[Coral-List] Cubo medusoids

Thomas Goreau goreau at bestweb.net
Wed Jul 18 11:15:05 EDT 2007


Dear sea wasp avoiders,

Sometimes they can really hurt.  In the early 1970s I was attacked by  
a swarm of cubo medusoids at night while snorkeling on the surface at  
Discovery Bay, Jamaica, holding a large underwater light so that Jim  
Porter could read the numbers on his coral oxygen respirometer.  I  
didn't see them until I had searing pains over my legs. I swung the  
light around, leaving poor Jim in the dark, and would kick them away.  
They would regroup, and come straight at me with tentacles extended,  
repeatedly. There was no doubt that they were using their eyespots to  
deliberately stalk me cooperatively, amazingly sophisticated behavior  
for brainless protoplasm.  I usually heal exceptionally rapidly from  
wasp, scorpion, most centipedes except those in Seychelles, and  
Portuguese Man of War stings, but all the next day I had the shivers  
and sharp pain in my kidneys and had to spend the day lying down, as  
did another person who ran into them. Not deadly, but no fun to be  
sure, and a lot worse than the time I had a Portuguese Man of War  
sitting on my shoulder with the tentacles running down my chest. Or  
even giving a barracuda the finger.

Best wishes,
Tom


On Jul 18, 2007, at 10:41 AM, coral-list-request at coral.aoml.noaa.gov  
wrote:

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> Today's Topics:
>
>    1. sea wasps (megan berkle)
>    2. Re: sea wasps (Elizabeth Brill)
>    3. Re: sea wasps (John McManus)
>    4. Re: sea wasps (Keven Reed)
>    5. Re: sea wasps [SEC=UNCLASSIFIED] (Shelley Anthony)
>    6. Re: sea wasps [SEC=UNCLASSIFIED] (Michael Lombardi)
>
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Message: 1
> Date: Tue, 17 Jul 2007 13:11:23 +0000
> From: "megan berkle" <zennnnwoman at hotmail.com>
> Subject: [Coral-List] sea wasps
> To: coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
> Message-ID: <BAY107-F2422748FDD5EF0B89B3FABAAF90 at phx.gbl>
> Content-Type: text/plain; format="flowed"
>
>
>    Dear coral-listers:
>
>    I  am  working  in San Salvador Island, Bahamas for the summer.   
> I was
>    night snorkelling on dump reef situated in Graham's harbor  
> (north part
>    of  the  island).   I was waiting for the soft corals to spawn  
> until I
>    noticed  a  swarm  of  what  appeared to be sea wasps.  I  
> thought this
>    might  be  an  isolated  instance.   However, while diving in  
> Rice Bay
>    (north part of the island) I realized the entire bottom of the  
> bay was
>    covered  with  100's  of  sea  wasps.  They seem to be  
> concentrated in
>    shallow  water  (~10  feet)  right above the sandy areas.  Does  
> anyone
>    know  if  these  sea wasps are often seen in large numbers in  
> Bahamian
>    waters?  Are they as toxic as those found in the Indo-Pacific?
>
>    Megan Berkle
>      _________________________________________________________________
>
>    [1]See what youre getting intobefore you go there
>
> References
>
>    1. http://g.msn.com/8HMAENUS/2749??PS=47575
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 2
> Date: Tue, 17 Jul 2007 12:41:55 -0400
> From: Elizabeth Brill <elizabeth.brill at mac.com>
> Subject: Re: [Coral-List] sea wasps
> To: megan berkle <zennnnwoman at hotmail.com>
> Cc: coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
> Message-ID: <B1FA201C-781D-4924-92D0-CB3A857A66D4 at mac.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain;	charset=US-ASCII;	delsp=yes;	format=flowed
>
> Hiyya, Megan.
>
> Just saw you out on SS.  How are you?
>
> I've seen the jellies you're talking about in the same waters and in
> the same quantities you mention.  It's speculative, but over the 27
> years I've been going to SS I've seen them often enough that seeing
> them this year did not strike me as unusual whatsoever.  I've seen
> them in large quantities in Fernandez Bay, also.
>
> I know I've brushed against them, or vice versa ~~ indeed they're so
> thick some places, you can't avoid them, as you know ~~ but at the
> most have had only a minor sting similar to other sea lice stings
> I've gotten in SS waters.  I'm sure someone out there knows must know
> more about the toxicity/physiology.
