Jellyfish - not only a nuisance

Many, probably most people think of jellyfish as a pest and a nuisance; a species that does not have any value in the food chain. Jellyfish have historically been regarded as a dead-end in the marine food chain, which means that the energy or nutrients ingested by jellyfish are not transferred to other marine animals.

Now, a very different story is emerging from research, showing that jellyfish is indeed a significant contribution to the diet of other marine animals. Amongst them also those that are important to commercial fishing and human nutrition. In an article (link below) Helge M. Markusson from the Fram Centre in Tromsø writes about some interesting findings from the JellyFarm project, which is funded by the Research Council of Norway and the Fram Centre, through a program called Effects of climate change on fjords and coastal ecosystems in the north.