A Jellyfish Surprise: Unexpected Visitors to Alabama Waters

THIS IS INTERESTING. REPORTS OF JELLYFISH SIGHTINGS. YEAH, IT SURFACED IN LAKE MARTIN SPARKING CURIOSITY AMONG LOCALS AND ALSO VISITORS. METEOROLOGIST JORDAN WEST INVESTIGATED THESE CLAIMS TO UNCOVER THE TRUTH BEHIND THIS MARINE MYSTERY. I HAVEN’T SEEN THEM WITH MY OWN EYES, BUT I’VE SEEN VIDEOS OF PEOPLE HAVE POSTED ON FACEBOOK. OF THEM. I THINK THEY’D BE PRETTY COOL TO SEE. WHEN YOU THINK OF FALL, YOU THINK OF PUMPKIN SPICE LEAVES CHANGING COLORS, APPLE PICKING, NOT JELLYFISH. I’M DOWN HERE FIVE DAYS A WEEK. DO YOU DEAL WITH ALL KINDS OF STUFF YOU SEE, SOME PEOPLE SEE THESE LITTLE JELLYFISH THINGS. YOU SEE PEOPLE SWIMMING ALL KINDS OF STUFF. A LOT GOES ON DOWN HERE. MANY LAKE MARTIN RESIDENTS, LIKE CASEY JOLLEY, SAY THEY’VE NEVER ACTUALLY SEEN THESE JELLYFISH, BUT OTHERS SAY THE MARINE CREATURES HAVE BEEN IN THE WATER THEIR ENTIRE LIVES. DUSTY KEMP, AN ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR AT THE DEPARTMENT OF BIOLOGY AT THE UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA IN BIRMINGHAM, STUDIES INVERTEBRATE PHYSIOLOGY AND ECOLOGY. AND HE SAYS THAT THEY ARE OUT THERE. WHAT’S INTERESTING ABOUT THIS SPECIES IS IT’S ACTUALLY NOT CONSIDERED A TRUE JELLY. THEY ACTUALLY ARE THOUGHT TO ORIGINATE FROM CHINA, AND THEY USUALLY OCCUR IN LATE SUMMER, EARLY FALL. IT’S PRETTY RARE TO HAVE A FRESHWATER JELLY BE IN OUR OUR OUR LAKES. AND STREAM SYSTEMS. BUT THEY CAN BE HARD TO SPOT. SOME PEOPLE HAVE NEVER SEEN THEM, AND THAT’S PROBABLY BECAUSE OF THE EPHEMERAL LIFESTYLE THAT THAT THESE ORGANISMS HAVE. THEY SPEND MOST OF THEIR LIFE AS A POLYP STAGE AND ONLY A FEW MONTHS A YEAR THEY BUD OFF INTO THE JELLYFISH, WHICH IF WE WERE SWIMMING OR STANDING ON A DOCK OR FISHING, THAT’S WHAT WE WOULD SEE. THE GOOD NEWS IS THEY DON’T STING. CASEY SAYS IT’S NOT THE JELLYFISH CAUSING THE PROBLEMS. A LOT OF SQUIRRELS. WE GET BULLIED BY SQUIRRELS A LOT. SO WHEN YOU SAW THE LITTLE JELLYFISH, WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST REACTION? WELL, I’VE NEVER HEARD OF JELLYFISH IN A LAKE IN THE MIDDLE OF ALABAMA. THAT WAS MY FIRST REACTION. SO WHAT I’VE LEARNED, THOUGH, IS THAT THEY’RE TECHNICALLY NOT JELLYFISH. THEY’RE CONSIDERED JELLIES, BUT THEY’RE HARD TO SPOT, AND THEY’RE IN THE CALM SPOTS IN THE LAKE. SO THAT’S PRETTY COOL. VERY DIFFICULT TO SPOT. BUT YEAH, IT WAS FUN INVESTIGATING THAT NOW, YOU KNOW. AND YOU SAID THEY DON’T STING. THEY DON’T STING, WHICH IS GOOD. SO PEOPLE JUST THEY PROBABLY IGNORE THEM WHEN THEY SEE IT. THEY JUST THINK, OH SOME LITTLE WHATEVER THAT IS. YEAH. OTHERS ARE EXCITED. YOU KNOW, A JELLYFISH LIKE I SAID BEFORE, THE JELLIES AND AGAIN, THEY’RE HARD TO FIND. MANY PEOPLE HAVE BEEN ON THE LAKE THEIR ENTIRE LIVES AND HAVE NEVER SEEN THEM. SO APPRECIATE IT, JORDAN. THANKS. VERY COOL. SO TODAY’S PROBABLY NOT THE BEST LAKE DAY WE’VE HAD. THE RAIN AROUND, BUT, YOU KNOW, WE’RE KIND OF EXCIT