When I sat at the computer to write my very first blog-posting, I went through a lot of options how to start it! Finally I decided to cheer the jellyfish! Why? Not because jellyfish have inhabited the seas for more than 500 million years and not because they are beautiful creatures when they pose their long tentacles and pulse their umbrella or padding combes generating rainbow-like colors!! No, I have another reason to share my research with you, and that is “you”. My boss wants me to produce “science” and as long as I am doing well, I will be able to continue my research (and subsequently my income is insured for the time i have a contract!!). but each year, when the summer vacation starts i receive a lot of requests to give an interview stating which species are there, who stings and who is harmless, why they produce colors etc. Jellyfish becomes suddenly a very important topic, and that is repeated EVERY SINGLE YEAR…it means to me there is a gap between what I am doing and what “you” get, and that is odd.

I will post more blogs in September when we begin our cruise to sample jellyfish for two weeks along the Baltic Sea and Kattegat/Skagerrak. I would also define my “terms and conditions” list to ensure a healthy communication and hopefully avoid any uncertainty and misunderstandings.

To let you know what is going on outside in the Kiel Fjord I would say: the invasive comb jelly (Mnemiopsis leidyi) appeared this summer earlier than previous years, most probably due to a milder winter. If you go swimming you might find them everywhere, they are a little pinkish, padding their comb rows and might reach the size of 5-6 cm. don’t worry….they are harmless and not bite!

To end it up, I share a nice picture I got from my student showing a jellyfish flower. That is a jellyfish polyp that just producing medusa on the top of its stolon.