish invading Japanese fishing grounds and summertime headlines about armadas of stinging jellyfish in the Mediterranean and Chesapeake are only the beginning—jellyfish are truly taking over the oceans. Despite their often dazzling appearance, jellyfish are simple creatures with simple needs: namely, fewer predators and competitors, warmer waters to encourage rapid growth, and more places for their larvae to settle and grow. In general, oceans that are less favorable to fish are more favorable to jellyfish, and these are the very conditions that we are creating through mechanized trawling, habitat degradation, coastal construction, pollution, and climate change. Despite their role as harbingers of marine destruction, jellyfish are truly enthralling creatures in their own right, and in Stung!, Gershwin tells stories of jellyfish both attractive and deadly while illuminating many interesting and unusual facts about their behaviors and environmental adaptations. She takes readers back to the Proterozoic era, when jellyfish were the top predator in the marine ecosystem—at a time when there were no fish, no mammals, and no turtles; and she explores the role jellies have as middlemen of destruction, moving swiftly into vulnerable ecosystems. The story of the jellyfish, as Gershwin makes clear, is also the story of the world’s oceans, and Stung! provides a unique and urgent look at their inseparable histories—and future.
Author: J.E. Purcell
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 9401007225
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 339
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Book Description
`Jellyfish', a group that includes scyphomedusae, hydromedusae, siphonophores and ctenophores, are important zooplankton predators throughout the world's estuaries and oceans. These beautiful creatures have come to public attention as featured exhibits in aquaria and in news headlines as invaders and as providers of genes used in biomedical research. Nevertheless, jellyfish are generally considered to be nuisances because they interfere with human activities by stinging swimmers, clogging power plant intakes and nets of fishermen and fish farms, and competing with fish and eating fish eggs and larvae. There is concern that environmental changes such as global warming, eutrophication, and over-fishing may result in increased jellyfish populations. The literature reviews and research papers in this volume explore the interactions between jellyfish and humans. Papers cover the medical aspects of jellyfish stings, jellyfish as human food and jellyfish fisheries, interactions of jellyfish and fish, effects of environmental changes on jellyfish, effects of introduced ctenophores on the Black Sea ecosystem, factors causing increases or concentrations of jellyfish, and others aspects of jellyfish ecology. This is an important reference for students and professional marine biologists, oceanographers, fishery scientists, and aquarists.
Author: Kylie A. Pitt
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 9400770154
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 308
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Book Description
Jellyfish are one of the most conspicuous animals in our oceans and are renowned for their propensity to form spectacular blooms. The unique features of the biology and ecology of jellyfish that enable them to bloom also make them successful invasive species and, in a few places around the world, jellyfish have become problematic. As man increasingly populates the world’s coastlines, interactions between humans and jellyfish are rising, often to the detriment of coastal-based industries such as tourism, fishing and power generation. However we must not lose sight of the fact that jellyfish have been forming blooms in the oceans for at least 500 million years, and are an essential component of normal, healthy ocean ecosystems. Here many of the world’s leading jellyfish experts explore the science behind jellyfish blooms. We examine the unique features of jellyfish biology and ecology that cause populations to ‘bloom and bust’, and, using case studies, we show why jellyfish are important to coastal and ocean ecosystem function. We outline strategies coastal managers can use to mitigate the effects of blooms on coastal industries thereby enabling humans to coexist with these fascinating creatures. Finally we highlight how jellyfish benefit society; providing us with food and one of the most biomedically-important compounds discovered in the 20th century.
Author: Jennifer E. Purcell
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 9789400792821
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 0
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Book Description
This volume provides an identification key for the ephyrae of 18 common scyphozoan species, documents the Mediterranean-wide bloom of the invasive ctenophore Mnemiopsis leidyi, and addresses the direct effects of ocean acidification on jellyfish.
Author: Jennifer E. Purcell
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 9048195411
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 232
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Book Description
This volume provides an identification key for the ephyrae of 18 common scyphozoan species, documents the Mediterranean-wide bloom of the invasive ctenophore Mnemiopsis leidyi, and addresses the direct effects of ocean acidification on jellyfish.
