Losing Touch With Nature: writer looks at how nature can help our children

Are we losing touch with nature? Is there a generation(s) of children coming up who can only relate to nature distantly, without the true experience of touch, sight, and smell? Today there is more information than ever - more books, more videos, more connections via the Internet for children to learn about nature. But are the oceans, the forests, the plants and animals all becoming just words and images from which we hope that children will grow to respect, protect, and conserve?

Let's hope not, but it is a real concern. I come from a generation who, even when growing up in the populated suburbs of Southern California, chased the butterflies, ate a little dirt, and dreamed of being an explorer. But today, in our hand sanitized, digital screened, concrete mall existence, there can be a real disconnect between the indoor world and the outdoor world.

From the United Arab Emirates, comes an interesting article written by Louisa Wilkins and published in the GulfNews. In How Nature Can Help Your Child, she writes of the changes in how children experience nature and what that can mean not only to the collective fate of the outdoors but to the health, mental and physical, of coming generations.

"In the same way that children need food, water and sleep in order to grow and develop to their full potential, so they need nature. Not only because an hour of play outside in the elements is more physical than an hour on the sofa, but because there are other, more subtle, consequences of children losing touch with nature. [Author, Richard] Louv says, 'Nature-deficit disorder describes the human costs of alienation from nature, among them: diminished use of the senses, attention difficulties, and higher rates of physical and emotional illnesses.' According to his research, the disorder is not just limited to individuals, but entire families and communities. He says, 'Nature-deficit can even change human behaviour in cities, which could ultimately affect their design, since long-standing studies show a relationship between the absence, or inaccessibility, of parks and open space with high crime rates, depression, and other urban maladies.'"

There is a segment of readers to this blog who are parents and who have thanked me for some of the information I have provided for their children. I am most flattered by this as it is the next generation or two who will really have to move the bar forward regarding conservation, building on the awareness that adults today are trying to generate, and making it the norm. Louisa Wilkins' article is a great read for those parents - and for all of us - as a reminder of how we saw and experienced the outside world growing up and what our children may be missing today.

Read the entire article in the GulfNews.

Ocean Smarts: dolphin tools and elephant seal affections

Many people consider human intelligence to be the most advanced compared to other animals - "It's what sets us apart from the beasts." I'm not so sure. I think it's safe to say we have the most complex and perhaps possess a higher level of reasoning, but these traits evolved, as with animals, as a means of survival.

As animals evolved to survive - to eat, breed, take flight or fight - they developed traits that can leave mankind in the dust. The sensory capabilities of, say, sharks or birds as an example, and the intelligence required to process those sensory inputs can far exceed any of our capabilities. So, it's always interesting when we find animals engaging in actions that seem to imply a level of thinking far beyond what we would normally associate with that species. We're always a little surprised when an animal acts like us.

The classic example was the belief that the use of tools was a major divider between mankind and the animal kingdom. At least it was a widely held belief until researchers like Dr. Jane Goodall and others documented chimpanzees and other monkeys and apes not only using rudimentary tools to assist in the pursuit of food, but that they also pass along those techniques to their offspring.

The use of tools is now possibly showing up within a population of dolphins in western Australia. In 2007, researchers from Murdoch University in Perth noted dolphins holding a conch shell, shaking it at the surface. Further close inspection of photographs taken at the time revealed that the dolphin was shaking the shell to drain the water from inside, thereby dislodging a fish that was hiding in the shell, and gaining a meal. A review of data on this population of dolphins in Shark Bay collected over 30 years, revealed a half dozen sightings of this behavior over two decades.

But this year, in just a four month period starting in May, researchers recorded this behavior on seven different occasions. This has scientists from the university wondering if they are seeing the spread of a learned behavior.

"There's a possibility here -- and it's speculation at this stage -- that this sort of change from seeing it six or seven times in 21 years to seeing it six or seven times in three months gives us that tantalizing possibility that it might be spreading before our very eyes," says Simon Allen from the university's Cetacean Research Unit. "It's too early to say definitively yet, but we'll be watching very closely over the next couple of field seasons."

The possibility exists that the dolphins are passing along this specialized hunting technique not just in a vertical manner, as in from mother to calf, but horizontally with other dolphins within the group. However, to prove that using the conch shell as a rudimentary tool, researchers may need to conduct a series of tests to show that the dolphin is consciously choosing to do so.

