Everyone has heard stories about marine animals that are decreasing, virtually extinct, or threatened by pollution. This is not the story of the jelly fish.

According to Rob Condon, a new research scientist at Bermuda Institute for Ocean Sciences (BIOS), jelly fish are on the increase in most parts of the world, and no one knows exactly why.

"Some people call it the rise of slime hypothesis," said Dr. Condon. "It is not just jelly fish that are increasing, it is also other species such as certain types of mussels."

There are a number of theories about the cause of this increase, including over-fishing of important ocean predators such as sharks, and a decrease in other food competitors such as fish.

There might be an increase in nutrients for jelly fish, or there might not be any population increase at all. It might be that no one has ever really counted jelly fish before.

Whatever the reason, Dr. Condon aims to research the question further while at BIOS. "We know virtually nothing about the role of jelly fish in the ocean," said Dr. Condon. "We know nothing about how they are responding to climate change, and ocean acidification. To say something about them is all speculative.

"Not a lot of research has been done on them."

In Bermuda waters, there are several species of jelly fish. One of the most common, at certain times of the year, is the Portuguese man o war (Physalia physalis), which is also sometimes referred to as a 'blue bottle'.

"They are technically a colony of animals," said Dr. Condon. "There is a reproductive part, and another part of the colony is responsible for capturing food, and so forth."

Other local jellies include the purple stinger, the moon jelly, the comb jelly and the box jelly. Jellies like the moon jellies are a popular snack for juvenile turtles in our waters.

"I chose Bermuda to do this study because of BIOS," said Dr. Condon. "BIOS is known all around the world. I was excited to come here and work on what is called the Bermuda Atlantic Times Series (BATS) cruises." BATS have been running tests and taking water samples in the same ocean spots over a long period to get a better sense of things like climate change, and ocean acidification.

"They have been occurring in that format on the Sargasso Sea for 20 years," said Dr. Condon. "And those were developed from another time series. I was excited to be a part of that. I will collect jelly fish samples while we are out on the monthly BATS cruises. It will be linked to that."

Dr. Condon is originally from Melbourne, Australia. He became interested in jelly fish while an undergraduate student at Melbourne University.

"I instantly liked them," he said. "They are a problem in Australia with people getting stung, just as they are around the world. I took a liking to them and started reading articles about them. I realised there wasn't much known about jelly fish or jelly plankton."

He did his doctoral degree at the college of William & Mary University in Virginia. It was later, while working in Maryland that he met Dr. Mike Lomas, who is now also a research scientist at BIOS studying phytoplankton and small algae.

While in Bermuda, Dr. Condon will be helping Dr. Lomas, but he will also be working on his own research project looking at a connection between jelly fish and marine bacteria.

"The jelly fish when they are alive are very slimy," Dr. Condon said. "That slime is mucous which is known as 'dissolved organic matter'. All it is is sugar molecules produced by the jelly fish."

He said that bacteria love this carbon rich substance. The bacteria use it for energy and respiration. These particular bacteria don't present any threat to humans.

"Through the bacteria taking up the molecules, a lot of carbon is converted back into carbon dioxide," he said. No one yet really knows if the increase in jelly fish is a good thing or a bad thing.

He said that the increase in jelly fish may lead to an increase in swimmers being stung. They also clog up fishing nets. And a few years ago the wrong species of jelly fish got into the Black Sea, possibly through the bilge pump on a ship coming from other waters. It wiped out the fishing industry within two years, by gobbling up the local fish larvae.

But jelly fish may also have a positive impact on the environment.

In the ocean, microscopic phytoplankton act a bit like trees and plants on land, helping to cleanse the sea of carbon dioxide. They very slowly float to the bottom and lock carbon dioxide away deep in the ocean.

But some phytoplankton is eaten by jelly fish before it sinks to the depths of the ocean. Because jelly fish are heavier than the phytoplankton, they sink to the bottom faster, therefore taking the carbon dioxide away and locking it in the ocean faster. It works its way out of the deep ocean over a period of thousands of years.

Naturally, researching jelly fish comes with some risk.

"I have been stung so many times it doesn't really worry me anymore," said Dr. Condon. "The first time I got stung was in Australia.

"We were catching two types of jelly fish. One was about a metre wide. I was in the water and it was a little bit rough. I was trying to communicate with my supervisor about a jelly fish I'd found. I had the full wet suit on, dive gloves, the hood. I was yelling out, but he couldn't hear me.

"So I picked up the jelly fish and held it up out of the water. At that time a wave came along and pushed the thing against my face. The side of my face was stung. It was a little red for a couple of hours. It was a silly thing to do. I am always wary now, when I am dealing with them."

Dr. Condon hesitated to recommend any kind of remedy for a sting, saying instead to seek medical advice.

"If you see these animals in the water, don't go swimming," said Dr. Condon. "If you see them on the beach, leave them alone. Whether a Portuguese man o war is in the water or on the beach you can still get stung. So have caution. I would just avoid them."

As much as they can hurt, jelly fish are considered a delicacy in some parts of the world.

"Jelly fish are very high in protein," said Dr. Condon. "There is a huge fishery in Asia. It is actually quite amazing. It is full of protein and no fat at all. From that sense it is very healthy."

Dr. Condon said jelly fish taste "alright", in his opinion. "I did eat jelly fish once," he said. "It is prepared like a salad. It is the bell part you are eating without the tentacles and stinging parts. Jelly fish are 99 percent water.

"Cooks put the bell part in a series of alum salts increasing in concentration that draws the water out. You are left with a rubbery disc that you cut into thin slices. The one I had wasn't too bad. You mix it with a sesame oil and dressing. It is a bit like seaweed salad, a little crunchy, but also rubbery."