The dramatic proliferation of jellyfish in oceans around the world, driven by overfishing and climate change, is a sure sign of ecosystems out of kilter, warn experts.

由於過度捕撈和氣候變化，世界各地海洋的水母劇幅增殖，專家警告，這也是生態系統失衡的明確跡象。

"Jellyfish are an excellent bellwether for the environ-ment," said Jacqueline Goy, of the Oceanographic Insti-tute of Paris. "The more jellyfish, the stronger the signal that something has changed."

巴黎海洋研究所的賈桂琳．高伊說：「水母是很好的環境指標，水母越多，越代表有些東西已經改變。」

Brainless creatures composed almost entirely of water, the primitive animals have quietly filled a vacuum creat-ed by the voracious human appetite for fish.

無腦生物幾乎完全由水構成，原始的動物悄悄填補人類狼吞虎嚥嗜吃魚類所留下的真空。

And marine biologists say dislodging them will be dif-ficult. "Jellyfish have come to occupy the place of many other species," said Ricardo Aguilar, research director for Oceana, a international conservation organisation.

海洋生物學家並指出，很難趕走水母。國際海洋保育組織Oceana研究主任艾奎拉說：「水母已經占領其他很多物種的生存空間。」

Nowhere is the sting of these poorly understood in-vertebrates felt more sharply than the Mediterranean basin, where their exploding numbers have devastated native marine species and threaten seaside tourism. And while much about the lampshade-like creatures remains unknown, scientists are in agreement: Pelagia noctiluca -- whose tentacles can paralyse prey and cause burning rashes in humans -- will once again besiege Mediter-ranean coastal waters this summer.

這種鮮為人知的無脊椎動物暴增，地中海盆地受害尤其慘重。這裡由於水母激增，已經破壞當地海洋生物種類，甚至危及海邊旅遊觀光。雖然外界對這個外形如燈罩的物種所知不多，科學家同意，俗稱夜光游水母的物種，其觸角會使它所捕食的獵物癱瘓，並使人灼傷起疹子，而且今夏勢必再度攻占地中海沿岸水域。

That, in itself, is not unusual. It is the frequency and persistence of these appearances that worry scientists.

這件事本身無足為奇，科學家擔心的是水母出現的頻率和持續性。

A file photo taken on October 4, 2006 shows a diver attaching a sensor on a large Echizen jellyfish off the coast of Komatsu in Ishikawa prefecture, northern Japan. Two centuries worth of data shows that jellyfish popula-tions naturally swell every 12 years, remain stable four or six years, and then subside. 2008, however, will be the eighth consecutive year that medusae, as they are also known, will be present in massive numbers. The over-exploitation of ocean resources by man has helped create a near-perfect environment in which these most primitive of ocean creatures can multiply unchecked.

圖為2006年10月4日的檔案照，照片中可見一潛水人員正在日本北部百峰村小松岸外海域幫一隻大型越前水母裝感應器。兩百年的資料顯示，水母的數量12年就會自然增加，接著維持穩定4到6年，然後再逐漸減少。但2008年將是連續第八年水母大量出現。人類過度開採海洋資源，無形中幫助創造一個幾近完美的環境，讓那些最原始的海洋物種得以不受限地大量繁殖。