"If we could put some shells in a row or put them facing down or something like that and then come back the next day, if we don't actually see them do it but find evidence that they've turned the shell over or make it into an appealing refuge for a fish, then that implies significant forward planning on the dolphins' parts," said Allen. "The nice idea is that there is this intriguing possibility that they might manipulate the object beforehand. Then that might change using the shell as just a convenient object into actual tool use."

So, animals continue to surprise and cause us to continually redefine what separates mankind from the rest of the animal kingdom. I say why bother? We are all part of the same global collection of living creatures, each having found a niche in the evolutionary cycle according to our gifts. Mankind may be a greater beneficiary of the evolutionary process in some respects, but I am continually reminded in my travels both on land and below the waves that we need not gloat too long or too loud.

Every once in a while, the walls that separate us from other animals can appear to momentarily come down, as you can see in this video taken several years ago with a researcher making friends with a young elephant seal. The seal's natural hesitancy gave way to curiosity and then a comfort level that looks for all the world as if the seal is taking a real shine to the young woman researcher.

Of course, before we ascribe some human characteristic to this seal's behavior, one must always be aware that these are animals who can think and react to situations in ways very different from us and, therefore, can be unpredictable. What appears to be a brief moment of affection could have turned into something much different in an instant.

But it's still cute as the dickens.



Read about the dolphins in Reuters.

Filmmaker's Journal: one of Bahama's groupers comes to play

The last time I was in the Bahamas this past spring, I was there aboard Blue Iguana Charters' MV Kate to film sharks . . . again. Not that I ever get tired filming those incredible animals but, after all, variety is the spice of life, right? That's what makes the Bahama's so much fun and Capt. Scotty Gray knows how to pack a lot into one trip: sharks, wreck diving, dolphins, and beautiful reefs.

Here's a quick video that briefly shows some of the shark fun the Bahamas are famous for, but also highlights a great encounter that crew member Rob MacDonald and I had with a large grouper. Groupers are popular gamefish with Florida sportfishermen and that's unfortunate because their numbers have declined - just when the marine ecosystem needs them most. With the explosion in the past few years in the number of lionfish, a beautiful but voracious reef fish that is an invasive species to the Caribbean, the grouper is one of only a few large predators that can potentially help keep the lionfish population in check, if only the grouper population itself was in better shape.

The grouper that visited Rob and I was initially interested in our bait crate, which contained some slabs of fish to attract Caribbean reef sharks. The reef sharks knew who was boss and you'll see one dart out of the grouper's way, as groupers are not afraid to butt heads with a shark if need be. With no easy meal available, the grouper proceeded to act like a cat weaving between our legs looking for a good petting. Actually more of a back scratching, as these large fish will attract small, pesky parasites and the grouper won't shy away from an opportunity to dislodge some of these hitchhikers.

The grouper continued to pass back and forth between the two of us for a good five to ten minutes. Then Rob pulled out a hunk of fish from the crate as a thank you to the grouper for spending time with us. And with that, it was on its way.

It's always a treat when you have the chance to safely interact with large animals. Sometimes it takes a few minutes to size up the animal's behavior to ensure, as best you can, that you won't be harassed or bitten. There's always that thought: "I wonder if this big fella is looking for some payback for all the relatives we humans have pulled out of the sea?"

Trend or Anomaly: what do extreme summer weather and shark sightings mean?

It's too hot and sticky to write tonight. Here in Southern California, I'm tempted to draw a lukewarm bath and settle in to get some long-postponed reading done. While the east coast deals with the effects of a rare earthquake and Hurricane Irene as it slowly loses power but relentlessly churns its way along the eastern seaboard, the west coast is beset with high heat and humidity - up to 112 degrees in the northern inland valleys and the strong possibility of thunderstorms in the mountains, thanks to moisture drawn up from the south - which can bring the dual risks of flash floods or brush/forest fires.

Add to that, beach goers in Mission Beach, San Diego who hoped to cool off in the ocean have been forced out of the water due to sightings of a large shark cruising the area. Lifeguards twice closed the beaches at Belmont Park when a reported 14-foot shark was spotted, but the park is currently re-opened.

