Jellyfish Jams

As a new resident to the coast I've been LOVING exploring all the lakes. During the summer I went for a paddleboard in Hotel Lake. My first time. While paddling I noticed a small gathering of JELLYFISH. I yelled for my friend (who grew up in Garden Bay) to paddle over to take a look. He said he had never seen anything so bizarre. We were shocked and as soon as I was back on land I immediately looked it up. Turns out there was an article last year (2020) in the Times Colonist from the Island regarding some invasive fresh water jellyfish (harmless to humans) found in Saanich lake in part due to its pristine water quality. The article mentioned that these jellies had also been found at ‘Hotel Lake’ and that if anyone had any information to contact the University of British Columbia.

https://www.timescolonist.com/news/local/invasive-jellyfish-turn-up-in-tiny-saanich-lake-1.24193170

So I did exactly that and connected with Florian Luskow (Department of Earth, Ocean & Atmospheric Sciences Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries, Marine Zooplankton and Micronekton Laboratory) who seems to be heading the research. He was thrilled I reported it and requested that I gather a few specimens for his study. The next time I went the jellies were nowhere to be found. Not the next day or the day after. They completely disappeared for a full week before my Garden Bay friend, who was also monitoring the lake, reported to me he had seen a few during a swim. So I drove up and paddle boarded out; gathering 15 specimens in two large glass jars. The next morning they began their journey to Victoria (where the research is taking place) seat belted into the front seat of the vehicle. They listened to all kinds of jellyfish jams on the stereo and were passed off to the very eager hands of Florian. Nature is neat.