Having an empty coast in the state of Texas, the beaches are now invaded by a unique species, which can be described by the presence of a bell shape, complete with white spots, and unfurled oral arms that look like lace. In actuality, it is the white-spotted jellyfish from Australia, species Phyllorhiza punctata, that inhabit the Pacific Ocean, and not the Gulf of Mexico. “They are beautiful, but don’t belong here,” says Jace Tunnell, the community outreach director for Texas A&M University, Corpus Christi, describing why, if they know of it and if it affects the environment, then indeed it can be described as an invasion.
And they would most likely have come from the darkest depths of a ballast tank on a ship. The ballast water is an integral part of a ship’s stabilizing system during movement, but it may contain all possible varieties of different organisms like microscopic planktons, eggs, or larvae. The water itself can thus prove to be an invasive species in different ecosystems. This, in fact, had been the case of Rhopilema nomadica, which had made its appearance on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea, just like that of invasive algae, which made its entry into Spain and Sicily through ballast water.
The threat to the ecosystem from the species Phyllorhiza punctata is quite severe. Unlike other jellyfish, whose sting paralyzes their preys, thus ensuring an easy meal for them, the sting from this species is not lethal and, more importantly, does not affect the preys, which are fish. The jellyfish consumes staggering amounts of zooplankton, like crustaceans and larvae, which form the base of the food chain in the marine ecosystem. The jellyfish is capable of filtering an astonishing 65 cubic yards of water in one day, leaving it plankton-starved, thus leading to the starvation of shrimp, baby fish, and indigenous jellyfish.
Invasive species can now be identified as one of the top causes of extinctions, aside from the only other cause of habitat destruction. Not only is this limited to the prey on which they feast, as there are cases wherein they affect the nutrient cycles, plankton, as well as the trophic cascade. In an area like the Black Sea, the effect of the presence of the jelly-like predator caused the decrease in the number of fish because it fed on the plankton as well as the fish larvae but was later rectified because of the introduction of a natural predator.
Eradication of the white-spotted Australian jellies in the Gulf of Texas might be challenging. They reproduce rapidly, and the larval form enters dormancy for a long time prior to giving birth to the medusa when the conditions are ripe. Eradicating the white-spotted Australian jellies might not be that easy on a large scale from the water body itself, even though some non-native jellies might be considered as a food source in Asia, considering the fact that these organisms do not possess any markets in the Gulf of Texas.
Prevention can be considered the best method for dealing with the problem. This includes the optimization of ballast water management strategies to ensure that there are no more invasive species. This takes place through the observation by the International Maritime Organization regarding ways to dispose of ballast water by exchanging it in the ocean according to the Ballast Water Management Convention. This takes place by means of the ultraviolet or chlorination process for the treatment of water in order to prevent the degradation of water required by local species in water bodies by degrading it. In the Washington State, there exists both inspection and assistance on board to ensure that there is effective implementation of all these aspects for preventing the threat of the invasive species introduced by the oil tankers in the Gulf regions for their havens.
New technology, which implies the sequencing of the microbes that exist in the ballast water, can now be utilized to ensure that there is actual determination of the source of ballast for a particular ship, together with the determination of the unwanted organisms prior to the time these organisms can develop means for being accommodated in their new environment. In the event where the observation of this particular status is somewhat patchy on a global scale, this can be considered less of a problem of determination but more of the issue associated with coverage, especially in those locations that possess a tropical/southern climate that generates the particular result in the form of an invasive species passed uninspected till these can be developed in their new environment.
However, for those individuals that find themselves in proximity to the ocean and those that possess a level of immense love for the life of the ocean, the occurrence of these jellyfish into their domain can be considered less than an amusing phenomenon. This particular status, instead, serves as an indicator that the world might truly be considered a small, fragile place.