It's at times like these that thoughts of apocalyptic weather, global warming in high gear, and "summer of the shark" descriptors get bandied about and, to a degree, it's understandable. It's human nature and it can be heightened by a feedback loop with the help of the media. After all, in today's crowded information age, the media relies on our emotional hot buttons to catch our attention which, in turn, furthers the public frenzy and round and round it goes.

This isn't meant to diminish the importance of the damage being wrought by Hurricane Irene. While it has lost some of its clout and could even be downgraded to a tropical storm if it continues to lose energy as it makes landfall, it still has delivered high winds, considerable rain, and the threat of high water storm surge which can produce considerable flooding in low-lying coastal areas. And there is the tragedy of at least 6 deaths being attributed to the storm so far.

But scientists will tell you to take a deep breath before attributing our severe weather to global warming. The computer models are definitely there that will show that as the climate changes, so do weather patterns and one of the anticipated outcomes of warming temperatures will be more severe weather, including tropical storms and hurricanes. And there is plenty of historical evidence to show that temperatures are up and we are on that path. As an advocate of climate change, I do not dispute the scientific evidence but the experts will tell you that one extreme summer does not a trend make. At least not yet.

At the same time, one does not want to end up being one of those who ignored the boy who cried wolf until you wake up and find the big hairy brute on your doorstep. So, I wait to hear what the climatologists will have to say and take heart that if a definitive trend does take time, it means we have a window of opportunity to act now and do something about it before it becomes insurmountable.

With regards to recent shark sightings both here and off the coast of Massachusetts, these both could be, like the weather, statistical anomalies. It's certainly not unusual to have large sharks - typically great whites - cruising the California coast. Juveniles feed here and there can be lone adults looking to feed on seals or sea lions while others stick to the siren calls of migration - for San Diego, adults are often running south this time of year to Isla Guadalupe off Baja, Mexico.

As a shark advocate, my initial reaction to calls for a "summer of the sharks" or the media's use of the well-worn term "shark-infested waters" is one of "wouldn't that be nice." If the statistics were to support those labels that would mean that sharks as an ocean species are making a comeback from years of extreme decline due to overfishing. For me, that's a comforting thought, but let's see how the numbers play out over time. In the meantime, as with my optimism regarding taking action to minimize climate change, I will continue to support efforts to protect and conserve are toothy oceanic friends.

So, while my knee jerk reaction will continue to be, "geez louise, this has got to be the hottest ever," I'll try to take that deep breath and see what the trend analysis shows - while I crack open another Diet Coke and settle into the tub.

Cephlapod Camouflage: now you see them, now you don't

Here's some visual fun. Cephlapods - squid, octopus, and cuttlefish - have incredible color-changing capabilities. Add to that, the ability of the octopus and the cuttlefish to change the texture of their skin and you have some remarkable displays of camouflage.

Below is a great short video from Science Friday, originally put out by the educational arm of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. The actual footage was shot over a decade ago by marine biologist Roger Hanlon and I have seen it in other Woods Hole presentations over the years, but it never loses the fascination it generates with the viewer.

Not only is it amazing to watch but it's also mysterious - scientists to this day are still trying to determine how these mollusks are able to do it. How can a colorblind octopus match its color to the surroundings so perfectly? What triggers the type of display the animal will use - a communicating color pattern, a camouflage pattern based on color or texture or both?

Aaah, the mysteries of the deep. . .

Catching a Shark: marine laboratory to study effects of catch-and-release

In many parts of the world sportfishing is big business - there's no getting around it. And so whether you support or are opposed to the practice, it will probably be around for some time as long as there is money to made.

But it can be altered to provide for greater survivability of the fish through catch-and-release techniques. For conservationists, this isn't an ideal solution by any means. Dr. Sylvia Earle refers to catch-and-release as "torture and release" and to a large extant she has a point. Catching any fish by hook causes stress on the animal. After all, it was swimming and feeding one moment and the next, it's in complete survival mode fighting against some unknown force and slowly reaching a state of total exhaustion before being momentarily manhandled and then once again free to roam.

So, one way to look at catch-and-release is that it is an incremental step, one foot forward towards a greater awareness as to the sustainability and current dwindling populations of, in particular, large species like billfish and sharks. That is part of the philosophy behind the Shark Free Marinas Initiative (SFMI), supported by The Humane Society of America and the Guy Harvey Ocean Foundation. This organization gets sportfishing marinas to sign up to be "shark free" - meaning no sharks can be brought in to their docks for weighing, trophy photos, butchering, anything. No sharks, period.

