Большинство людей не любит медуз, к счастью, у sea shores they appear only occasionally. But imagine a place where they exist constantly and in huge quantities. Submitted? There is such a place! This is Lake Medusa in Palau.
The Republic of Palau is located in the Pacific Oceanabout 800 kilometers from the Philippines. It is completely located on the islands and is stunning by its nature. One of its archipelagoes, the Rocky Islands, was even called the “underwater wonder of the world.” Its coastal waters inhabit over a thousand species of fish and marine mammals, many of which are rare.
It is not surprising that the “abodejellyfish. " A lake with inhabitants unusual for such reservoirs appeared 12 thousand years ago. Now it is inhabited by several million jellyfish. The number of tourists arriving to look at them, too, is not far behind this figure. Due to this, snorkeling develops here - surface swimming with a snorkel and goggles, with which you can watch jelly-like for hours.
Where is Lake Medusa?It is located in the eastern part of the coral island of El Malk. The lake is not too big, but elongated. At the widest point the reservoir reaches 160 meters, at the longest - 460 meters. Its depth does not exceed 50 meters.
There are about ten lakes like this on the island, butit is the greatest. It is interesting not only for its inhabitants. Thus, the reservoir refers to the Meromectic or double-layer lakes. Its surface and deep waters are different and practically do not mix with each other.
The top layer of Lake Medusa in Palau is saturatedwith oxygen. It extends to a depth of 15 meters. Within its borders, most living organisms live, as well as accumulated precipitation and flowing water. The bottom layer is devoid of oxygen, but it contains hydrogen sulfide, phosphates and ammonia. Due to the harm of such water for a person diving is prohibited. Bacteria inhabit the upper layer.
Lake formed in a natural dimpleisland, which appeared as a result of the movement of the earth's crust. It is not completely cut off from the “big water”, it connects with the ocean through holes and cracks in limestone rocks.
How the jellyfish ended up in the lake is not known for sure.Most likely, the young individuals got here along with the water passing through the tunnels of the rocks. According to another version, they have been living in the reservoir since its formation: after lowering the sea level, part of the water along with its “population” remained on the island, forming lakes.
Здесь в достаточно благоприятных условиях и In the absence of natural enemies, jellyfish have increased their numbers by several thousand times. Now the lake is just teeming with them. The two main species found in it are the golden jellyfish and the moon. In addition to them, in the pond inhabits several species of fish and crustaceans.
The life style of golden jellyfish is closely related togreen algae that settle inside them. Organisms "concluded" a kind of contract, providing each other with useful substances. Algae need light, so during the day the jellyfish move after the sun, describing circles on the lake. At night, they descend to the lower layers in order to be saturated with nitrogen.
Принятые названия, обитающих в озере видов медуз, only conditional. So, the golden jellyfish most likely belongs to Mastigias papua, and the moon jellyfish belongs to Aurelia (Aurelia aurita). It is difficult to classify local inhabitants, because they have significant differences with related species living in the open sea off the coast of the islands.
Despite a small connection with the ocean, the LakeJellyfish in Palau rather isolated. This could not affect the lives of its inhabitants. Scientists suggest that a long isolated existence contributed to some internal and external changes, resulting in the formation of individual subspecies of jellyfish.
Both the golden jellyfish and the moonlight belong to the classscyphoid or stitching. As a rule, there are special cells on their tentacles that allow them to sting the enemy. Lonely and cloudless existence on the island contributed to the death of these cells.
Lake Medusa in Palau is a unique naturalcorner. It is surrounded by rocks and tropical trees, and its waters are inhabited by millions of jellyfish. This place attracts tourists and provides an opportunity to watch the life of the inhabitants of the reservoir close by.
In the sea, huge jellyfish can representserious danger to humans. They sting painfully and are poisonous. Jellyfish on the island of El-Malk in Palau have long lost this ability, allowing curious tourists to approach them at a very short distance.
