Millions of tiny, blue, alien-looking creatures are washing up on beaches from Oregon to California, according to The Guardian. Known as Velella velella, or “by-the-wind sailors,” these amazing creatures are actually colonies of hydrozoans that use a fin similar to a sail to catch wind and move across the ocean.
Although beachgoers were taken aback and delighted by their arrival this spring, this “blue tide” is an occassional occurrence of nature. Velella live their entire lives at sea, drifting with the currents and using their tentacles to gather food. According to the news outlet, their sting can cause discomfort for fish larvae and zooplankton, despite being innocuous to humans.
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Their vibrant blue colour may serve a dual purpose. It could help them camouflage from predators like the ocean sunfish, or act as a natural sunscreen against harsh UV rays. Researchers are still unraveling the secrets of this color.
These fascinating creatures make a circle that takes them down the coast of California, out towards Asia, and back across the vast expanse of the Pacific Ocean. As they travel, their populations boom and bust, with food availability being a major factor. Their population explodes when food sources are plentiful, resulting in massive beachings such as this one.
Velella, according to Julia Parrish, a marine biologist at the University of Washington, live for months at a time and travel great distances throughout the Pacific gyre. During this voyage, the creatures go through boom-and-bust cycles and go through a wide range of life stages, “all of which are quite different from each other,” according to Parrish.
While the sight of millions of blue creatures might seem strange, it’s a reminder of the wonders and complex ecosystems found in our oceans.
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