"Explosive Growth" Of Box Jellyfish, Mauve Stingers Closes Popular Spanish Beaches - Telegraph

[hatrack]

Several beaches on the Costa Blanca north of Alicante were closed to bathers after swarms of the Mauve Stinger jellyfish plagued the beaches of the Mediterranean. The tentacles of the bright purple creatures, which emit a yellow glow at night, deliver mild stings but can cause severe allergic reactions in some people even leading to heart failure.

The Red Cross treated 50 people for stings in just half an hour last Thursday on a beach in Denia, a resort on Spain's eastern Mediterranean coast and fear numbers may reach that of 2008, when a record 4,000 people were treated for stings in Denia alone. It is one of the most popular resorts on the Costa Blanca, a region which attracts an estimated two million foreign tourists each year – 40 per cent of them from Britain.

EDIT

Marine experts have this year also detected a rise in the number of the Carybdea marsupialis, known as box jellyfish, to the Costa Blanca. The cube shaped gelatinous creatures more commonly found in tropical waters of the Caribbean deliver a painful sting and can leave an itching burning welt that lasts up to three weeks.

Scientists from the University of Alicante (UA) are studying the sudden proliferation of a species until now rarely seen off the Spanish coast. "We are surprised by the sudden explosive growth in numbers of this species," said Prof Just Bayle, head of Marine Sciences at UA. "They are concentrated in areas of lower salinity, such as is found off Denia, where freshwater flows into the sea."

EDIT

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/wildlife/7922422/Jellyfish-invasion-closes-beaches-across-Spain.html

[damntexdem]

1. I tell you, the oceans are seeking revenge for what humans have done to them.

The Gulf Gusher was the last straw.

So far, they're only sending jellies onto our beaches. But just wait until the land sharks come ashore -- when they reach Denver, we'll know we're doomed!

;-)

[Nihil]

3. Book recommendation:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Swarm-Novel-Deep-Frank-Schatzing/dp/0340920750/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1280911849&sr=1-2

I disagree with many of the reviews as I found it a fascinating novel.

:hi:

[Pisces]

2. We kill off the large fish that dine on jellyfish, global warming heats up the waters

and jellyfish multiply. Not brain surgery.