Author: Lisa-ann Gershwin
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 022628770X
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 225
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Book Description
An introduction to these bizarre and beautiful creatures of the sea, filled with color photos and illustrations: “Fascinating.”—Boing Boing Jellyfish are the oldest multi-organed life form on the planet, having inhabited the ocean for more than five hundred million years. With their undulating umbrella-shaped bells and sprawling tentacles, they are compelling and gorgeous, strange and dangerous. In many places they’re also vastly increasing in number, and these population blooms may be an ominous indicator of the rising temperatures and toxicity of the oceans. Jellyfish presents these aquarium favorites in all their glory. Fifty unique species, from the purple people eater to black sea nettles, are presented in stunning photos along with the most current scientific information on their anatomy, history, distribution, position in the water, and environmental status. Foremost jellyfish expert Lisa-ann Gershwin provides an insightful look at the natural history and biology of each of these spellbinding creatures, plus a timely take on their place in the rapidly changing and deteriorating condition of the oceans. Learn about immortal jellyfish who live and die and live again—as well as those who camouflage themselves amid sea grasses and shells, hiding in plain sight. Discover the jellyfish that’s the world’s most venomous animal, and the jellyfish that helped scientists win the Nobel Prize. They’re all here and more in this delightful volume. “A thorough coverage of jellyfish history, biology and ecology. Gershwin, a marine biologist who has discovered over 200 new species of jellyfish, does an excellent job of combining a compelling narrative of 50 different jellyfish with luscious, I-can’t-believe-they’re-real photos.”—Boing Boing
Author: Jennifer Purcell
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 9400753160
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 289
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Book Description
Jellyfish generally are considered to be nuisances because they interfere with human activities by stinging swimmers, clogging power plant intakes and nets of fishermen, killing fish in aquaculture pens, and being both predators and competitors of fish. There is concern that environmental changes such as global warming, eutrophication, over-fishing, and coastal construction may benefit jellyfish populations. During this past decade following the first Jellyfish Blooms volume, some species have bloomed more frequently, expanded their range, and caused more problems for humans. Mnemiopsis leidyi, the ctenophore that invaded the Black Sea in the 1980s and damaged fisheries, now also blooms in the North, Baltic, and Mediterranean seas. Nemopilema nomurai, a giant Asian jellyfish, has bloomed frequently during this decade, causing severe damage to the Japanese fishing industry. Jellyfish Blooms: Interactions with Humans and Fisheries is the fourth volume in this series. Syntheses and original research articles address the question if jellyfish have increased globally and what factors may have contributed to the abundance of jellyfish. This volume is the most extensive to date, containing papers from all continents (except Antarctica) on scyphozoans, hydrozoans, cubozoans, staurozoans, and ctenophores, and on the fate of jellyfish blooms. This is a key reference for students and professional marine biologists, oceanographers, and fishery scientists and managers. Previously published in Hydrobiologia, vol. 690, 2012
Author: United States. Congress. House. Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries. Subcommittee on Fisheries and Wildlife Conservation
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Jellyfishes
Languages : en
Pages : 80
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Book Description
Committee Serial No. 89-28. Considers H.R. 11475 and similar H.R. 11507 and H.R. 16634, to authorize the Interior Dept to provide financial and technical aid to states for study and control of jellyfish.
Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Invertebrate populations
Languages : en
Pages : 352
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Book Description
Author: Ferdinando Boero
Publisher: Food & Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO)
ISBN:
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 70
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Book Description
It is clear that a new type of human approach to marine ecosystems is needed to confront phenomena such as jellyfish blooms. This document provides an updated overview of this phenomenon in the Mediterranean and Black Sea and illustrates how the problem is affecting societies. It reviews current knowledge on gelatinous plankton in the affected region, providing a framework for its inclusion into fisheries science and the management of human activities such as tourism and coastal development. Fact sheets on the most important gelatinous plankters of the Mediterranean and Black Seas are included as an appendix.
