- December 26: 24 Hours: The best soirees of 2007 by Michael Schratter
- December 14: Washington Post: Salmon farming may doom wild populations by Juliet Eilperin and Marc Kaufman
Lucas Brotz – Postdoctoral Fellow
Profile
BSc (Astrophysics); MSc (Oceanography); PhD (Zoology)
Research Interests
Jellyfish populations are increasing in numerous ecosystems around the globe. Not surprisingly, these increases are not uniform across time and space. So why are jellyfish increasing in some places and not others? What are the consequences for humans and ecosystems? And what, if anything, can we do to manage or prevent increasing jellyfish blooms?
Jellyfish population dynamics are complex, partly because of the unique life cycles of many species. Jellyfish may exist as pulsing medusae, sessile polyps, or cysts capable of resisting harsh environmental conditions. Reproductive strategies include sexual and asexual reproduction, as well as hermaphroditism. As such, jellyfish populations are influenced by a variety of anthropogenic and environmental factors at different, often cryptic, life stages.
Increasing jellyfish populations can impact humans in both negative and positive ways. Industries such as tourism, aquaculture, fishing, power generation, desalination, and shipping have all reported considerable economic losses due to jellyfish blooms. In contrast, fisheries that harvest jellyfish for food are expanding around the globe, and jellyfish are now a popular draw for public aquaria. As both human and jellyfish populations increase, new interactions are sure to emerge, as jellyfish get in our way and as we find new ways to exploit them.
Ironically, it appears that in some cases, humans may be responsible for the observed increases in jellyfish populations. While there is no single cause of increasing jellyfish populations, there is evidence that fishing, pollution, aquaculture, shipping, global warming, and coastal development can all create conditions that favour jellyfish over fish. Most of these links are only correlative, but the rise of jellyfish in coastal ecosystems worldwide should be cause for concern. We may need to decide now whether or not we want our children to be eating jellyfish burgers. If our behaviour doesn’t change, they might not have a choice.
Publications
Gregr, E.J., R. Gryba, M.C. James, L. Brotz, & S.J. Thornton (in revision). Information relevant to the identification of critical habitat for Leatherback Sea Turtles (Dermochelys coriacea) in Pacific Canadian waters. DFO Canadian Science Advisory Secretariat Research Document.
Brotz, L. & D. Pauly (in press). Jellyfish populations in the Mediterranean Sea. Acta Adriatica.
Brotz, L. (2012) Of leatherbacks and lion’s manes. Sea Around Us Project Newsletter (71): 1-4.
Brotz, L. (2012). Learning about Pacific leatherback sea turtles by examining jellyfish. Report prepared for Fisheries and Oceans Canada, 29 pp.
Brotz, L., M. Lebrato, K.L. Robinson, M. Sexton, A. Sweetman, K. Pitt, & R. Condon (2011) Implications of increased carbon supply for the global expansion of jellyfish blooms.Limnology & Oceanography Bulletin (20): 38-39.
Brotz, L. (2011) Are jellyfish the food of the future? INFOFISH International (4): 60-63.
Brotz, L. (2010) Gelatinous Seas. Discovery, Nature Vancouver (39): 14-20.
Brotz, L. (2010) What’s for dinner? Sea Around Us Project Newsletter (57): 4-5.
Media Coverage
Jellyfish Invasion, Costing the Earth, BBC Radio, May 22, 2012.
Rise of the jellies, Quirks & Quarks, CBC Radio, April 28, 2012.
Jellyfish numbers soar worldwide. CTV News Channel, April 21, 2012.
Jellyfish populations booming, CBC News, April 20, 2012.
Menace from the ocean deep. National Post, April 19 2012 (front page).
Jellyfish swarm coastal waters. Vancouver Sun, April 19, 2012 (front page).
Interview, As It Happens, CBC Radio, April 19, 2012.
Attack of the blobs. Nature (482): 20-21, February 2, 2012.
Growing jellyfish invasion oozes across southern U.S. The Toronto Star, September 20, 2011.
