Jelly-like creatures spotted off Tasmania

Scientists have bumped into colonies of sea salps floating off the Tasmanian coast.

Transcript

00:00There's been sightings of a weird sea creature off the coast of eastern Tasmania.

00:06And no, it's not a kraken or a sea serpent, but a jellyfish-like creature called a sea

00:11salp.

00:13Scientists from the CSIRO sailed into the bloom of salps while surveying marine life

00:18in Bass Strait.

00:21Salps are a gelatinous zooplankton that live alone or in colonies and are known for their

00:26incredibly fast growth rate.

00:28Salps can grow up to 10% of their body length per hour and they go through two generations

00:36in a day.

00:37So, like, if one is born at, like, right now, 12 hours from now it's going to be a parent

00:44and in 12 more hours it's going to be a grandparent.

00:47While resembling jellyfish, salps are more closely related to humans.

00:52Salps can form huge chains of clones that then break up, with each salp giving rise

00:57to a new colony.

00:59The zooplanktons also help move carbon into the deep ocean by their poo and their carcasses

01:04when they die.

01:06Scientists are uncertain what causes the blooms of salps, but hope research on the current

01:11CSIRO voyage may help unravel the mystery.