>
> Keep swimming,
> Elizabeth
>
>
>> )))'>
>
> Elizabeth R. Brill
> www.beadsofglass.com
> 10481 South Road
> Corning, New York  14830-3200
> 607.962.0162  home
> 607.331.4955  mobile
> elizabeth at beadsofglass.com
>
>
>
> On Jul 17, 2007, at 9:11 AM, megan berkle wrote:
>
>>
>>    Dear coral-listers:
>>
>>    I  am  working  in San Salvador Island, Bahamas for the summer.
>> I was
>>    night snorkelling on dump reef situated in Graham's harbor
>> (north part
>>    of  the  island).   I was waiting for the soft corals to spawn
>> until I
>>    noticed  a  swarm  of  what  appeared to be sea wasps.  I
>> thought this
>>    might  be  an  isolated  instance.   However, while diving in
>> Rice Bay
>>    (north part of the island) I realized the entire bottom of the
>> bay was
>>    covered  with  100's  of  sea  wasps.  They seem to be
>> concentrated in
>>    shallow  water  (~10  feet)  right above the sandy areas.  Does
>> anyone
>>    know  if  these  sea wasps are often seen in large numbers in
>> Bahamian
>>    waters?  Are they as toxic as those found in the Indo-Pacific?
>>
>>    Megan Berkle
>>       
>> _________________________________________________________________
>>
>>    [1]See what youre getting intobefore you go there
>>
>> References
>>
>>    1. http://g.msn.com/8HMAENUS/2749??PS=47575
>> _______________________________________________
>> Coral-List mailing list
>> Coral-List at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
>> http://coral.aoml.noaa.gov/mailman/listinfo/coral-list
>
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 3
> Date: Tue, 17 Jul 2007 14:44:36 -0400
> From: "John McManus" <jmcmanus at rsmas.miami.edu>
> Subject: Re: [Coral-List] sea wasps
> To: "'megan berkle'" <zennnnwoman at hotmail.com>,
> 	<coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov>
> Message-ID: <014d01c7c8a2$8c09fb30$a41df190$@miami.edu>
> Content-Type: text/plain;	charset="us-ascii"
>
> Eugene Kaplan's 1982 Peterson Field Guide "Coral Reefs: Caribbean and
> Florida" mentions that although the sea wasps in the Caribbean are  
> generally
> less virulent than their Indo-Pacific relatives, they compound  
> problems by
> travelling in schools -- thus exposing people to stings from multiple
> animals. He also indicates that they often tend to stay in deeper  
> waters
> during the day, rising to shallow waters at night.
>
> Cheers!
>
> John
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: coral-list-bounces at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
> [mailto:coral-list-bounces at coral.aoml.noaa.gov] On Behalf Of megan  
> berkle
> Sent: Tuesday, July 17, 2007 9:11 AM
> To: coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
> Subject: [Coral-List] sea wasps
>
>
>    Dear coral-listers:
>
>    I  am  working  in San Salvador Island, Bahamas for the summer.   
> I was
>    night snorkelling on dump reef situated in Graham's harbor  
> (north part
>    of  the  island).   I was waiting for the soft corals to spawn  
> until I
>    noticed  a  swarm  of  what  appeared to be sea wasps.  I  
> thought this
>    might  be  an  isolated  instance.   However, while diving in  
> Rice Bay
>    (north part of the island) I realized the entire bottom of the  
> bay was
>    covered  with  100's  of  sea  wasps.  They seem to be  
> concentrated in
>    shallow  water  (~10  feet)  right above the sandy areas.  Does  
> anyone
>    know  if  these  sea wasps are often seen in large numbers in  
> Bahamian
>    waters?  Are they as toxic as those found in the Indo-Pacific?
>
>    Megan Berkle
>      _________________________________________________________________
>
>    [1]See what youre getting intobefore you go there
>
> References
>
>    1. http://g.msn.com/8HMAENUS/2749??PS=47575
> _______________________________________________
> Coral-List mailing list
> Coral-List at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
> http://coral.aoml.noaa.gov/mailman/listinfo/coral-list
>
>
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 4
> Date: Wed, 18 Jul 2007 06:44:08 -0400
> From: "Keven Reed" <reedkc at comcast.net>
> Subject: Re: [Coral-List] sea wasps
> To: "megan berkle" <zennnnwoman at hotmail.com>,
> 	<coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov>
> Message-ID: <002e01c7c928$92306b30$6401a8c0 at VALUED664B84C7>
> Content-Type: text/plain;	charset="iso-8859-1"
>
> Dear Megan & coral-listers,
>     If you are looking at cubozoan cnidarians in the genus  
> Carybdea, they are certainly known for huge population blooms in  
> various parts of the world, but fortunately do not have a record  
> for killing humans (though quite painful at times), as do  
> chirodropids in the Western Pacific such as Chiropsalmus  
> quadrigatus and Chironex fleckeri.