Jellyfish Swarms: Menacing or Misunderstood? LiveScience, October 20, 2010.
Interview – Fisheries Broadcast, CBC Radio Newfoundland, August 20, 2010.
Tofu of the Sea. Edible Vancouver (12): 18-19, Summer 2010.
Invasion of the Holiday Snatchers. The Economist.com, March 28, 2008.
2006 Magazine Coverage
- Volume 22, No.3: California Coast & Ocean: “Shifting Baselines” by Anne Canright
- November 18: New Scientist: “Daniel Pauly forecasts the future” by Daniel Pauly
- November 5: Time Magazine: “Oceans of Nothing” by Unmesh Kher
- November 3: Cosmos Magazine: “No more seafood by 2048” by Hamish Clarke
- November: Pour la Science vol. 349 (Scientific American): “On shifting baselines (in French)” by I. Ekeland
- October 12: New Scientist: “Imagine Earth without people” by Bob Holmes
- October 12: Nature: “The real sea change” by Mark Schrope
- October 5: UBC Reports: “Jellyfish sandwiches?” by Basil Waugh
- September 15: Raise the Hammer: “Bedtime for Large Ocean Vertebrates” by Ryan McGreal
- March: University Affairs: “ Google scholar service matches Thomson ISI citation index” by Leo Charbonneau
- January/February: Vancouver: “Best Big Green Voice” by J.M.
2006 Newspaper Coverage
December 29: BusinessDay: “New school of thought on fish” by Ernest Harsch
November 26: Los Angeles Times: “Not Enough Fish in the Sea” by Kenneth R. Weiss
November 26: The Boston Globe: “The Next Big Fish – Chilean sea bass was the first celebrity fish” by Charles P. Pierce
November 20: The Gazette (Montreal): “State-subsidized Destruction at Sea”
November 19: The New Times (Kigali): “African Waters Over Fished” by Jumah Ssenyonga
November 17: CanWest News Services: “Subsidies to `strip-mining’ trawlers need to stop” by Margaret Munro
November 17: The Australian: “Scientists foresee world of aliens and Dr Doolittles” by Lewis Smith
November 17: The Calgary Herald: “End fish trawler subsidies: report: Cost would idle them” by Margaret Munro
November 17: The Edmonton Journal: “‘Strip-mining’ of fisheries condemned: Japan, Russia among countries
subsidizing destructive trawlers” by Margaret Munro
November 17: The Gazette (Montreal): “Subsidies fuel ‘strip-mining’ fishing trawlers” by Margaret Munro
November 17: The Ottawa Citizen: “Subsidies devastate fish stocks” by Margaret Munro
November 17: The Vancouver Sun: “Fuel subsidies keep trawlers ‘strip-mining’ sea” by Margaret Munro
November 17: Sundaymirror: “Intelligent robots, no religion, and talking animals” by Nick Webster
November 17: Times Colonist (Victoria): “Nations prop up illegal fishing: report” by Margaret Munro
November 16: Guardian: “Life in 2056: longer, healthier – and not alone” by James Randerson and Ian Sample
November 16: Telegraph: “An invitation to look foolish’ or a window into the future?” by Anil Dawar
November 15:Jamaica Gleaner News: “Overfishing in Jamaica” by Peter Espeut
November 7: Herald Tribune: “Protecting our deep seas” by Joshua Reichert
November 4: Vancouver Sun: “A global effort is needed before sea life is past the point of no return” Editorial
November 4: Telegraph Media Group: “Fishermen have lost the plot“ by Charles Clover
November 3: Toronto Star: “Seafood species face extinction” by Peter Calamai
November 3: Vancouver Sun: “Fisheries facing collapse” by Nicholas Read & Margaret Munro
October 31: The Ubyssey: “Parasitic sea lice killing BC’s wild salmon” by Amanda Stutt
October 28: Press-Register: “Fisheries scientist Daniel Pauly will deliver lecture in Mobile” by Ben Raines
October 9: Seattle Post Intelligencer: “Although some species thrive, the feast is actually a
famine” by Robert McClure
