Southern California beachgoers may notice large numbers of jellyfish-like creatures washing up on their local beaches, but these blue blobs aren’t ocean jellyfish.
thousands of Berera BerelasWind-driven sailors have recently appeared on Golden State beaches from San Diego to Marin County. A photo taken in San Clemente on April 28 shows thousands of gelatinous hydroids scattered on a single beach.
Point Reyes National Seashore, a National Park Service (NPS) preserve in the Bay Area, mentioned “blue tide” in a Facebook post last month.
“During the spring and early summer months, visitors to the Point Reyes waterfront may encounter thousands of wind sailors.Velera Velera) Stuck on the beach,” the post said.
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Thousands of dead ‘sailors on the wind’, their scientific name is Berera Berelaswhich have been washing up on beaches across Southern California in recent days. (Raylan Connelly/MediaNews Group/Orange County Register via Getty Images)
“These blue jellyfish-like creatures float freely around the ocean using translucent triangular sails,” Point Reyes explained. Cnidarians do not actively migrate, but flow with the wind. Unlike jellyfish, they cannot swim against ocean currents.
“Navigation routes are determined by prevailing winds, and changes in wind can be bad news for small sailors. If the wind is too strong and blows in the wrong direction, they can be blown onto land and killed. ,” Point Reyes explained.
Point Reyes said that after several days on shore, Berera’s body decomposed, leaving only “a cellophane-like sail and a float.” Aquatic animals are also at risk of being eaten by predators, but if they are lucky they may be pulled back into the ocean tide before dying.
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The reason why large numbers of Berella are washing up on beaches may be related to rising ocean temperatures. (Raylan Connelly/MediaNews Group/Orange County Register via Getty Images)
This creature often catches and eats plankton with its stinging tentacles. The NPS says the needles pose little threat to humans and can be relatively safely collected by beachgoers.
Researchers believe the recent sightings are related to warmer ocean currents off the coast of California, which could increase wind speeds. When Belera washed up on the coast last spring, oceanographer Anya Stajner said: FOX 5 San Diego He said the creature “resembles a San Diegan.”
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Berera Berelasor wind-borne sailors, recently washed up on beaches from San Diego to Marin County in the Golden State. (Raylan Connelly/MediaNews Group/Orange County Register via Getty Images)
“They spend a lot of time in the sun and go wherever the wind blows,” she laughed. “They are an ephemeral species to me, but they are a bit rare, so I get excited when I come across them.”
“They live at this air-water interface, so they sit almost exactly on the surface of the water,” Stajner added. “They just go where the wind blows them. And in fact, that’s why they sometimes end up on our shores… They’re pushed by strong winds and can’t escape.”
Although it resembles a jellyfish, Berera Berelas This is another species that lives on the surface of the ocean. (Raylan Connelly/MediaNews Group/Orange County Register via Getty Images)
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Fox News Digital has reached out to Point Reyes for comment.
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