With
fish numbers all over the world falling thanks to overfishing and
habitat destruction, a surprising predator has sprung up to take their
place – the jellyfish. Due to their low energy requirements, the
floating blobs of stingers don’t need to be as active or accurate to
spread and fill the ecological niche afforded them by changes in the
ecosystem, researchers say. And jellyfish appear to be adapting to be
better hunters too. An active predator fish has to spot prey and chase
after it, but jellyfish just passively wait for their prey to come into
contact with their poison stingers. So jellyfish are evolving into
larger and even slower moving organisms, able to cover more area with
their tendrils while still needing only small amounts of energy to
survive. Unless overfishing is curbed and habitat restored, researchers
at Spain’s Oviedo University say we face “a future ‘gelatinous’ ocean
reminiscent of the early Ediacaran Period some 600 million years ago.”
