Scientists have bumped into colonies of sea salps floating off the Tasmanian coast. The zooplankton look similar to jellyfish, but actually have more in common with humans.
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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.
01:07Scientists are uncertain what causes the blooms of salps, but hope research on the current
01:11CSIRO voyage may help unravel the mystery.