Jellyfish?

Question

I was reading an article about jellyfish on AOL and it was saying how they have a huge affect on the world, in a negative way, so on and so on. There were comments left below the article and some people were saying that jellyfish cause a lot of problems, blah, blah, blah! Now my question is, what exactly is the issue with jellyfish. Not disagreeing with anything that was said in this article, because i don't know anything about it. So i was hoping someone could inform me about this issue! Thanks.

here's the link to the article.

http://news.aol.com/story/_a/monster-jellyfish-invade-gulf-of-mexico/20070820161509990001

Answer 1

The problem with this jellyfish is that it is not native to the Gulf of Mexico. Ships transfer water from their ballast when traveling from one ocean to another and can carry plants and animals with them. This Jelly is from Austrailia and it has taken over the area. This is what is called an invasive species. There is nothing wrong with these jellies living in their natural area around Austrailia because the fish and other factors keep them in check. In the Gulf of Mexico there isn't anything to keep them from getting out of control. They just simply compete too well in the new enviroment.

Since the natural factors that reduce their numbers do not exist in the gulf of mexico and other places they have spread the jellies can multiply out of control and eat up all the smaller animals in the area. This ruins the shrimp, shellfish, and baby fish populations. The Jellies also become a problem to people by clogging nets, engines, and other equipment simply because there are sooooo many of them.

This is a factsheet on these particular jellies with a couple pictures showing them in the water
http://nas.er.usgs.gov/queries/FactSheet.asp?speciesID=1192

Check out Invasive Species on Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Invasive_species

There is also a national and international list of species that are considered invasive out of their native enviroment.
http://www.invasivespeciesinfo.gov/index.shtml

Answer 2

Jellys have poisonous characteristics, some of which are fatal to humans. Others only cause mild to extreme discomfort and/or bodily damage.

Some scientists think that the jellyfish population is proportional in one way or the other to earth's mean temperature. That is yet to be determined, but it will make for interesting discussions.

What can we "do" about jellys?
Adapt and learn to live with them. They _are_ a part of our natural habitat.

Answer 3

There was a show on Animal Planet about jellyfish the other night.... I think that when they all get together in one large mass which can spread for miles/miles their tenticles which are poisonous kill most of the fish around.. Messing with the delicate balance of the regions ecosystem.. I think that's one con of jellyfish...

Answer 4

i think all they mean is that there r thousands of jellyfish in the sea, so usually, like, 3 in 6 people or somethin like that will be stung by a jellyfish. i think thats all they mean. jellyfish hurt like crazy.

Answer 5

The jellyfish are bad enough by themselves, but when they link up with the peanutbutterfish and the breadfish, things can get very sticky!

Answer 6

They've been part of the ecosystem for hundreds of millions of years. I think if they were a problem it would have happened a long time ago.

The fact that it was on AOL says it all.

Answer 7

the jelly fish eat fish sting people and there are some that the sting kills

Answer 8

They set and eventually clog up harbours.

Answer 9

yes jelly fish