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08/23/2005: "The Whale Museum's Summer Lecture Series Presents"

Jellyfishes in our Inland Waters: What Are They and What Difference Do They Make?(C. Mills Photo) Dr. Claudia Mills will give an introduction to the variety of animals known as the "gelatinous zooplankton", featuring primarily jellyfish and ctenophores, with examples from local waters, the open ocean and the deep sea. The Whale Museum at 7 p.m. Thursday, August 25.

Jellyfish occur in all parts of the ocean from shallow coastal bays to the abyss.

Mills will discuss how these simple animals that lack an organized brain can actually perform rather complex behaviors including in some cases being quite specific about the prey they select, and also controlling to some extent where exactly they live in the seemingly undifferentiated open ocean. The talk will conclude with some local particulars including the two decade jellyfish "fishery" in Friday Harbor in order to extract bioluminescent and fluorescent materials that are now made in the laboratory, the stranding phenomenon of large red jellyfishes on our beaches in late summer, and general environmental trends indicated by the local community of some 60-70 different species of "jellies".

This presentation will take place at The Whale Museum at 7 p.m. Thursday, August 25. There is a suggested donation of $3.00. All proceeds benefit the Whale Museum. For more information, call (360) 378-4710, ext. 23 or email marcy@whalemuseum.org. The Whale Museum is located at 62 First St. N., Friday Harbor, WA 98250. We thank the Friday Harbor Inn for co-sponsoring this lecture. This is the final lecture of this series.

The Whale Museum promotes stewardship of whales and the Salish Sea ecosystem through education and research.