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Welcome to SeagrassSoundings Blog



SeagrassSoundings focuses on the work that scientists and managers are doing to protect, preserve, study, restore and monitor seagrass in Massachusetts and throughout New England.

Sunday, July 7, 2013

Not balloons, Man-o-war in Buzzards Bay

Man-of-wars are found, sometimes in groups of 1,000 or more, floating in warm waters throughout the world's oceans. They have no independent means of propulsion and either drift on the currents or catch the wind with their pneumatophores. To avoid threats on the surface, they can deflate their air bags and briefly submerge. http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/invertebrates/portuguese-man-of-war/.

I guess they got trapped in currents and debris pushed north due to early effects of Tropical Storm Andrea.

We saw lots of Man-o-War washed up along the shore of Buzzards Bay yesterday from Chapoquoit to Woods Hole.  This one isn't the best one but I had to run back and get my camera and then this is the only one I could fine.
http://www.capecodonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20130706/NEWS/307060324/-1/rss02





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2 comments:

  1. AnonymousJuly 12, 2013 at 7:01 AM

    Wow, that is a neat occurence. DOes this imply influence of climate change?

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  2. Tay EvansJuly 12, 2013 at 7:08 AM

    Not in and of itself. It is not uncommon for us to see tropical species blown into Massachusetts waters occasionally. In this case it was a whole swarm of man-o-war. Having said that, Buzzards Bay is definitely getting warmer and this is having ecological repercussions, for example, the lobster fishery has largely moved off-shore.

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