Sure, to us hard core conservationists it would be great if all sportfishermen abandoned their rods and reels but, again, the economic underpinnings make it very unlikely that state or local governments will pass the required regulations that would effectively outlaw the sport. In California, legislation to prohibit the possession, trade, and distribution of shark fins is preparing for a final vote in the state senate. Those who oppose the legislation, AB 376, are pushing their campaign for a series of crippling amendments not because they hate sharks or love shark finning but because they see considerable dollars and many jobs that will be lost with its passage. Those who favor the legislation must carefully hone their argument and keep in mind that it is not the moral position or even the environmental position that will likely sway the politicians; it will be the economic rationale. And in today's current economic mess, any talk of lost revenue or jobs will certainly catch a politician's interest.

But I digress. . .

If we concede that catch-and-release is at least one step back from the brink of destruction of a fish, it's not an unreasonable question to ask just how much of a step it really is. Just how traumatic is catch-and-release on, say, a shark? Are there any long-term effects? Does the animal survive for the moment but die some days or even weeks later due to complications?

To better understand the lingering effects of catch-and-release techniques, Florida's Mote Marine Laboratory will begin a one-year study on sharks, aided by a $192 million grant from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Assisted by the Florida Aquarium's Center for Conservation and the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries, the study will enlist the services of several sportfishing charter boats and will focus primarily on the blacktip shark, a popular species for shark fishermen because it is known to put up a good fight and often leap out of the water - some of the same criteria that make billfish like marlin popular among sportfishermen.

“For the first time, we’ll take a magnifying glass to sharks’ behavior after release — for instance, we’ll look at how strongly they’re swimming after capture and whether they’re rolling or listing,” said project leader Dr. Nick Whitney, a staff scientist in Mote’s Center for Shark Research. “These measurements go way beyond ‘dead or alive.’ The vast majority of sharks may survive, but it’s important to know if their recovery time varies with different kinds of fishing gear. Our technique will yield new, hard data comparing standard J-hooks with circle hooks, which are designed to be safer for sharks.”

Scientists will enlist the use of accelerometers - the same little electrical devices that sense movement in your smartphone or handheld video game player - along with small data recorders to record the movements of a shark as it is released following a catch-and-release episode. Every flick of the shark's tail or tilt of its dorsal fin will be recorded. The devices will fall off the shark after a period of time and will be retrieved and analyzed to determine the shark's behavior after being caught. By understanding what is being inflicted upon the shark, either temporary or long-lasting, wildlife management agencies can then better determine how best to minimize the effects through regulations and the use of various types of fishing gear.

“The goal will be for the charter captains to use the same practices and gear that Florida anglers normally would, so we can compare the two hooks in a real-world setting and look at how they perform in relation to shark survival and behavior,” Whitney said.

Personally, I choose not to fish. As a diver I stopped spearfishing or taking game like lobster or abalone many, many years ago. But I realize that sportfishing is a popular activity and thriving business in areas like Florida, and that overly-efficient, but indiscriminate, commercial fishing probably poses a much greater threat to overall survivability for many ocean species. So, if I want to sit down with a sportfisherman and have a go at changing his mindset and his hobby, having the scientific facts, as this Mote Marine Laboratory study hopes to obtain, will give me some heft to my argument - and could just maybe help prevent me from getting punched in the nose.

Cryptic Diversity: how genetics can play a role in climate change survivability

Cryptic diversity - a relatively new term to describe hidden variations within a single species, identifying lineages that could be used to ascertain the survivability of the species due to the impact of climate change.

An article in Nature News describes a study published in Nature Climate Change detailing the findings of researchers from the Senckenberg Research Institutes and Natural History Museum in Geinhausen, Germany. The researchers studied several insect species at the mitochondrial DNA level to ascertain subtle differences within species, which they cataloged as Evolutionary Significant Units or ESUs - populations with a species that are genetically distinct from the rest of its kind.

Extrapolating their findings to insects throughout Europe, the researchers came to a sobering conclusion regarding the survivability of their test subjects as to whether they could adapt to higher temperatures or migrate to more suitable (ie: colder) conditions. 79% of the ESUs in the study group, it was theorized, would be extinct by 2080, a much higher rate than species in general. And it seems, the more diverse the species, the greater the chance of lowered survivability - something that runs counter to what some would logically believe.

