Welcome to the DockWatch Program
By Jessica Noel, DISL Marine Technician and DockWatch Project Manager

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The biggest problem with studying jellyfish bloom development, movement, and propagation in the northern Gulf of Mexico is the extensive resources required for a few scientists to survey the Gulf for jellies continuously for months on end. For the public at large, jellyfish are often a nuisance that is not well understood. DockWatch unites scientists and the public in a joint effort to meet the demands of this type of study and to provide answers to the public.

Dr. Monty Graham and Ms. Lisa Young of the Dauphin Island Sea Lab have developed a protocol for a one-year pilot study (DockWatch) to evaluate the effectiveness of this union. Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant Consortium (MASGC) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)’s Gulf of Mexico Program are funding this study. Volunteers along the coasts of Alabama and Mississippi will collect environmental data and visual observations of jellyfish species and numbers. Dr. Graham will analyze the data to determine the seasonality and distribution of the observed species in local waters, if blooms are developing and where, and if blooms are local or transported from elsewhere.

All of these data will be available on a project-dedicated web site, allowing the volunteers immediate reward for their effort. This web site will explain why nuisance species like jellyfish are important to both the ecology and economy. It will also emphasize that ecological impacts occur at the ecosystem level rather than simply at the species or population level. Upon completion of the study, the results will be made available to the general public and the program will be evaluated for continuation. Besides accomplishing Dr. Graham’s and Ms. Young’s objectives, the volunteers will learn about the different species of jellyfish and will better understand their roles in the local ecosystem.

With only a few weeks of reports from current volunteers and beach-goers, we are already seeing a pattern in jellyfish abundances. So far, there have


Stomolophus meleagris - "cannonball jelly", or "cabbagehead jelly"
been more jellyfish reported from the Mississippi coastline than from east of Mobile Bay. The most often reported species have been Mnemiopsis leidyi (comb jellies), hydromedusae, and Aurelia aurita (moon jellies).

If you go to a Northern Gulf of Mexico beach, please report any jellyfish you see on the beach or in the water on our web site at http://dockwatch.disl.org (go to "Submit Sighting" then use the "One time sighting" form and follow the instructions), or email us at dockwatch@disl.org, or call our DockWatch hotline (334) 861-7565. To learn more about this program and local jellyfish, please visit our web site. We appreciate any information you can give us.