A summer without jellyfish? Not quite
As the heatwave kicks in many people are making their way down to the beach to cool off – and swimmers have noted with glee the lack of jellyfish around the seaside.
A number of social media posts have tied this down to the increase in sea temperatures caused by the heatwave, but marine biologist Alan Deidun said that this would be simplifying the matter.
Deidun, who leads a local jellyfish monitoring programme said that just because the notorious purple jellyfish has rarely been seen this summer does not mean that there are none of them present.
Usually the annual bloom of the mauve stinger would be in early spring, April and May but due to a colder winter this could still take place.
“Whatever happens in winter ultimately affects the lifespan of a jellyfish as the mauve stinger usually reproduces in January and February,” he said.
“Yet this year, since we had a very long cold winter it led to reproduction taking place later on, towards the end of April.
“The delay in reproduction means that the mauve stinger could be in a part of its lifecycle where it is not visible yet, and that the big bloom could be around the corner.”
In the 10 years of leading the local jellyfish...