Jelly-like creatures spotted off Tasmania

Australian Community Media

Scientists have bumped into colonies of sea salps floating off the Tasmanian coast. The zooplankton look similar to jellyfish, but actually have more in common with humans.

Transcript

00:00There's been sightings of a weird sea creature off the coast of eastern Tasmania.

00:06And no, it's not a kraken or a sea serpent, but a jellyfish-like creature called a sea

00:11salp.

00:13Scientists from the CSIRO sailed into the bloom of salps while surveying marine life

00:18in Bass Strait.

00:21Salps are a gelatinous zooplankton that live alone or in colonies and are known for their

00:26incredibly fast growth rate.

00:28Salps can grow up to 10% of their body length per hour, and they go through two generations

00:36in a day.

00:37So, like, if one is born at, like, right now, 12 hours from now it's going to be a parent,

00:44and in 12 more hours it's going to be a grandparent.

00:47While resembling jellyfish, salps are more closely related to humans.

00:52Salps can form huge chains of clones that then break up, with each salp giving rise

00:57to a new colony.

00:59The zooplanktons also help move carbon into the deep ocean by their poo and their carcasses

01:04when they die.

01:07Scientists are uncertain what causes the blooms of salps, but hope research on the current

01:11CSIRO voyage may help unravel the mystery.

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