Windrows of unique sea creatures resembling small transparent vinyl records indicate spring across coastal cities.
In late April, beachgoers share local shorelines with hundreds of what they describe as “gooey” and “very pretty” creatures — the Velella velella, a blue, jellyfish-like organism.
The Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California San Diego says the Velella are three or four inches in diameter and are commonly seen off the coast of California and further north off Oregon and Washington.
Also called “by-the-wind sailor,” the Scripps Institution says their habitat is the sea surface, generally floating offshore, but they can be blown onshore in large numbers.
In a recent social media post, Scripps took to Instagram to share that the Velella is not in the same group as a jellyfish and mostly eats invertebrate zooplankton and the occasional larval fish.
While the Velella sting is not considered dangerous to humans, unlike some species of jellyfish, Scripps since last year advised people to observe, take photos, but refrain from disturbing them.
“The Velella are really at the mercy of the winds more than the currents because they have that sail,” said Kevin Hovel, professor of marine ecology and vice chair of the Department of Biology at San Diego State University. “If you get really strong winds, you get some storms, you get things like El Niño…then they start to not be able to control where they’re going and they just get stranded. The wind just pushes them all onto the beach.”
Yearly sighting
The appearance of Velella on local shorelines occurs annually in the spring.
And what people are seeing is one of two main parts of the Velella velella’s life cycle, the polyp stage, said Hovel.
According to the Oregon Coast Aquarium, each Velella is a colony of individuals (called polyps), divided into separate groups that specialize in feeding and reproduction, while others protect the colony and provide structural support.
Hovel said there are two reasons the Velella are appearing across local shorelines.
“One is that it’s spring and they’re really abundant because you have the water getting warmer, you have the food chain sort of kicking into gear,” said Hovel. “Sometimes in an El Niño year…the currents that normally would move offshore…tend to weaken, and that means that it’s easier for these things to be pushed in onto land.”
According to Hovel, Velellas have floating tentacles that hang down in the water, and sting prey like shrimp and other little floating animals in their open ocean habitats and deep water.
“They’re blue, but when they start to dry up and die, they turn clear, so the clear ones are the ones that have probably been there a little longer and they lose their pigmentation,” said Hovel. “People really can’t be hurt by them too much.”
Scripps experts say Velellas are benign to humans with stinging cells intended for their zooplankton prey that are usually not strong enough to penetrate or harm human skin.
And Hovel agrees that touching the Velella will not harm a person, but he said people may experience irritation if one proceeds to touch their face and sensitive areas like the eyes.
“They don’t have a hard shell except for that one little bit of the sail,” added Hovel. “It doesn’t take long for them to decompose and be broken up.”
