Secrets of the sea: Fascinating pictures from mesmerising collection of photos from the ocean's depths

By EMMA REYNOLDS

Dangers of the deep: The giant pelagic jellyfish grows to twice the size of a fully grown man with a nasty sting in its tentacles

These fascinating underwater pictures reveal the full dazzling spectrum of life deep under the ocean.
The awe-inspiring photographs taken by Bob Cranston include a close encounter with a rare giant jellyfish that is twice the size of a fully grown man and a shimmering image of a five-foot-long jumbo Humboldt squid.
His collection also includes amazing pictures of an inquisitive northern elephant seal bull - which grows up to 14 feet in length - and the extremely rare southern right whale.

Wondrous sight: Juvenile fish shelter among tentacles of a giant pelagic jellyfish, Channel Islands, California, East Pacific Ocean



Glowing creature: A diver and a jumbo or Humboldt squid at night in the Sea of Cortez, Mexico, Pacific Ocean

Mr Cranston began diving at the age of 13 and has lived on his own commercial fishing boat on the California coast for two years.
He has dedicated his life to underwater photography, while also working as a consultant to the US Military Special Forces, training military divers and developing specialised diving equipment.
The 56-year-old now focuses on underwater cinematography for television and Imax film companies.
He has an impressive seven prestigious Emmy awards for his stunning work.

Blue moon: A northern elephant seal bull, in kelp forest, California, East Pacific Ocean

Speaking from his home in California, Mr Cranston recalled his incredible encounter with the terrifying-looking pelagic jellyfish, or Chrysaora achlyos.
He had been diving in the Pacific Ocean off the Los Coronados Islands, near Mexico, when he stumbled across a group of the monster stingers by accident.
He admitted he and diving friend Howard Hall, 58, who can be seen in the picture, got a little too close for comfort - and suffered a sting as a result.
He said: 'These are wonderful, big, colourful jellyfish.

Strange images: A rare southern right whale with divers, Patagonia, Argentina, South Atlantic

Speaking from his home in California, Mr Cranston recalled his incredible encounter with the terrifying-looking pelagic jellyfish, or Chrysaora achlyos.
He had been diving in the Pacific Ocean off the Los Coronados Islands, near Mexico, when he stumbled across a group of the monster stingers by accident.
He admitted he and diving friend Howard Hall, 58, who can be seen in the picture, got a little too close for comfort - and suffered a sting as a result.
He said: 'These are wonderful, big, colourful jellyfish.

Years of exploration: A black or giant pelagic jellyfish, Chrysaora achlyos, drifts over reef and is attacked by Garibaldi in the Channel Islands, California

'We dived with them for around two hours until we had no more air in our tanks.
'They are very rare, appearing near California only every ten years, and scientists were surprised and happy to see our photographs.'
He added: 'We were all very happy to get these rare photographs but sorry to discover they have a painful sting in their tentacles.
'There were many jellyfish and three divers in the water that day - we got stung.'

source: dailymail

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Costa del Sting: Swarms of jellyfish invade Spain's beaches as more than a thousand holidaymakers are treated by first aiders

By PAUL MILLIGAN

This particular species of jelly fish are known as the Mauve Stinger, which can deliver a painful sting

Scores of jellyfish that caused more than 1,000 people to seek medical treatment for painful stings in the Costa Del Sol in July have returned to several beaches this week.
All along the Malaga coast of southern Spain, lifeguards have been forced to shut beaches to protect the public from harm.
Scientists have detected an unusually large plague of the Pelagia noctiluca, commonly known as the 'mauve stinger'.

Holiday makers are forced to drag the scores of jelly fish out of the water to protect people from stings

This plague of jelly fish has been blamed on the weather and overfishing in Spanish waters

The small purplish bell shaped creatures deliver painful stings through tentacles that can reach three metres in length.
Spain's tourism ministry has blamed the infestation on overfishing in the region, which has left the jellyfish without natural predators such as turtles, tuna and swordfish.
Other causes put forward have been that winds and ocean currents had caused scores of jellyfish to gather around coves and beaches.

