Scottish Jellyfish Sightings 2015

According to the Marine Conservation Society, our smacks of jellyfish 'should not be ignored.'

There have been reports of high numbers this summer off the UK. However, you might also want to read this Guardian article by Steve Backshall.

I saw the jellyfish in this post when I was in Scotland at the end of June 2015 and have logged my sightings with the MSC. 

Cyanea lamarcki (Blue jellyfish), Campbeltown Harbour, Kintyre, Scotland (June 2015)

Cyanea lamarcki (Blue jellyfish), Campbeltown Harbour, Kintyre, Scotland (June 2015)

Aurelia aurita Moon jellyfish Campbeltown Harbour, Kintyre, Scotland (June 2015)

Beside the Sea ~ Jellyfish Sightings in Scotland

While we were in Scotland we saw jellyfish on two occasions. The jellyfish above was on the beach at Durness (24 June 2013).

The one below was at Chanonry Point (26 June 2013). It was part of a cluster of stranded jellyfish: in the evening light, we counted 56. 

Both photos (I believe) show the Moon Jellyfish, also known as Aurelia.

I shall record these sightings on the Marine Conservation Society site. Jellyfish are linked to Leatherback turtles in the food chain. These magnificent, but threatened, turtles make huge underwater journeys in search of these strange sea creatures.

The stings from some species of jellyfish can be dangerous, so it is important to treat these free-swimming marine animals with care.  

Postscript ... 5 August 2013: you may be interested in this BBC report.

Islands and Islets (5): An Inner Hebridean Odyssey - jellyfish afloat!

The jellyfish in question!

... viewed here from above

... and here as it floated in the shallows.

The remote beach, with two hardy swimmers ...

... and the jellyfish being re-floated by a wave

It is always exciting to walk along the tideline of a vast and (almost) empty beach, like this one at Glenbrittle on Skye, in the brooding shadowlands of the Cuillin mountains.

The jellyfish was on the tideline ten days ago, and was washed every so often by a 'ninth wave'.

I am not entirely sure about its identification (query Lion's Mane, which features in the Sherlock Holmes tale), so I will let you know when I hear from the Marine Conservation Survey, as I have logged this sighting - and you may like to log any sightings you encounter.

[ *** Update from the Marine Conservation Survey: confirmation that this is a Lion's Mane - and an upside down one at that! Thank you, Richard ***]

This was the only jellyfish we saw during our time in Scotland this year. You can read more about our time on Skye, Mull and Iona here. My previous Hebridean Medusozoan sightings (this time of Moon Jellyfish) are here.

I will soon be posting my holiday 2012 list of the wildlife we encountered. Meanwhile, you may be interested to read about ...

• a BBC report about a recent Portuguese Man O' War sighting in Cornwall (these are not actually jellyfish) ...
• Portuguese Man O' War in Ireland
• Fresh water jellyfish in the USA (National Geographic)

Seasonal First (2): Moon Jellyfish

There were a few jellyfish about of the Aurelia aurita species (also known as moon jelly, moon jellyfish, common jellyfish or saucer jelly). They were floating in the shallows. I believe they have a sting of sorts. You can read more about these Ulmaridae here.

The upper side, showing the four rings (the gonads)

The underside of a different one

Underside close-up

I'm intrigued to know whether this one had been bashed about in the waves ... or if there is another explanation.

Perhaps there is more than one jellyfish in the photo above. The Marine Conservation Society offers good advice on health and safety when it comes to jellyfish around the UK.

• My previous jellyfish sightings (this time around the island of Skye) 
• A survey (and I shall be logging these ones) to report any jellyfish seen off the UK, run by the Marine Conservation Society
• Juliet Wilson (aka Crafty Green Poet) considers Information Systems for Conservation ... Her post discusses the value of surveys like this jellyfish one.   

P.S. 20 May 2012: an update: 

'they all look like moon to me. The one pictured upside may not be, I can’t really properly see it’s characteristic rings, but it probably is a moon….'
Dr. Peter Richardson, Biodiversity Programme Manager, MCS