Jellyfish Blooms Working Group at NCEAS

At the National Center for Ecological Analysis & Synthesis (NCEAS), we are excited to host the "Global expansion of jellyfish blooms" Working Group, led by Rob Condon, Monty Graham, and Carlos Duarte.

Over the past 15 years, we have hosted a great deal of work on marine ecology, conservation and management - from basic questions about marine biology to identifying and addressing human impacts in marine systems.

The Jellyfish Working Group is addressing a timely issue, for which the analysis and synthesis of existing data is vital in order to move forward in both the fundamental understanding and the management of marine environments - jellyfish blooms have been conspicuous around the world, many hypotheses have been advanced to explain them, and many impacts have been observed or anticipated. Assembly and analysis of existing data will allow rigorous examination of these issues, not only for this Working Group but also for other scientists and managers, now and in the future.

The Jellyfish Working Group is certain to find synergies with another ongoing NCEAS Working Group on Marine Impacts of Climate Change (led by Anthony Richardson and Elvira Poloczanska) and potentially other Working Groups in our Ecosystem-Based Management program as well. In addition to the scientific outcomes, we look forward to hosting a public lecture and mixer, in November 2010, to share information about jellyfish and jellyfish blooms with Santa Barbara area residents and interested members of the public who can access the event around the world through webcasting. The public event will be co-hosted with the Santa Barbara Natural History Museum, as part of their popular seminar and event series, and we hope that it is only the first of many on which we collaborate with the Museum. More information about the event to come!

-- Dr. Stephanie Hampton, Deputy Director at NCEAS