Expert to Explain During Special Lecture at Birch Aquarium at Scripps

Author Lisa-ann Gershwin to discuss new book on proliferation of jellies

As human activities continue to take their toll on the health of ocean ecosystems, it appears one group is thriving: jellies. The combined impacts of ocean warming, overfishing, pollution, ocean acidification, and other threats are creating ideal conditions for these resilient creatures to multiply—and take over the ocean.

Join jelly expert Lisa-ann Gershwin for a special presentation on these surprising animals at 6:30 p.m. on Monday, May 20, at Birch Aquarium at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego. Gershwin will describe how jellies are benefitting from warmer ocean waters, fewer predators, and more places for their larvae to grow, and will explain how these favorable conditions have led to armadas of stinging jellies in our coastal waters and fishing grounds.

Gershwin, whose book Stung! – On Jellyfish Blooms and the Future of the Ocean will be released May 1, will share stories of jellies both attractive and deadly, while illuminating interesting and unusual facts about their behaviors and environmental adaptations. She will describe the jelly’s evolutionary path, beginning in the Proterozoic era, when they were the ocean’s top predator, and will explore how jellies can swiftly populate vulnerable ecosystems.

A book signing will follow the presentation. Books will be available for purchase or can be pre-purchased at the aquarium Gift Shop. Stung! features research by Scripps Oceanography scientists, as well as references to Scrippsia pacifica, a jelly species named in honor of the institution’s founders, the Scripps Family.

Gershwin, who has a Ph.D. in marine biology, is director of the Australian Marine Stinger Advisory Services. She has discovered more than 150 new species—including at least 16 types of highly dangerous jellies, as well as a new species of dolphin—and has written for numerous scientific and popular publications. She was awarded a Fulbright Fellowship in 1998 for her studies on jelly blooms and evolution.

Guest Speaker: Lisa-ann Gershwin, author of Stung! – On Jellyfish Blooms and the Future of the Ocean
Date: Monday, May 20
Time: 6:30-8 p.m.
Cost: $8
RSVP: 858-534-5771 or online.

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