Ribbon Jellyfish @ Pulau Hantu 17Apr2010 from BeachBum on Vimeo.
The March-April period seems to be jellyfish season.
Perhaps it is a coincidence that it coincides with the coral spawning period as well! Depending on the species jellyfish may eat plankton or fish or other swimming organisms like shrimp.
No humans were stung during the production of this clip! But the risk is an ever present one...which is why it is not advisable to go into the water with exposed skin. (I wonder about all those swimmers and triathletes in their various races in March and April and whether they get stung.) The longest of the ribbon jellyfish seen were about 40cm long and the smallest was about 10 cm (from the top of the bell to the end of the longest tentacle).
Read more about jellyfish and ribbon jellyfish from WildSingapore's Wildfacts pages here:
http://www.wildsingapore.com/wildfacts/cnidaria/others/jellyfish/jellyfish.htm
http://www.wildsingapore.com/wildfacts/cnidaria/others/jellyfish/ribbon.htm
Jellyfish are a favourite food for marine turtles. Strangely, turtles do not get stung by the stingers on the jellyfish tentacles.
Sadly, with the increase of marine pollution and the irresponsible or careless disposal of plastic bags and the mass release of balloons, these and other indigestible items do end up in the marine ecosystem where turtles may try to eat them with fatal results.
Read more about how these improperly disposed materials affect turtles here :
http://www.seaturtlefoundation.org/stf-current-projects/campaigns/marine-debris/
Other links :
www.oceanconservancy.org
www.algalita.org
http://coastalcleanup.nus.edu.sg/
http://coastalcleanup.wordpress.com/
