1st Story by Bob Seaworm

DEUTSCHE VERSION

The Love Life of South American Jellyfish and Their Influence on the Gulf Stream at Christmas Time A mexican woodworm once told me, says Bob Seaworm, that it is a very unusual experience to sail to Venezuela at Christmas time. Venezuela is up where South America begins, and it is home to many unique animals. All along the coast live the famous South American jellyfish. Like glow worms, they can make light. Most glow red, but some glow yellow, some green and a few can even glow light blue. They do it with a little bit of electricity, which they can create themselves inside of their bodies. Now you're probably asking yourself, why do jellyfish glow ?  Ocean creatures don't usually glow ! That's true, but then jellyfish are almost invisible - and that makes it a little bit difficult for them to find a mate. Well, even jellyfish need love and friendship. Now that's understandable enough, isn't it ? a rare blue-glowing South American jellyfish So, a jellyfish who is searching for a mate gives off light signals, as brightly as it can and as close as possible to the water's surface. The best time to do this is at Christmas time, because a strong wind is always blowing then and the light signals can be seen from one wave to the other. Some jellyfish flare slowly and some blink quickly, and then there are some which switch between long and short flashes, like a Morse code. Unfortunately I don't understand jellyfish signals, so I don't know if they also tell stories that way. But why not ? Even humans sometimes signal each other with flashlights. They say if you see this from a ship, the whole thing is very beautiful - like underwater fireworks. But it is even more beautiful once the jellyfish have found each other ! Once two jellyfish meet, they begin their wedding dance, which lasts the whole night long. They swim in circles around each other, jump and dive, blinking and glowing the whole time. Finally she opens her tentacles wide and releases 1000 little tiny eggs into the water. He swims quickly underneath them and forms a cup with his tentacles to catch them all. He fertilizes them and then brings them to a calm place where they can grow. Can you imagne how it looks when thousands of jellyfish couples are dancing their wedding dances ? The water foams and bubbles, as if it were boiling ! Really, and the water gets very warm, too ! And that's just as it should be, because then the eggs can develop properly and the baby jellyfish can grow better. That warm water then flows from Venezuela to the Gulf of Mexico and America, and from there through the Atlantic Ocean all the way up to the North Sea. Humans have named this warm flow of water the Gulf Stream. Wherever the Gulf Stream flows, it also warms a bit of the air and the land. That's why there are such wonderful plants on coastlines, like poinsettas ! Isn't it strange that the leaves of the poinsetta are exactly as red as the glow of a jellyfish ? ******************************************************* Tell the truth now, Bob Seaworm, was every detail of your story true ??? - Oh yes, yes, of course! By the hair on the tip of my tail, that's just the way it was told to me ! I haven't seen it myself yet, but maybe someday I'll sail out that way too ! Until then, I'll just crawl into a poinsetta and think about jellyfish awhile. Warm greetings from - your Bob.