Mass stranding
A mass stranding is the arrival on a beach of a number of similar creatures, often left clear of the water as the tide ebbs, frequently resulting in the deaths of most of them. It can be a specific form of fish kill and is one of the four types of strandings, with the other three being single strandings, mass mortalities and out of habitat situations.[1]
Species affected
Mass stranding events are known for many species, particularly cetaceans, but also including weedy seadragons,[2] starfish,[3][4][5] jellyfish,[6][7][8][9][10][11] and various fish species including the Slender sunfish[12][13] and Atlantic saury.[14]
Causes
Strandings can be due to either natural or anthropogenic causes. Natural causes can include one species herding another (e.g. mullet or menhaden) into shallows in a feeding frenzy.[15][1] Reasons for the latter can include, for cetaceans, chemical pollution toxin, plastics ingestion, fisheries, vessel collision, sonar activities, and anthropogenic noise,[16] in addition to mortalities through strandings resulting from dolphin drive hunting.
References
- ^ a b Moore, Simeone & Brownell 2018.
- ^ Booth, David J.; Trevor-Jones, Andrew; Klanten, Selma; Beretta, Giglia A. (2025). "Mass stranding of common (weedy) seadragons (Phyllopteryx taeniolatus) in Sydney: impacts and implications". Journal of Fish Biology. 107 (1): 312–316. Bibcode:2025JFBio.107..312B. doi:10.1111/jfb.70019. ISSN 1095-8649. PMC 12327173. PMID 40083044.
- ^ "'Starballing' starfish may hold clue to mystery of mass strandings". University of Plymouth. 29 June 2016. Retrieved 29 September 2025.
- ^ Forgrave, Andrew (27 March 2024). "Weird 'starballing' mode may have caused mass starfish strandings in North Wales". North Wales Live. Retrieved 30 September 2025.
- ^ Franklin, Beth (9 September 2025). "'Starfish apocalypse': Thousands of sea creatures wash up on Scots beach". STV News. Retrieved 29 September 2025.
- ^ Duncombe, Jenessa (31 March 2021). "Why Trillions of Jellyfish Washed Ashore from Canada to California". Eos. Retrieved 30 September 2025.
- ^ "Cold snap could have killed thousands of jellyfish in Cornwall". www.bbc.com. 16 November 2024. Retrieved 29 September 2025.
- ^ Quindoza, Ray (7 August 2025). "These Giant Jellyfish Keep Washing Up on U.S. Beaches". Animals Around The Globe. Retrieved 30 September 2025.
- ^ Mghili, Bilal; Analla, Mohamed; Aksissou, Mustapha (1 March 2022). "Medusae (Scyphozoa and hydrozoa) from the Moroccan Mediterranean coast: abundance and spatiotemporal dynamics and their economic impact". Aquatic Ecology. 56 (1): 213–226. Bibcode:2022AqEco..56..213M. doi:10.1007/s10452-021-09910-0. Retrieved 30 September 2025.
- ^ Aksissou, Mustapha (2020). "Temporal Dynamics of Jellyfish Pelagia noctiluca Stranded on the Mediterranean Coast of Morocco". Turkish Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences. 21 (2) -v21_2_04: 87–94. Bibcode:2020TJFAS..21...87M. doi:10.4194/1303-2712-V21_2_04. Retrieved 30 September 2025.
- ^ Baliarsingh, Sanjiba Kumar; Jena, Amit Kumar; Srichandan, Suchismita; Raulo, Susmita; Joseph, Sudheer; Balakrishnan Nair, T. M.; Barik, Kamal Kumar (13 April 2023). "A scientific basis for fish mass mortality and jellyfish beach stranding in relation to cyclone yaas". Journal of Coastal Conservation. 27 (2): 15. Bibcode:2023JCC....27...15B. doi:10.1007/s11852-023-00944-0. ISSN 1874-7841.
- ^ "A Marine Rarity. Shoal of Stranded Sunfish". The West Australian. 14 April 1928 – via nla.gov.au.
- ^ "Albany Sunfish. Rare Fish Found Locally". Albany Advertiser. 9 June 1941 – via nla.gov.au.
- ^ "Mass strandings of rare fish baffle Orkney residents". 11 December 2023. Retrieved 29 September 2025.
- ^ "Dolphin Strand Feeding on Kiawah Island". www.timberskiawah.com. 14 March 2025. Retrieved 5 October 2025.
- ^ Liu, Mingming; Lin, Mingli; Li, Songhai (May 2022). "Species diversity and spatiotemporal patterns based on cetacean stranding records in China, 1950–2018". Science of the Total Environment. 822 153651. Bibcode:2022ScTEn.82253651L. doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.153651. PMID 35124055.
Sources
- Moore, Kathleen M.; Simeone, Claire A.; Brownell, Robert L. (2018). "Strandings". Encyclopedia of Marine Mammals. Elsevier. doi:10.1016/b978-0-12-804327-1.00249-1. ISBN 978-0-12-804327-1. Retrieved 30 September 2025.
- Perrin, William F.; Geraci, Joseph R. (2009). "Stranding". Encyclopedia of Marine Mammals. Elsevier. doi:10.1016/b978-0-12-373553-9.00256-x. ISBN 978-0-12-373553-9. Retrieved 30 September 2025.
- Sheehan, Emma V.; Cousens, Sophie L. (2017). ""Starballing": a potential explanation for mass stranding". Marine Biodiversity. 47 (2): 617–618. Bibcode:2017MarBd..47..617S. doi:10.1007/s12526-016-0504-3. ISSN 1867-1616. Retrieved 30 September 2025.