BOB L Posted August 10, 2005 Share Posted August 10, 2005 Got to cross the sound today from Bridgeport to Port Jefferson on the ferry (it beats driving) and I saw hundreds of jellyfish in the water. Does anyone know if that is normal for the sound? If it is normal why do they have all of them and I see very few along the North Shore?Bob L Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Suz Posted August 10, 2005 Share Posted August 10, 2005 In Rhode Island I experience the same thing early in the summer. There were tons of them but not near the shore. They were the purplish variety with extremely long trailing "ends" - sure someone will pipe in with the correct scientific terminology. Some were longer than 10'. When I asked a local about it, he said that a storm brought them in. Of course that is hearsay so can't be used in a court of law...Suz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnHuth Posted August 10, 2005 Share Posted August 10, 2005 This is not unheard of. I've known summers with a lot of jellyfish. My daughter got a jellyfish sting in Nantucket Sound last weekend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djlewis Posted August 11, 2005 Share Posted August 11, 2005 Purplish ones -- Portuguese Man-O-War? If so, they are deadly. Look like this?... http://www.aloha.com/~lifeguards/manofwarfloat.jpg http://www.aloha.com/~lifeguards/portugue.html It says their habitat is warm waters, but includes the Northern Atlantic Gulf Stream, which I believe runs pretty near RI. --David. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alex_L Posted August 11, 2005 Share Posted August 11, 2005 So, jellyfish are some of my favorite inverts, and I am thinking that maybe what you saw was Pelagia noctiluca, which has a pretty minimal sting. If the animal was fairly large and a deep purply- red with purple in the trailing tentacles, that's a good bet. If it looked instead like a big fried egg with tomato in it it may have been the lion's mane jellyfish Cyanea spp., and those do have a nasty sting. We see that species quite commonly in this area, they get quite large, 3 feet plus across the bell at times. Man o' war is certainly possible, but not as common in the area.Hope this helps- Alex Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BOB L Posted August 11, 2005 Author Share Posted August 11, 2005 They where about softball size and organge in color. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
christopherG Posted August 13, 2005 Share Posted August 13, 2005 i was stung severely, as a child, by a portuguese man-of-war when swimming in the indian ocean and carried the "scars" for many months. the tentacle lodged up one arm, around my neck (as a necklace) and down the other arm, leaving marks across one shoulder -- i was probably only nine years old and the pain was severe. i believe this incident most likely sensitized me to all sorts of other allergies that lasted until adulthood -- interesting, huh?however, this started as a question about jellyfish in LI sound...i'm not really contributing anything, i know! stuck here in saratoga, NY, stepping around the equine manure, i can only about being back on the ocean! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin B (RPS Coach) Posted August 15, 2005 Share Posted August 15, 2005 Definately not unheard of...there are quite a few jelly fish that wash ashore in Amesbury, MA along the Merrimac. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erica Posted August 15, 2005 Share Posted August 15, 2005 I was in Long Island sound this weekend (kayaking near Westbrook). And yes, there were a ton of jellyfish! Unfortunately, in Long Island Sound, this is not uncommon -- I grew up in Guilford and remember going to the beach and always keeping a lookout for jellyfish. There are three species in Long Island Sound -- only one of which stings: The Lion's Mane Jellyfish. While it is the largest jellyfish species in the world, most of the ones I saw this weekend were quite small -- about the size of a softball. Most likely this is what you saw . . . and it is most definately what I felt while swimming around Duck Island!According to news reports in Connecticut, there seem to be more jellies this year than usual (but it's all relative). They are always hanging around in the sound, but some years we just get a bumper crop . . . this is one of them! Most of the beaches in Connecticut have signs warning about the jellyfish infestation. Now, with no scientific basis whatsoever, I will put forth my theory on why there are more of them in the Sound. Essentially, the water there is warmer and the area is much more protected. Currents are a bit quirky, but they essentially stay within Long Island Sound, so jellies get a bit caught up in the Sound and it's not as easy to catch a wave out! My own hunch is that jellies tend to stay further out in the ocean (as opposed to the Sound) simply because it is easier to maneuver and they are less likely to wash up on shore. Since the Sound has such small waves, the danger of washing up on shore is less (but they can still sting you even after washing up on shore!). So, that's my theory -- and it seems to fit with what little the scientists know about jellies (basically, they're not sure what brings them in -- could be the currents, the time of year, whatever). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bethany Posted August 17, 2005 Share Posted August 17, 2005 that is (warmth) probably why they're there, though I think that's the same kind they have closer to the Pole that can be wider than I am tall. . .! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.