>
>     Some areas have discouraged the traditional term 'sea wasps',  
> so that tourists don't look skyward for "wasps" flying near the sea  
> while wading into a cubozoan bloom due to a misunderstanding of  
> what type of animal was being called an insect....last time I was  
> in Queensland, Australia, they were shifting to the common term  
> "box jellies".
>
>     Back to your presumed Carybdea box jelly population increase:   
> Every summer there are literally hundreds of Carybdea box jelly  
> stings at Hanauma Bay on Oahu, Hawaii (no fatalities) when their  
> population increases dramatically around the tenth or eleventh day  
> after a full moon on the southern and western Oahu beaches.
>
>     I was on Okinawa, Japan in the 1990's when two fatalities  
> occurred from stings by Chiropsalmus quadrigatus, a fairly large  
> box jelly, though not as large as the tropical Australian Chrionex  
> fleckeri.  Both deceased were children.
>
>     In 2002 in separate incidents, an adult British tourist and an  
> adult American tourist were killed by stings of a very tiny  
> cubozoan, Carukia barnesi.  Interestingly, this small box jelly has  
> nematocysts on the bell, whereas one can pick up the deadly, large  
> Chironex fleckeri by the bell without being stung.
>
>     The most notorious box jelly, the Australian Chironex fleckeri,  
> does not necessarily kill with an accidental human sting (venom  
> load equals amount of soft skin contacted by length of tentacles,  
> etc.).  To put it in perspective, one reference stated there were  
> 36 documented chirodropid deaths over 110 years (more than a  
> century) in Queensland. Australia.  Another perspective is that  
> there were 225 confirmed C. fleckeri stings in the Northern  
> Territory of Australia over a fifteen year period from April 1991  
> to May 2004.
>
>     The four box jellies I have references for human fatalities are  
> Chiropalmus quadrumanus (a child at Crystal Beach, Texas in 1990,  
> JAMA Sep 11, 1991, Vol 266 (10): 1404-1406), Carukia barnesi,  
> Chiropsalmus quadrigatus, and Chironex fleckeri.
>
>     If you want to follow the literature on clinical cases of the  
> Western Pacific stings by box jellies, the Medical Journal of  
> Australia is a good read.  Southcott did the taxonomy on several of  
> the box jellies in tropical Australia in the 1950's and 1960's.   
> Also, a good general textbook on these matters is the 2002 U. of  
> New South Wales Press, Venomous & Poisonous Marine Animals, by  
> Williamson, Fenner, Burnett & Rifkin.  I'm fortunate to own a  
> delightful 1986 monograph by Barbara Kinsey from James Cook U. of  
> North Queensland, titled Barnes on Box Jellyfish.
>
>     Some experts/researchers on box jellies include Cheryl Lewis at  
> the Smithsonian (studied life cycle of Carybdea savickisi),  Jamie  
> Seymour & Teresa Carrette in Australia, and Bastian Bentlage at the  
> U. of Kansas.
>
>     I, for one, would be greatly interested to learn if you confirm  
> the specific id of the box jellies you are observing.  Thanks,
> Keven
>
> Keven Reed, O.D.
> 1651 Country Walk Drive
> Orange Park, FL  32003
>
> cell:  904-505-7277
>
>
>
>
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
>   From: megan berkle
>   To: coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
>   Sent: Tuesday, July 17, 2007 9:11 AM
>   Subject: [Coral-List] sea wasps
>
>
>
>      Dear coral-listers:
>
>      I  am  working  in San Salvador Island, Bahamas for the  
> summer.  I was
>      night snorkelling on dump reef situated in Graham's harbor  
> (north part
>      of  the  island).   I was waiting for the soft corals to spawn  
> until I
>      noticed  a  swarm  of  what  appeared to be sea wasps.  I  
> thought this
>      might  be  an  isolated  instance.   However, while diving in  
> Rice Bay
>      (north part of the island) I realized the entire bottom of the  
> bay was
>      covered  with  100's  of  sea  wasps.  They seem to be  
> concentrated in
>      shallow  water  (~10  feet)  right above the sandy areas.   
