PLENARY

 

Jellyfish and Human Well-being

 

William (Monty) Graham

University of Southern Mississippi

 

Jellyfish are widely viewed by scientists and lay-people alike as marine “pests”. Several recent publications have produced a more balanced view of jellyfish, weighing their benefits as individuals and as constituents within communities and ecosystems. This talk summarizes these publications, and focuses on a conceptual model of thresholds and trade-offs when assessing jellyfish blooms and their changes over time. Particular attention is given to the role of jellyfish in heavily fished ecosystems where a growing narrative suggests removal of fish biomass leads to increased negative functioning of jellyfish within the ecosystem. The threshold model revisits jellyfish and their ecosystem services to human well-being as a means of understanding impacts and benefits in a standardized manner. It is also a useful approach to identify data needs for future studies that might move this from theoretical into practical studies of jellyfish-human interactions.