Pyrosomes are growing in Oregon ocean waters
(MARCH 29, 2024) The ocean near Oregon has many kinds of animals. There are fish. There are whales. There are .... pickles?
These animals are not really pickles. But they look like them. Some people call them "sea worms" and even "cockroaches of the sea."
What are they? They are "pyrosomes". They are usually in tropical (warm) water. They can be very small or very long. They usually live together in colonies.
Now they are in Oregon. People started seeing them only five years ago. Why? The ocean near Oregon is warmer now.
That can be a problem. They eat food from other animals. No animals eat them. So there are more pyrosomes and fewer fish.
Sources:
Flatt, Courtney. “Why Pickle-Shaped Sea Creatures Are Popping up along Pacific Northwest Coasts.” Opb, 22 Mar. 2024, www.opb.org/article/2024/03/22/pyrosome-pickle-shaped-sea-creatures-oregon-washington-coast/. Accessed 27 Mar. 2024.
Photo: Sea pickles on the beach at Nehalem State Park in December 2016Pyrosomes, more commonly known as sea pickles, on the beach at Nehalem State Park in December 2016 (Photo by minustide, CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)
Flatt, Courtney. “Why Pickle-Shaped Sea Creatures Are Popping up along Pacific Northwest Coasts.” Opb, 22 Mar. 2024, www.opb.org/article/2024/03/22/pyrosome-pickle-shaped-sea-creatures-oregon-washington-coast/. Accessed 27 Mar. 2024.
Photo: Sea pickles on the beach at Nehalem State Park in December 2016Pyrosomes, more commonly known as sea pickles, on the beach at Nehalem State Park in December 2016 (Photo by minustide, CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)