"Born at midnight, by noon it's a parent"

December 13, 2024 7:55 PM

What are salps, the jellyfish-like creatures with organs that are invading beaches? While they may not look like it, salps are more closely related to humans than they are to jellyfish. The extraordinary numbers of them accumulating at Tasmanian beaches have delighted biologists.
posted by chariot pulled by cassowaries (9 comments total)

Wonderful.

Wikipedia on salps explains why the images in that article seem to show chains.
posted by brambleboy at 8:51 PM on December 13

Unprecedented Salp Event is my new band name
posted by qxntpqbbbqxl at 9:30 PM on December 13 [2 favorites]

“Human-induced stresses of overfishing, eutrophication, climate change, translocation and habitat modification appear to be promoting jellyfish” [trends in ecology & evolution]

previously
posted by HearHere at 2:39 AM on December 14

"Salps have most of the same organs as humans, including a brain, heart, lungs, stomach and muscles."

well they absolutely found the single most unpleasant way to phrase that...
posted by BungaDunga at 7:28 AM on December 14 [2 favorites]

I love the delight on Dr. Gerschwin's face.

On the other hand, it doesn't seem like the best news:
salps eat a lot of nutrients in the water, meaning not much is left for other animals.
posted by Glinn at 8:20 AM on December 14

> well they absolutely found the single most unpleasant way to phrase that...

You know who else had most of the same organs as humans? Cthulhu.
posted by I-Write-Essays at 8:34 AM on December 14 [1 favorite]

"They're more closely related to us than they are to normal jellyfish," Dr Gershwin said.

Yes, salps eat a lot of nutrients in the water, meaning not much is left for other animals.
"They literally wipe out the phytoplankton wherever they occur, so everything else starves," Dr Gershwin said.

When there are toxins present in the water, they eat and store them in their bodies.

/me acknowledging these are my relatives, causing a recalculation of Christmas dinner plans for more guests.
posted by otherchaz at 8:58 AM on December 14

The organs are invading beaches?
posted by Billiken at 8:59 AM on December 14

On the other hand, it doesn't seem like the best news:
salps eat a lot of nutrients in the water, meaning not much is left for other animals.

It's a mixed bag. Agricultural runoff contributes a lot of excess nutrients in some coastal waters, which is why you get those massive stinking algal blooms. I think I prefer the salps.
posted by pipeski at 10:31 AM on December 14