> Does anyone
>      know  if  these  sea wasps are often seen in large numbers in  
> Bahamian
>      waters?  Are they as toxic as those found in the Indo-Pacific?
>
>      Megan Berkle
>         
> _________________________________________________________________
>
>      [1]See what youre getting intobefore you go there
>
>   References
>
>      1. http://g.msn.com/8HMAENUS/2749??PS=47575
>   _______________________________________________
>   Coral-List mailing list
>   Coral-List at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
>   http://coral.aoml.noaa.gov/mailman/listinfo/coral-list
>
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> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 5
> Date: Wed, 18 Jul 2007 09:40:37 +1000
> From: Shelley Anthony <shelleya at gbrmpa.gov.au>
> Subject: Re: [Coral-List] sea wasps [SEC=UNCLASSIFIED]
> To: megan berkle <zennnnwoman at hotmail.com>
> Cc: coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
> Message-ID: <469D5375.3020601 at gbrmpa.gov.au>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed
>
> Hi Megan,
>  When I was at Lee Stocking Island (many years ago), we used to see
> really large schools in the summer during night dives or occasionally
> around the dock. They school up like that after the full moon to spawn
> and I remember they would hover just under the surface at night.  
> One of
> my friends got stung by some (swam up through a school after doing his
> deco stop), and while he said it was pretty painful, he didn't have a
> serious physiological reaction, just some nasty red welts that went  
> away
> after a time. They're not nearly as venomous as the box jellies over
> here, but they are still potentially dangerous. But I admit that after
> my friend got stung, from then on I always made everyone shine their
> flashlights into the water during night dives to check before I made a
> roll-back entry...and still do.
> Cheers,
> Shelley
>
> megan berkle wrote, On 17/07/2007 23:11:
>>    Dear coral-listers:
>>
>>    I  am  working  in San Salvador Island, Bahamas for the  
>> summer.  I was
>>    night snorkelling on dump reef situated in Graham's harbor  
>> (north part
>>    of  the  island).   I was waiting for the soft corals to spawn  
>> until I
>>    noticed  a  swarm  of  what  appeared to be sea wasps.  I  
>> thought this
>>    might  be  an  isolated  instance.   However, while diving in  
>> Rice Bay
>>    (north part of the island) I realized the entire bottom of the  
>> bay was
>>    covered  with  100's  of  sea  wasps.  They seem to be  
>> concentrated in
>>    shallow  water  (~10  feet)  right above the sandy areas.  Does  
>> anyone
>>    know  if  these  sea wasps are often seen in large numbers in  
>> Bahamian
>>    waters?  Are they as toxic as those found in the Indo-Pacific?
>>
>>    Megan Berkle
>>       
>> _________________________________________________________________
>>
>>    [1]See what youre getting intobefore you go there
>>
>> References
>>
>>    1. http://g.msn.com/8HMAENUS/2749??PS=47575
>> _______________________________________________
>> Coral-List mailing list
>> Coral-List at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
>> http://coral.aoml.noaa.gov/mailman/listinfo/coral-list
>>
>
> -- 
> Shelley L. Anthony, M.Sc.
>
> Biological Operations Manager
> Reef HQ Aquarium
> The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority
> 2-68 Flinders St.
> PO Box 1379
> Townsville QLD 4810  AUSTRALIA
>
> Ph: +61(07)4750-0876
> Fax: +61(07)4772-5281
> email:  s.anthony at gbrmpa.gov.au
>
> PhD Student
> ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies
> School of Marine and Tropical Biology
> James Cook University
> Townsville QLD 4811 AUSTRALIA
> shelley.anthony at jcu.edu.au
>
> ====================================================================== 
> ========
> If you have received this transmission in error please notify us  
> immediately
> by return email and delete all copies. Any unauthorised use,  
> disclosure or
> distribution of this email is prohibited.
