Jellyfish to go on show as
they take over our oceans

The Jellyfish Discovery attraction at Scarborough Sea Life Centre, at Scalby Mills, will see an arrangement of column tanks exhibit up to six species from February.

Visitors will be given an insight into the lifestyles and biology of the creatures through the display.

Curator Lyndsey Crawford said: “Jellyfish are not only one of the strangest and most primitive species in our seas, they are also perhaps the most adaptable.

“As other species decline through overfishing, global warming and other problems, jellyfish are the species best equipped to fill the gap.”

The attraction comes as concern grows that jellyfish are taking over the oceans.

Able to tolerate a wider range of temperatures, salinity and acidity levels than most species, jellyfish numbers are already on the rise.

The changing chemistry of the Mediterranean has been cited as the cause of massive jellyfish blooms there in recent years.

Ms Crawford explained that there have been “unprecedented” swarms of jellyfish in north European seas in recent times, making the display of a small fraction of the 350-plus varieties more timely than ever.

“We will have purple striped jellyfish which have been specially bred for us in captivity in Boston, USA,” she added.

“We will have a species known as the Edible jellyfish from Japan, which comes in three different colours, white, blue and red.

“We will have blue spotted and moon jellies and another species called the Australian spotted jellyfish.”

Scarborough Sea Life Centre features over 50 indoor and outdoor displays exhibiting wildlife including seals, otters and penguins.

Visit www.visitsealife.com/scarborough for further information.