Now, this may seem a bit arcane as it is a study based on using insects. Can this be extrapolated to all species? Well, it's certainly possible. Populations of any creature - plant or animal - that have evolved within, say, a specific geographic area may not be able to adapt to rises in temperature or just may not have the genetic disposition to migrate. There have been reports of large animals, like moose, that would not be inclined to travel further north into Canada and would therefore face possible extinction. So, the concept of cryptic diversity could be applicable to creatures large and small.

The researchers concede that there are other factors that must be studied further, along with the cryptic diversity theory, like the "dispersal capacity" or potential ability to migrate by various species.

For the most part, scientists overwhelmingly agree on the concept and reality of climate change. But it is a new arena being studied and how nature adapts and whether those adaptations lead to continued diversity or a drastic reduction of the complexity and range of species in nature remains to be seen. Indications, however, point to an inconvenient truth that is not promising and to which mankind has culpability and the responsibility to change the outcome.

"Through our work to determine climate-adaptation strategies, we realize that genetics is one way to get an overall better view of how species are affected by climate change," says Ahmed Djoghlaf, executive secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity, a United Nations-organized effort to develop plans for sustaining biodiversity.

Read more about cryptic biodiversity in Nature News.

Palau's Prehistoric Eel: Smithsonian makes new discovery deep in underwater cave

The oceans continue to surprise us. Even as we struggle to preserve species being lost to pollution or overfishing, scientists continue to find new species - and sometimes new "old" species. Case in point, a truly prehistoric eel found in a deep underwater cave, 115 feet below the surface, in the island nation of Palau.

Palau is a popular dive tourism location, a site for many scientific studies, and a Pacific island trailblazer having established a shark sanctuary that covers the entire island. But with all this aquatic visibility, no one had ever seen this species of eel before. A kind of half-eel, half-fish, the newly discovered creature has anatomical features that distinguish it from the current 800 species of eel today.

With a second upper jaw bone and only 90 vertebrae, features only found in fossilized specimens from the Cretaceous period, it is also unique because it has a full set of gill rakers - a cartilaginous feature found in most bony fishes - and not eels - that aid in filter feeding. The new species' lineage as a true eel was determined by examining its mitochondrial DNA.

"We believe that such a long, independent evolutionary history, [...] retention of several primitive anatomical features and apparently restricted distribution, warrant its recognition as a living fossil," said Dave Johnson of the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History and lead author of the research team's published paper in Proceedings of the Royal Society B.

The research team likened the eel, named Protoanguilla palau, to the coelacanth, a prehistoric fish known only in the fossil record until living examples were discovered in the late 1930s. The researchers theorized that the Palau eel likely appeared 200 million years ago, at the end of the Triassic period.

Johnson emphasized, "The discovery of this extraordinary and beautiful new species of eel underscores how much more there is to learn about our planet. Furthermore, it brings home the critical importance of future conservation efforts - currently this species is known from only ten specimens collected from a single cave in Palau."

Seychelles Shark Incidents: statistical anomaly put media and authorities in overdrive

Shark frenzy is in high gear once again - and not due to the sharks, but by the news media which can seem to have a taste for blood greater than any ocean predator I have encountered. Recently, in the Seychelles, two separate attacks by sharks on bathers have occurred within two weeks of each other. That by itself is statistically unusual. Add to that the fact that it has been several decades since the last shark-human incident in these Indian Ocean islands and you have the basic ingredients for a sensationalized story and a knee-jerk reaction on the part of the Seychelles authorities.

With the most recent incident - a young man attacked while snorkeling in shallow water - several news outlets are devoting airtime and print space to both, the human tragedy - the attack was witnessed from shore by the young man's newly wed wife - and the ensuing hunt that is currently taking place for the "killer" shark.

The news media is taking every guess, hypothesis, crackpot assumption, and misconception as facts in this attack - I have read it was a white shark (unlikely based on the multiple bites this latest bather received); a bull shark measuring 18 feet in length (a size which would be a modern miracle in marine biology); a "rogue" shark as the culprit (whatever that means, a well-worn rationale to try to explain what amounts to the normal actions of a large predator in its natural environment); and so on.

