Rare concentration of 'blue button' jellyfish reported near Marsalforn

Featured in www.timesofmalta.com
Monday, July 23, 2012, 11:51
Rare concentration of 'blue button'
jellyfish reported near Marsalforn
An abnormally high density of 'blue button' jellyfish around Marsalforn in the past few days.
Hundreds of the minute, but unmistakable (in view of their ethereal blue and perfectly spherical
bodies), blue button (Porpita porpita) individuals were observed in a small area, clinging on to, and
possibly feeding on, tentacles of the mauve stinger (Pelagia noctiluca).
The Spot the Jellyfish team at the University of Malta said the blue button is normally a rare
occurrence in Maltese coastal waters and was first recorded from such waters in 2010 by a French girl
holidaying in Malta, from Dwejra in Gozo.
The species is normally considered as a tropical one, being known from tropical parts of the Indian,
Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, and hence its proliferation in the Mediterranean Sea might be another
sign of warming of the Mediterranean Sea.
The blue button is almost innocuous (since its tentacles might just cause some mild irritation to
human skin) and strictly speaking is not a jellyfish as it belongs to the same group as Velella velella
(By-the-wind sailor), with floating colonies consisting of several individuals, the team said.

The Spot the Jellyfish initiative is coordinated by Dr. Alan Deidun, Prof. Aldo Drago and staff of IOI-
MOC, and enjoys the support of the Malta Tourism Authority (MTA) and of Nature Trust, Friends of
the Earth, EkoSkola, the BlueFlag Malta programme and Sharklab.
http://www.science20.com/citizen_science_journal/jellyfish_reporting_citizen_scientists_malta
carried an extensive feature on the Maltese initiative.