Coronavirus Lockdown Allows Giant Blooms Of Pink Jellyfish To Populate Philippines' Waters
In Philippines, the lockdown and limited tourist movement have allowed thousand of pink jellyfish to thrive in the waters.
According to reports, biologists have witnessed thousands of pink jellyfish in the waters. They had been absent for years due to human activity.
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Sheldon Rey Boco, who is a PhD candidate in marine biology at the Griffith University shared a mesmerising video of thousands of pink jellyfish in the waters just off one of the northern beaches on the western island of the country.
The jellyfish, known as Crambione cf. mastigophora, or "tomato" jellyfish by locals, are now rising to the surface because they feel less threatened in their natural habitat.
Jellyfish certainly are not affected by #COVID19 restrictions. Here is a bloom of #jellyfish medusae of the tomato ? jelly, Crambione cf. mastigophora in El Nido, S. Philippines ??
¡ª Sheldon Rey Boco (@SheldonRey) March 28, 2020
? Alimar Amor 23 March 2020 pic.twitter.com/5avr1ptJdy
Boco, who is the co-founder of the Philippine Jellyfish Stings Project was quoted by the Manila Bulletin as saying, "These hundreds or thousands of medusae are probably present in late January or February but because of wind, current and tidal conditions, they only seem to appear during March in Palawan. The atmosphere, water velocity, current, tide and even geological features of the bay or any body of water can influence the occurrence of medusae and their blooms."
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There are years when blooms or populations of a jellyfish are high and there are also years when they are few or even almost absent.
He added that this could have occurred due to a number of combinations in the water or an abundance of food. The atmosphere, water velocity, current, tide and even geological features of the bay or any body of water can influence the occurrence of medusae and their blooms.