> ====================================================================== 
> ========
>
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 6
> Date: Wed, 18 Jul 2007 10:29:46 -0400
> From: "Michael Lombardi" <explore at oceanopportunity.com>
> Subject: Re: [Coral-List] sea wasps [SEC=UNCLASSIFIED]
> To: "'megan berkle'" <zennnnwoman at hotmail.com>
> Cc: coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
> Message-ID: <003501c7c948$17c39370$0600a8c0 at ADMIN>
> Content-Type: text/plain;	charset="us-ascii"
>
> I've also experienced massive layers of 'sea wasps' at Lee Stocking  
> Island,
> mostly in the shallows over deeper water areas however. The  
> occurrences were
> seasonal, typically in early summer, but were not every year.
>
> Regards,
> Mike
> Michael Lombardi
> Oceans of Opportunity
> www.oceanopportunity.com
>
> exploration & scientific diving resources
> www.explorationtechnologiesgroup.com
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: coral-list-bounces at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
> [mailto:coral-list-bounces at coral.aoml.noaa.gov] On Behalf Of  
> Shelley Anthony
> Sent: Tuesday, July 17, 2007 7:41 PM
> To: megan berkle
> Cc: coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
> Subject: [SPAM] Re: [Coral-List] sea wasps [SEC=UNCLASSIFIED]
>
>
> Hi Megan,
>  When I was at Lee Stocking Island (many years ago), we used to see
> really large schools in the summer during night dives or occasionally
> around the dock. They school up like that after the full moon to spawn
> and I remember they would hover just under the surface at night.  
> One of
> my friends got stung by some (swam up through a school after doing his
> deco stop), and while he said it was pretty painful, he didn't have a
> serious physiological reaction, just some nasty red welts that went  
> away
> after a time. They're not nearly as venomous as the box jellies over
> here, but they are still potentially dangerous. But I admit that after
> my friend got stung, from then on I always made everyone shine their
> flashlights into the water during night dives to check before I made a
> roll-back entry...and still do.
> Cheers,
> Shelley
>
> megan berkle wrote, On 17/07/2007 23:11:
>>    Dear coral-listers:
>>
>>    I  am  working  in San Salvador Island, Bahamas for the  
>> summer.  I was
>>    night snorkelling on dump reef situated in Graham's harbor  
>> (north part
>>    of  the  island).   I was waiting for the soft corals to spawn  
>> until I
>>    noticed  a  swarm  of  what  appeared to be sea wasps.  I  
>> thought this
>>    might  be  an  isolated  instance.   However, while diving in  
>> Rice Bay
>>    (north part of the island) I realized the entire bottom of the  
>> bay was
>>    covered  with  100's  of  sea  wasps.  They seem to be  
>> concentrated in
>>    shallow  water  (~10  feet)  right above the sandy areas.  Does  
>> anyone
>>    know  if  these  sea wasps are often seen in large numbers in  
>> Bahamian
>>    waters?  Are they as toxic as those found in the Indo-Pacific?
>>
>>    Megan Berkle
>>       
>> _________________________________________________________________
>>
>>    [1]See what youre getting intobefore you go there
>>
>> References
>>
>>    1. http://g.msn.com/8HMAENUS/2749??PS=47575
>> _______________________________________________
>> Coral-List mailing list
>> Coral-List at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
>> http://coral.aoml.noaa.gov/mailman/listinfo/coral-list
>>
>
> -- 
> Shelley L. Anthony, M.Sc.
>
> Biological Operations Manager
> Reef HQ Aquarium
> The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority
> 2-68 Flinders St.
> PO Box 1379
> Townsville QLD 4810  AUSTRALIA
>
> Ph: +61(07)4750-0876
> Fax: +61(07)4772-5281
> email:  s.anthony at gbrmpa.gov.au
>
> PhD Student
> ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies
> School of Marine and Tropical Biology
> James Cook University
> Townsville QLD 4811 AUSTRALIA
> shelley.anthony at jcu.edu.au
>
> ====================================================================== 
> ======
> ==
> If you have received this transmission in error please notify us  
> immediately
> by return email and delete all copies. Any unauthorised use,  
> disclosure or
> distribution of this email is prohibited.
> ====================================================================== 
> ======
> ==
>
> _______________________________________________
> Coral-List mailing list
> Coral-List at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
> http://coral.aoml.noaa.gov/mailman/listinfo/coral-list
>
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> _______________________________________________
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> Coral-List at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
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>
> End of Coral-List Digest, Vol 49, Issue 16
> ******************************************

Thomas J. Goreau, PhD
President
Global Coral Reef Alliance
37 Pleasant Street, Cambridge MA 02139
617-864-4226
goreau at bestweb.net
http://www.globalcoral.org




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