Asian jellyfish in Vermont lakes? How they got there and why scientists are watching - Burlington Free Press

Asian jellyfish in Vermont lakes? How they got there and why scientists are watching - Burlington Free Press

Asian jellyfish in Vermont lakes? How they got there and why scientists are watching - Burlington Free Press

Posted: 25 Jun 2021 07:21 AM PDT

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A diver in Menorca, Spain captured the moment when two jellyfish got caught spinning around a bubble ring underwater. USA TODAY

For the past 20 years, a freshwater Asian jellyfish has bobbed up in Vermont lakes and ponds — and scientists are still giving it mixed reviews.

Translucent and barely an inch in diameter, the hydromedusa (known as a "peach blossom fish" in its native China) has so far been well-behaved, according to Vermont Invasives, a collaboration of academics and field biologists.

Vermonters should nonetheless keep a lookout for the creature in still or slow-moving water, the group added — just in case it has been disrupting native food chains.

Swimmers can relax, though: its stingers, which can kill small aquatic bugs and fish, aren't equipped to penetrate human skin, say scientists at the U.S. Geological Survey.

A freshwater jellyfish native to China is present in Vermont lakes in ponds. Its impact to local ecosystems is still largely unknown — but it seems harmless to humans. The largest of these organisms has a diameter of about one inch.

 (Photo: Courtesy Myriah Richerson/USGS)

The USGS has been tracking the jellyfish since it first surfaced in Kentucky in 1916, probably with a batch of ornamental aquatic plants from the Yangtze River valley.

Since then, it has hitchhiked north and east. In 1934 it reached Lake Erie. By 1996 it was found in the Hudson River.

Swim safe: Tips for safety on Lake Champlain's beaches

Since 1999, Craspedacusta sowerbyi has made itself at home in the headwaters of Otter Creek and the Winooski River.

Few if any local organisms feed on the jellyfish, according to Vermont Invasives — although it reported that in lab conditions, crayfish will scarf them down.

"The impact of freshwater jellyfish is uncertain and the nuisance levels are non-existent," their biologists say, and "their place in Vermont are more of a curiosity"

If you see one, they suggest you take a picture of the rotund critter and post to iNaturalist smartphone to help you and others identify it.

On land: Invasive, tree-killing emerald ash borer now spreading further into Chittenden County

Boaters can reduce the risk of spreading jellyfish and other potentially disruptive plants and animals by draining, drying and cleaning their craft.

Contact Vermont Invasives at vtinvasives.org/contact for the lowdown on all sorts of plants and animals that are edging their way, unbidden, into our lives.

Contact Joel Banner Baird at 802-660-1843 or joelbaird@freepressmedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @VTgoingUp.

This coverage is only possible with support from our readers. 

Read or Share this story: https://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/story/life/2021/06/25/exotic-freshwater-jellyfish-vermont-have-local-biologists-puzzled/5342785001/

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