Beachgoers Stunned To Find Thousands of Translucent Blue Creatures Washed Up Ashore in California
The world is filled with intriguing visuals. One such has been recently captured in California, which left civilians as well as officials astounded, stated KQED. The visual intrigued beachgoers and raised concerns among climate scientists.
The coast has recently witnessed the washing up of multiple blue, jellyfish-like creatures called Velella velella. Experts noted that these creatures are translucent in appearance. They are related to a siphonophore species Portuguese man o’ war. These species are known to travel through the ocean waves with the help of their minuscule sails. Steven Haddock, a senior scientist at Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, claimed that these creatures are more or less harmless by nature, with even their stings producing just a mild impact on their enemies.
These creatures, also known as "by-the-wind-sailors," were noticed spread out on the shore by onlookers in Bay Area beaches. "There were thousands of dead jellyfish all over the beach," Gabriel Speyer, who is a member of the South End Rowing Club, said about his sighting. "They were all over the beach and in the water, too. They’re like little rubbery blue-black discs, and when you’re swimming, they just float out of the way."
Speyer, like many locals, had heard of such sightings but had never witnessed one before. "The trippy part was that so many of them had washed ashore. I’ve never seen something like that before," Speyer continued. He was shocked by the sheer number of these creatures. The V. velella spread out on the shore were dried out, but scientists claim they have a very bright appearance when alive. "They’re beautiful when they’re alive," Haddock shared. V. velella appear in blue, purple, and indigo colors.
Experts claim these creatures are mostly detected in California during spring or early summer. "That’s because in the spring is when we have upwelling. Upwelling brings lots of nutrients, and lots of nutrients bring phytoplankton and zooplankton." Raphael Kudela, professor of ocean science at U.C. Santa Cruz, said. V. velella mainly survives by feeding on tiny fish larvae and zooplankton. However, these creatures mainly live offshore, but in recent times, the changing wind patterns and ocean currents have forced them to come to the shores.
Experts pinpointed the rain storms and winds arriving from the south and moving north as the main culprit for this change. "They don’t wanna be on the beach particularly, but they end up there because they can’t control where they go," Kudela said. Scientists are growing increasingly concerned as sightings of hundreds of V. vellela being spread out on shore are becoming increasingly common. There are also no indicators that the frequency of these sightings will decrease in the future. This is a sign that the climate is changing. Such shifts typically have a huge impact on multiple life processes and ecosystems. "When we see signals coming from the ocean to the coast, we should pay attention," Julia K. Parrish, marine biologist and professor at the University of Washington, said. "The Velella velella is an early-warning bell that we may be seeing some shifts."