The jelly fish first appeared in early July, but have since reappeared, in large quantities

Another explanation is that high temperatures and a lack of rain could be the cause.
In July 1,700lb of jellyfish were caught in baskets on one day alone, which were then brought on land to be destroyed.
The public is being warned to take care via a poster campaign across several beaches in Spain and to seek immediate medical attention if stung.


Washed-up jelly fish in Puerto Banus, Marbella are causing a lot of pain and bother for holiday makers during the busiest time of the year

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How jellyfish created in a lab could help cut toll of heart deaths: First step towards 'biological' pacemakers

By TAMARA COHEN

The graphic show the difference in muscle design between a real jellyfish and the artificial medusoid

Scientists have created an artificial jellyfish which they hope could change the face of pacemakers forever.
They say the creature, which is made from silicone and heart tissue from rats, could be used to help create a new generation of ‘biological’ pacemakers which do not need electrical signals.
Researchers at the California Institute of Technology created the artificial jellyfish – called a medusoid – after studying the fast muscle contractions which propel the animals through the water.

'Fake' jellyfish: The medusoid is swimming in container of ocean-like salt water

They put it in a tank of ocean-like salt water fitted with an electric current and managed to ‘shock’ it into synchronised movements like a real jellyfish.
The scientists said that, with more work, it could be engineered to pulsate by itself, as human hearts do.
They added that it could be used to create pacemakers that do not need electrical signals or even to engineer new organs after heart failure.
Co-author Kevin Kit Parker, Professor of Bioengineering and Applied Physics at Harvard, said he began the research because he thought scientists may have failed to understand how muscle pumping works.

The graphic show compare the power stroke velocities and recovery stroke vorticity of a real jelly fish compared to the Medusoid construct

He said: ‘I started looking at marine organisms that pump to survive.
‘Then I saw a jellyfish at the New England Aquarium, and I immediately noted both similarities and differences between how the jellyfish pumps and the human heart.’
The medusoid, which has eight spindly arms, was built out of a jelly-like material, with the pattern of protein molecules in a real jellyfish ‘printed’ on top of it. The rat tissue, which could be stimulated by an electric current even after removal from the hearts, was then incorporated.
The researchers said this was a ‘glimpse into the future of re-engineering whole organisms’ to advance medical technology.

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Swarms of jellyfish invading the Med, warns top scientist - and some of them could really give you the wobbles

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER

Nothing to trifle with: Swarms of jellyfish like these pelagias are taking over the Mediterranean and could be a danger to tourists, warn experts

Enormous swarms of jellyfish - some of them deadly - are taking over the Mediterranean, a top scientist has warned.

The holiday hotspot, a favourite with Brits, has seen a sharp increase in numbers and could turn into an 'ocean of jellyfish'.

Now researchers have set up a 'Jellywatch' so the public can report sightings via a website or by using a phone app.


Invasion: Blooms of Aurelia jellyfish like this one await sun-seekers heading for a winter break in the Mediterranean.. and it's getting worse

The scheme started in Italy and Israel three years ago after growing public fears over jellyfish 'blooms'. Monitoring has since begun in Spain.

The man behind the plan, Professor of zoology Ferdinando Boero, warned: 'Jellyfish cause problems for swimmers, particularly as some species are a real health hazard.

'An Italian woman was killed last year after being stung by a Portuguese Man o' War.


Deadly: A Portuguese Man o' War like this one killed a woman off the coast of Italy

'Jellyfish have clogged industrial marine cooling systems in Israel and they have also caused problems for power plants in the US and Scotland.'

He said: 'While jellyfish are a natural feature of the Mediterranean, 'jelly blooms' were rarely seen until the last few years when massive swarms became a frequent sight in coastal waters..

'This causes all sorts of problems and one of the biggest is obviously tourism.'


source: dailymail

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On me head! Dolphin leaps out of the sea... with a jellyfish for a hat

By ANNA EDWARDS

Pleased as punch with his porkpie hat: The dolphin sported the jellyfish like a traditional Kiss Me Quick hat

This playful dolphin seems to have entered into the spirit of the British seaside holiday by sporting a jellyfish in the style of a 'Kiss Me Quick' porkpie hat.