August 24: Straight: “Fish farming for the future” by Andrew Findlay
August 8: La Vanguardia: “There will come a day when the Spanish fleet will dedicate themselves to catching
jellyfish” by Beatriz Navarro
July 30: The Baltimore Sun: A primeval tide of toxins by Kenneth R. Weiss
July 30: Los Angeles Times: “A primeval tide of toxins” by Kenneth R. Weiss
June 23: Mingpao Newspaper: “Fishing damages the golden triangle of coral reef in Southeast Asia” by Kangyan Lao
April 02: Maine Sunday Telegram: “Without drastic measures, Gulf of Maine cod fishery will be lost forever” by Priscilla Brooks and Rashid Sumaila
March 27: Hartford Courant:”Fishing subsidies spur emptying of the oceans “by Andrew Sharpless
March 21: Baltimore Sun:”Depletion of oceans demands an end to fishing subsidies” by Andrew Sharpless
March 05: The Independent: “Could a little Bono save the world’s fish?” by Peter Calamai
March 04: The Independent:”Management options” by Alisha Morrissey
February 25: Toronto Star:”Could a little Bono help save the world’s fish?” by Peter Calamai
February 18: The Globe and Mail:”Fisheries need political action” by Mark Hume
January 08: Toronto Star:”It’s ugly. And endangered, too? ” by Peter Calamai
January 06: The Washington Post:”NOAA Puts On Hold Draft Rules to Prevent Overfishing” by Juliet Eilperin
2006 Miscellaneous Media
- December 27: The Tyee: Little Hope for the Ugly Fish by Crawford Kilian
- November 17: Bloger:DogSays: Life in 2056: Longer, healthier and not alone by Jo
- November 17: Blogger:Victor Leon Ossandon Life in 2056: Longer, Healthier – and not alone by Victor Leon Ossandon
- November 17: UBC Public Affairs: Gov’t Subsidies Make Ocean “Strip-mining” Economically Viable: UBC Researchers
- November 16: Blogger: Biology in Science Fiction: The Next 50 Years of Scientific Advancement
- November 16: Livejournal: 2056
- November 16: UPI: Scientists look into crystal balls by Frances Burns
- November 11: Blogger: It’s My Life, It’s Now or Never, I Ain’t Gonna Wait Forever: Yummy crabcakes
- November 7: Afrol News: Global fisheries collapse to hit Africa first
- November 6: Portland Imc: Environmental Scientists Battle Despair and Depression Over End Times by Jail Bush
- November 2: Blue Water World of Books: Marine Conservation Biology: The Science of Maintaining the Sea’s Biodiversity (Paperback)
- October 28: The Mobile Register: Fisheries scientist Daniel Pauly will deliver lecture in Mobile by Ben Raines
- October 20: The Tyee: Coping with Climate Dread by Bryan Zandberg
- September 29: Bloomberg: Fish Farm Produces California Striped Bass Geothermally by Danny King
- September 28: UBC Public Affairs: UBC Fisheries Experts Named Tow of Three Recipients of Volvo Environment Prize by Brian Lin
- September 15: Volvo Environment Prize: Volvo Environment Prize
- September 15: Volvo Environment Prize: Volvo Environment Prize
- September 13: BYM News: Three pioneers in marine ecosystems awarded the Volvo Environment Prize
- August 1: News Target: As ocean pollution mounts, “toxic slime” rises up, destroying ocean life
- June 28: U.S. Newswire: NOAA Fisheries Bans Bottom Trawling in More Than 370,000 Square Miles in the Aleutians
- May 16: Oceana:At the Fish Market with Dr. Daniel Pauly
- May 5: SeaWeb-Ocean Voices:The Scientist as Communicator
- February 17: EurekAlert:Hooked on fishing, and we’re heading for the bottom, Says Scientist” by Daniel Pauly
- February 14: UWNews: Shopping list gets longer – not less choosy- in some of world’s largest fisheries” by Sandra Hines
- January 25: Dateline Earth: Fish farming has a long row to hoe, scientists say” by Robert McClure