Northwest Dive Club

While cruising around the Sound, I've noticed several jellyfish blooms
The most impressive was the moon jelly bloom I encountered in Quartermaster Harbor. The park ranger says he sees it about two days a year. The previous two days, egg-yolk jellies populated Port Orchard, often a dozen at a time. Earlier I noticed a massive bloom of water jellies in Port Ludlow and isolated lion's manes but no congregations of them.
I have seen no "mixed flocks".
Is it common for jellyfish to do these "system sorts", or do mixed groupings occur?
-Curt

There's been a LOT of egg yolk jellies in the south sound this year. At least they don't sting as bad as lion's manes!

I suspect it's a "dog eat dog" world in the jelly universe. Sunday, I dove Maury Island with my friend Kirk, and we found a lion's mane eating an egg yolk (at least, the egg yolk appeared to be the loser). So I would guess that, in mixed groups, they simply eat one another.

Love that first shot! the warm dry weather seems to favor them. Wish we could be out there filming them from the bottom side old buddy!

A follow-up on jellyfish blooms. I encountered a fisheries biologist from WSDFW while moored at Des Moines. He said that the increase in jellyfish is not just a perception, but real. There is concern that they have displaced the small fish, herring, sandlance and such. They are watching to see how this will affect the distribution of other populations as animals which feed on jellyfish, such as chum salmon, respond to this population explosion.

Lynne, I like your "death by association" explanation.

Dusty, I don't think about our diving together any more than a few hundred times a day.
-Curt