Stormy climate has resulted in a rise in sightings of Portuguese man o’battle alongside the British shoreline.
A complete of 1,315 jellyfish sightings – and a 2% enhance in man o’battle sightings – had been reported to the Marine Conservation Society as a part of its annual evaluation.
Portuguese man o’battle has tentacles containing capsules with coiled barbed tubes delivering venom that may paralyse or kill small fish and crustaceans.
Its sting isn’t deadly for people however can nonetheless be very painful and trigger welts on the pores and skin.
A spokeswoman for the charity mentioned: “Storms in October 2021 and February 2022 led to a rise in Portuguese man o’battle sightings, which had been up by 2% from the earlier yr.
“Although they have a bad reputation, these jellyfish-like creatures don’t normally occur in UK waters, preferring instead to drift in the open ocean.
“Sightings of those uncommon guests had been primarily alongside the southwest coast and the west coast of Scotland, with westerly winds carrying them throughout the Atlantic to our shores.
“Sometimes stranding at the same time was the violet sea snail, which floats on the surface in bubble rafts, feeding on Portuguese man o’wars.”
‘Changes in temperatures’
The man o’battle is usually regarded as a jellyfish however it is just carefully associated.
Instead it’s a species of siphonophore – an animal made up of a colony of organisms working collectively.
Among the opposite animals noticed had been the compass jellyfish and moon jellyfish, which every accounted for 23% of sightings, together with a rise in sightings of “other” species – up from 5% to 9% this yr.
The spokeswoman mentioned: “Tracking reports of ‘other’ species like these could show how changes in temperatures might be impacting jellyfish diversity in the UK.”
Leatherback turtles noticed in Scotland
A complete of 11 turtles, which feed on jellyfish, had been reported, together with six dwell leatherback turtles noticed on the coast of Scotland.
Amy Pilsbury, MCS citizen science mission lead, mentioned: “We use these sightings, alongside scientists, to spot trends in the distribution of jellyfish and marine turtles around the UK.
“Investigating the relationships between species may help us to find extra about our superb underwater world and the way it may be altering in response to issues like local weather change.”
Source: information.sky.com”