Latest news with #ScubaDivingMagazine
Newsweek
11 hours ago
- Newsweek
Kayaker Puts Camera in Water—Horror As She Sees What's Lurking Beneath Her
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. A couple believed they were on a "normal" kayaking trip, until they realized what was lurking just below their boat. Megan Gilbert, 30, is a travel blogger, writer and photographer who shares her adventures to her blog, Megan The Traveling Writer. Gilbert is originally from the United States, and now lives in Cape Town, South Africa—but as she told Newsweek, she spends most of the year traveling to different places. Recently, Gilbert had an incredible experience with nature without having to travel too far, as what she assumed was "a normal kayaking trip" in Cape Town turned into an experience she described as "incredibly special and rare." "We've kayaked here before and saw penguins and dolphins," Gilbert told Newsweek. This time, however, they saw jellyfish—at first, she said, "we were excited to see one or two jellyfish, until we started seeing massive pods of them floating at the surface, called a 'super bloom'. "It looked like thousands." Megan Gilbert captures "thousands" of jellyfish on camera just beneath the surface of the water. Megan Gilbert captures "thousands" of jellyfish on camera just beneath the surface of the water. Instagram @meganthetravelingwriter Jellyfish blooms is the term given to a substantial but temporary growth in the population of jellyfish, and are a natural phenomenon though in some cases can be exacerbated by human disruption to the environment, according to marine biologist Dr David Shiffman, writing for Scuba Diving Magazine. "A 'super bloom' like this is rare," Gilbert said. "All the kayaking guides said they'd never seen one like this before, but smaller blooms have happened this year in Cape Town." The couple and their guide attempted to kayak around the jellyfish, and while the guide warned the Starlight Jellyfish species stings, Gilbert took the opportunity to capture an underwater shot of the creatures when they came across a gap in the water. "I had no idea how many there really were until I put my GoPro in the water," she said. "When I checked my footage later, I was shocked. We were kayaking right above thousands of stinging jellyfish!" She shared the footage to her Instagram account @meganthetravelingwriter on May 6, where it has racked up more than 1.4 million likes. It began with Gilbert smiling on the kayak in what appeared to be clear, smooth water—but when she put the camera down, it revealed thousands of the stinging jellyfish floating just beneath the surface and into the deep beyond. She joked: "Who wants to go swimming?" Left, Gilbert on the Kayak, and right, what the water looks like from above. Left, Gilbert on the Kayak, and right, what the water looks like from above. Instagram @meganthetravelingwriter Gilbert told Newsweek: "I'd never seen anything like this before. It was eerie, beautiful, and scary all at the same time. Instagram commenters flocked to the post, one writing: "I freaked out on a kayak in the calm Mediterranean Sea when I saw one single jellyfish. I would meet my end this day by panicking, falling off the boat and getting stung!" "I didn't know I was afraid of jellyfish until I just saw this," another admitted, as another said they would "shut down instantly" if they saw it—and plenty compared the stunning shot to a famous scene in Disney's Finding Nemo. Gilbert returned the next evening to capture more footage, but says by that time "most of the jellyfish were gone because of the waves and Sunfish," a foraging predator that eats jellyfish. "Seeing the super bloom was over just showed me even more how wonderful the ocean is, and how unexpected," she said. "You never know what's down there and what you'll see." Do you have funny and adorable videos or pictures you want to share? Send them to life@ with some extra details, and they could appear on our website.
CTV News
22-05-2025
- Science
- CTV News
‘Shrinking Nemo': Study finds clownfish can shrink to survive higher sea temperatures
While finishing off a wall dive near Bunaken, Indonesia, Christian Bachmann came across a fast-moving clownfish. He says 'patience and a little luck' were required to get this photo. (Christian Bachmann / Scuba Diving Magazine) Clownfish, a small orange and white species made famous by the 'Finding Nemo' movies, have been found to shrink in order to boost their chances of surviving marine heat waves, according to a new study. Working at a conservation center in Papua New Guinea, a team led by scientists from Newcastle University, England, monitored 134 clownfish over a period of five months during a marine heat wave in 2023, according to a statement from the university published Wednesday. Study lead author Melissa Versteeg, a PhD student at Newcastle University, measured the length of each fish every month, as well as taking the water temperature every 4-6 days. Versteeg found that the fish would get shorter as temperatures rose, the first time that a coral reef fish has been found to shrink when environmental conditions change. 'I was very surprised by the findings,' Versteeg told CNN on Thursday, adding that the clownfish displayed 'incredible growth plasticity.' 'We're seeing that they have a great capacity to respond to what the environment throws at them,' she said. This is particularly relevant because marine heat waves are becoming increasingly common as climate change intensifies, with serious impacts on coral reefs and other marine life. Of the 134 clownfish studied, 100 got shorter, the team found, and this shrinking increased their chances of surviving the heat stress by up to 78 per cent. Senior study author Theresa Rueger, a marine ecologist at Newcastle University, told CNN that shrinking is not necessarily a good thing as small fish reproduce less, which could be bad for the population. 'But our study also found that because they can shrink and they have this great growth plasticity, they survive better during marine heatwaves,' she said. 'That could be a very positive thing, that they have that capacity and can adapt to their circumstances in that way.' A small number of other animals are also capable of shrinking, including marine iguanas, which are able to reabsorb bone material to become smaller during times of environmental stress, said Versteeg in the statement. The team also found that clownfish which shrank at the same time as their breeding partner had a higher chance of survival. This is because of the balance of power between the female, which is the larger and more dominant, and the male, they explained. If a female starts to shrink, the male will also shrink in order to prevent social conflict and reduce the possibility of a confrontation that he would always lose. This is important because clownfish live symbiotically with either of two sea anemone species – Heteractis magnifica and Stichodactyla gigantea. The anemones provide protection for the clownfish which are 'bad swimmers,' said Rueger. 'If they leave the anemone they have very little time before they get eaten, frankly,' she added, which means it is important for them not to fight with their partner and risk being forced out into the open sea. The symbiotic relationship with their home anemone is another reason why clownfish are so fascinating, said Versteeg. 'They don't move, that's where they're at. You're able to just track them over time, and they're uniquely marked and they're relatively easy to catch,' she said. 'You really know who you're dealing with, and you can really follow them over extensive periods of time, which is unique,' added Versteeg. Next up, the team plans to investigate the mechanisms behind this capacity to grow and shrink depending on environmental conditions, as well as looking into whether other fish species are also able to do so. 'If individual shrinking were widespread and happening among different species of fish, it could provide a plausible alternative hypothesis for why the size (of) many fish species is declining,' said Rueger in the statement. The study was published in the journal Science Advances. Article by Jack Guy.
