A unique phenomenon that occurs every few years - many giant jellyfish on the beaches of Haifa
The summer has passed, but if you thought that the swarms of jellyfish on our beaches passed with it, you are wrong. Swarms of jellyfish continue to frequent the shores of Israel in droves. Huge amounts of them are some distance from the shores, but many are also found near the shore, in the shallow waters.
Intruders and housewives
These are jellyfish of various species: filamentous, phyllorrhizal, large comb jellyfish and in huge quantities (!) and, of course, also the local ones - the rhizostomes, the daughters of the house.
Giant jellyfish
The jellyfish themselves are unusual in size, their diameter can reach more than one meter. About these giant jellyfish, I was informed by a number of professional swimmers who saw them on the beaches throughout the country, but mainly in the Haifa area. The swimmers, who frequent the sea regularly, said that they are afraid to enter the water, due to their enormous size and their daunting sting.
An unusual number
This is a unique phenomenon with a cycle of once every few years, but this year they appeared in an unusual amount and also an unusual size, between 60 cm and 101 cm on average. This is a huge size! It was impossible to weigh them, certainly not by one person.
Jellyfish print
In some of Haifa's beaches, in areas where the soil runoff is relatively high, from the students' beach towards Atlit, the jellyfish simply sank into the sand, also due to their great weight, when all that remained of them was a print of jellyfish that was covered by the sands of the eastern wind. Therefore, most of them could be seen at a depth of about 20 cm in the lowland surfaces, in the area between Carmel Castle and Haifa.
A fine feast for various creatures
The jellyfish left on the beach emit a horrible smell of rot. They break down on their own due to their composition, which includes a high percentage of liquids, but there are also animals that feed on them, such as for example tsinini fish, spruces, cichlids, and zapion. Also Shayton crabs (see picture), mattoha, and even an isopod - which is as big as a match head (pictured), all of these feed on the proteins of the jellyfish.
How do they reproduce like this?
If you wonder how such a creature, which we consider primitive, reaches such huge quantities, then know that from one jellyfish egg we get several polyps, from which up to 10 jellyfish emerge. In a simple calculation, the mass seen in the sea is huge.
Networks will not help
As we have already mentioned in previous articles, it is not possible to protect the beaches with the help of nets, since the weight of the jellyfish is so great, and what net can stop thousands of jellyfish, each of which weighs 13 kg?
The cold water slows down their movement
As mentioned, this is an unusual size and mass for this season, but in order to break the existing myth that jellyfish are only present here in the summer, you should know that this is not the case, for many years the jellyfish have been present here in the winter season, and precisely then you can get beautiful pictures of them in a clear sea, because, The movements of the jellyfish are faster when the water is warm and now, when the sea is cooler, they move relatively slowly and are easier to photograph.
Like a ballet dancer in the water space (photo: Eitan Argman) | watch
Earth's inner space
Many see the jellyfish as a repulsive and intimidating creature, but it is a beautiful animal, with elegant movements like a ballet dancer, its appearance could perhaps remind one of an alien from another planet moving in the water space. After all, it's not just the sea machine The inner space of the earth - the inner space.
Thanks for the lovely photos! Thanks Motty Mendelsohn!
hello on
There are always new things. And nowadays when the weather goes crazy, you can't predict anything.
Hello Yael.
Indeed, there is an example of a face.
And there are other faithful crabs with examples reminiscent of baboons and lions. Even in the bumblebee flower you can find different faces.
And there is an explanation for that.
In the picture it says Isopod, so the point it shows is really a man's face, am I the only one who noticed it?
It's a hallucination if you turn to the side you actually see a face and it's crazy!
Fascinating article. Special creatures. The sea is a treasure
Indeed a rare winter phenomenon. Jellyfish swarms are common, in a water temperature between 28.2-30 degrees Celsius and in an almost full - full moon.
The fact that they survived millions of years without a brain gives hope to bibsites
Hi Moti my friend, interesting article.
To the general public in Haifa, please beware of the jellyfish on the beaches of our city Haifa.
Interesting article
Definitely an interesting article, the jellyfish are enormous in size, but this year in the winter a new and well-noticed species was also discovered, unfortunately for those who swim in the winter they are thin and long, you can hardly see them if at all and are extremely stinging, do you know them Motti, and if so what can you tell us about them, will they disappear in the summer?
interesting
Spectacular article and photos (as usual) thanks?
Muti Your articles and the photos that accompany them are very interesting. Thank you very much.
Thank you. It is interesting that animals of all sizes and shapes, small and large love us in Haifa. ?
Hi Muti
A very interesting article.
I really remember winters in the past with big blue jellyfish.
You say that this is a phenomenon that occurs once every few years.
Is it known how often? What causes this and how does it affect other species of bees?