And then there is the reaction of the authorities, enlisting the aid of local fisherman to deploy hooked and baited longlines in an attempt to catch the specific shark responsible. Now, I can understand their need to be seen as taking some sort of definitive action. They have a tourist trade to protect and perhaps merely closing beaches won't instill confidence for their tourism compared with catching and killing the shark responsible. However, in the end, there will undoubtedly be many sharks and other large fish caught and killed as a result of the shark hunt. And maybe they will succeed in catching a shark that contains human remains, but that will guarantee nothing.

The one indisputable fact is that the ocean is not our playground; it is home to a range of marine life from brine shrimp to blue whales, and every time we dip our toes in the water, we are intruding in their space. Urchins will stick and sting rays sting when stepped on, sea jellies will fire their nematocyst stinging cells when bumped, and sharks will, on very rare occasions, mistake a human as potential prey. This isn't meant to marginalize or dismiss the human tragedy or the visceral impact when a person is attacked by any predator, on land or sea. But it is the one constant whether you are using the oceans for recreation, scientific study, or commercial gain.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Sea Jelly Blooms in the UK: research continues to point towards manmade causes

Back in September, I posted an article about the summer invasion of sea jellies in Monterey Bay, CA. I was there to conduct an underwater video workshop for the BLUE Ocean Film Festival and found me and my students surrounded by thousands of sea nettles.

I learned that these mass gatherings of sea jellies of various species were becoming more frequent worldwide. However, scientists were unsure as to the reasons why. There were certainly some likely possibilities including pollution, loss of predators, and climate change, but as far as most scientists were concerned, it was all inconclusive. There's much we don't know about these beautiful invertebrates, so making definitive statements is difficult at best.

But the invasions continue. The BBC News reports of a rise in sea jelly, or jellyfish, swarms in the United Kingdom. And scientists there are beginning to subscribe to the same suspicions I referenced in my previous post.

"It's not only beach-goers who have to watch out. Torness nuclear power plant in Scotland recently had to shut down after moon jellyfish blocked the water intake system. Several tonnes of the creatures had to be cleared out.

Some areas, including the Irish Sea and the east coast of Scotland, have been invaded by so many they now resemble a 'jellyfish soup', says the Marine Conservation Society (MCS). So why do they appear to be on the increase?

According to research there is strong evidence that an increase is linked to three main factors - pollution, overfishing and possibly climate change.

Pollution such as sewage and fertilisers run off the land and into the sea, causing increased nutrients in the water. This can boost jellyfish numbers as the nutrients increase plankton which they feed on, along with fish.

Overfishing means jellyfish do not face their usual predators and competitors, which usually regulate population growth. Large fish, which eat jellyfish, have been drastically reduced by bad fishing practices, says Ocean 2012, a pressure group which campaigns to stop overfishing. So have smaller fish which compete for food with the stingers.

It is argued that climate change can cause more favourable conditions for jellyfish, with their adaptability giving them an advantage over some other sea creatures."

Sea jelly swarms - also known as blooms, like plankton blooms - apparently have occurred in the cold North Atlantic waters from Ireland to Scotland to England. A few research organizations have been conducting tagging studies and surveys to learn more about their distribution, but the sparse data comes in slowly so, once again, conclusions are hard to come by.

Says Dr. Victoria Hobson of Ecojel, a 3-year old research project on the abundance and distribution of sea jellies, "This [the lack of research] also makes it difficult to get a handle on how numbers have changed. Even in recent years people are doing a lot more watersports so are spotting more. With the development of smartphones it is also much easier to report those sightings. It makes it difficult to interpret if there are actually more jellyfish or just more sightings."

Sea jelly invasions can have serious economic consequences. In Nambia, swarms of sea jellies have consumed or pushed out many local fish species, depriving subsistence-level fisherman of any catch whether for sale or for their own consumption. And in developing nations hard hit by either civil strife or severe drought conditions (or both), a loss of a local food source can have grave implications.

In more developed nations, like Japan or Great Britain, sea jelly swarms can spoil entire commercial catches. In 2007, a jellyfish invasion wiped out Northern Ireland's only salmon farm, killing over 100,000 fish.

Beautiful to look at, fascinating to watch, and sometimes dangerous to the touch, sea jellies can be seen as an indicator as to the health of the oceans and whenever they appear en masse, we should all take notice. It could mean a lot more than just the need to be careful where you step on the beach or in the surf.

Read about UK's sea jelly invasion in the BBC News.