Purple Jellyfish: Where they have appeared in Greece
The purple jellyfish “sail” in Greek waters as, apart from the Saronic Gulf and the Aegean, they have also begun to “besiege” the Ionian Sea. Scientists, in view of the summer, draw the attention of bathers since there is an outbreak of the phenomenon in the maritime zones of the Mediterranean. The purple jellyfish or Pelagia noctiluca, as its scientific name is, currently dominates the seas of our country.
As can be seen from the “i Naturalist” application, it has been located in various parts of the country by observers who located Pelagia noctiluca in Greek waters.
What is the i Naturalist application?
This is a Medusa registration program in Greece which is mainly based on citizens’ science. It started in 2018 from the Hellenic Biodiversity Observatory. Until 2019, the recordings belonged to a facebook group designed for this program.
Today this database has been transferred to the inaturalist application with the recording in the Greek seas continuing.
Their mapping is a valuable tool both for scientific observation but also for all those who wish to have a specific picture of the “invasion” of students in the Greek seas and not only since there are data for the entire Mediterranean, Atlantic and Pacific Ocean.
See where it has been found in Greece
The following interactive map presents in detail all the media that have been identified from 2018 until today and in which the species, the location and how many times the species of jellyfish was seen in each area are recorded in detail.
Only since the beginning of the year these days have been observed in various areas of the Aegean and the Ionian, while winter swimmers reported seeing this species of jellyfish in winter.
In the inaturalist database, the Purple Medusa is observed for 2022 on the 1st of January in Vravrona.
Detailed entries for Purple Medusa:
January 2022: The purple jellyfish is spotted by observers in Porto Rafti and Crete, among others
March 2022: There are records for the Saronic Gulf, Central Macedonia and the Peloponnese Region.
April 2022: On 15/4 he appears in Samothrace. There are Records for Piraeus, Agistri and Zakynthos.
May 2022: Entries are increasing. Saronic, Peloponnese, Paxoi, Nea Peramos, Vouliagmeni, Agistri, Kefalonia, Halkidiki, and Spetses.
See here in detail
Their presence is very much in the summer as the breeding conditions of the highest sea temperature.
Their reproduction is also favored by climate change which raises the water temperature. At the same time, the reduction of the population of fish, which are their hunters, but also the reduction of the population of sea turtles, which is their main hunter, favors the spread of jellyfish.
What we need to know about the Purple Medusa
The purple jellyfish is a pelagic species and lives in tropical waters.
– Located at depths from 0 to 1600 meters
– It has a maximum length of 10 cm in diameter and the length of the tentacles can reach up to 10 meters.
It feeds mainly on sausages, various coats of arms, placental crustaceans and fish eggs.
The largest natural predators of the jellyfish are the leatherback turtle, the loggerhead, the tuna, the swordfish and the moonfish. When it is young its color is orange-brown and when it grows up it takes on an intense purple-purple color.
The recognition is made by its external morphological characteristics, ie what color it is, if it has dots or stripes on its bell, if the gonads are visible and what shape they have (for transparent days, such as Aurelia sp.), How they are their tentacles in shape and if they have some different colors or stripes on their tentacles or bell.
“They will stay all summer”
Speaking about the purple jellyfish (Pelagia noctiluca) on ERT, the professor of Oceanography at the University of the Aegean, Drossos Koutsoumbas, clarified that they will stay for the whole summer, “because these organisms are pelagic and are transported by currents”.
In fact, the professor of Oceanography emphasized on climate change, emphasizing that “unfortunately it favors the population outbreaks of such organisms”.
What causes a Medusa bite – When should we go to the hospital?
The sting of the purple jellyfish causes pain and irritation to the skin. In particular, according to the Hellenic Biodiversity Observatory, the symptoms after contact – center from the jellyfish, may be the following:
Pain like burning, many times intense redness of the skin, and in some cases the imprint of the jellyfish that irritated you appeared on a part of your skin.
-Motion sickness
– Pressure drop
-Tachycardia
-Headache
-Vomiting
-Diarrhea
-Spasm of the bronchi
-Dyspnoea
It is noted that in case of systemic symptoms (rare) such as hypotension, vocal cords, inspiratory wheezing, generalized angioedema – extensive cognitive rash, communication-contribution disorders, vomiting, the immediate delivery of the patient to the hospital is confirmed.
There are several methods to reduce the intensity and duration of pain from the purple jellyfish sting. In particular, it is proposed:
-Gel with ammonia
-Sea water together with baking soda
-Local application with ice.
However, if the symptoms after the sting from the purple days are more intense or persistent, then it is important to seek help at a nearby pharmacy or Health Center.
See all the latest News from Greece and the World, the moment they happen, at Protothema.gr