The energetic mammal proudly emerged from the sea off Scotland with a jellyfish jauntily balanced on its head.

The bottlenose dolphin then seemed to have a change of heart about his choice of iconic headgear, because he shook off the common jellyfish, which had stayed on his head as he came out of the water.


Bored now! The fickle bottlenose dolphin quickly changed his mind about his headgear, and flicked the poor jellyfish off

He promptly threw the probably-terrified jellyfish to a friend like a frisbee, while he and his playmates frolicked in the sea.

Photographer Chris Wilson, 46, watched the action at Chanonry Point, on the Moray Firth, near Inverness, Scotland.

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Attack of the jellyfish: Sea creatures shut down ANOTHER power station

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER

Nuisance: A digger drops jellyfish cleared from the power station in Hadera, Israel


Another power station was shut down by jellyfish today amid claims that climate change is causing a population surge among the species.

A huge swarm clogged up the Orot Rabin plant in Hadera, Israel, a day after the Torness nuclear facility in Scotland was closed in a similar incident.

Hadera ran into trouble when jellyfish blocked its seawater supply, which it uses for cooling purposes, forcing officials to use diggers to remove them.


Swarm: Hundreds of jellyfish blocked the water-supply grills at the Hadera plant


Disruption: Containers filled with jellyfish at Orot Rabin coal-fired power station


Almost 2,000 beach-goers were stung as they celebrated Independence Day weekend in the surf at Volusia County, Florida.

Beach Patrol spokeswoman Captain Tamara Marris reported the staggering statistics but stressed that no victims were seriously injured.

Amid soaring temperatures in the sunshine state, Jellyfish targeted sunseekers along a 20-mile stretch from Ormond Beach to New Smyrna Beach.


Slimy: Jellyfish cover the floor in a lot at the power station


Clear out: Jellyfish fall from a filter into a container at the Israeli power station


Jellyfish: Torness nuclear plant near Dunbar, Scotland, shutdown both their reactors so the filters could be cleared


The influx was thought to be down to onshore winds bringing more jellyfish into contact with bathers.

Beach officials identified two species as the culprits - moon and cannonball jellyfish - but say moon jellyfish are likely to be the main culprits.

‘The cannonball jellyfish is not really a stinging jellyfish,’ Marris said.

‘It's really not a seasonal thing. They are just at the mercy of the wind and current, so they can show up any time of the year.’


Attack: Ormond Beach was attacked by a swarm of jelly fish over the holiday weekend

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Poached egg? No, it's a rare jellyfish that looks just like it should be on your breakfast plate

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER

The jellyfish looks like a poached egg that has been dropped into a pan of water. The creature has a very mild sting which has little effect on humans


They might look tasty but you probably wouldn't want one of these on your toast in the morning.

For these bizarre fried eggs are actually a peculiar type of jellyfish that has just been successfully born in captivity.

The photos were taken by keen photographer Torben Webber, who scrambled for his camera after hearing the unusual creatures had been born.

The odd jellyfish are found naturally in the Mediterranean, because they require a huge amount of sunlight to survive.

When captive they are incredibly difficult to breed - but staff at Basel Zoo, Switzerland, have managed to imitate their natural conditions and a new batch of tiny jellyfish have been born.

A staff member said: 'Breeding is a real challenge because they're only found in far-off ocean fisheries and transportation is so difficult.

'So we have to mimic the natural environment with special daylight lamps to illuminate the aquarium as well as making sure there are lots of meals a day.

'The young jellyfish are tiny, just a few centimetres but they take the egg shape right away - we have to keep them away from the lights at first in case they toast.'


The fried egg jellyfish need lots of sunlight to survive and are hard to breed in captivvity


The fried egg jellyfish, also known as medusa, produce eggs that are fertilised in sea water, which then develop into a tiny larva fixed to sea bed organisms.

They can measure up to 35cm in diameter when fully grown, and in contrast to most jellyfish they move on their own by moving the 'white' of the egg in a waving motion.

Torben took his amazing pictures on November 4 with his Nikon d3s camera.
He said: 'They're beautiful creatures - but they are very unusual looking.'


source: dailymail

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