Mutant "Blobs" in Waterways Sparking Fear and Panic

A wave of floating blobs has appeared throughout waterways in the U.S., leaving some swimmers and boaters fearful that these could be giant marine parasites. The gelatinous objects have been called "cursed gummy bears," "mutant brains," and even "sci-fi nightmares," as more and more people came across them in freshwater ponds, lakes, and rivers this summer. 

They've been spotted in places like the Pacific Northwest, including the Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge Complex in Washington, but they're common in many other areas, including the Midwest, Northeast, Southeast, and the Great Lakes region.  USFWS  recently shared a close-up picture of a large bryozoan discovered in Lake Huron near Michigan. 

Despite growing to the size of a human brain, wildlife officials have said there's absolutely no cause for alarm.  According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), they're a colony of tiny creatures that form the magnificent bryozoan. Officially known as Pectinatella magnifica, the bryozoan is composed of thousands of animals called zooids that stick together as one big, squishy blob. 

Officials say there's no cause for panic if you spot one of these blobs floating near you. Moreover, the colony creatures don't carry a virus like other wildlife seen this year. Officials said they actually help keep America's waterways clean and healthy.  'These ancient creatures breathe life into freshwater, capturing plankton and cleaning the water as they drift in slow-moving rivers and lakes," USFWS officials wrote in a social media post.

Each zooid is smaller than a grain of rice. Thousands of these creatures build a soft, fragile structure using calcium carbonate, kind of like a delicate skeleton, that gives it a transparent look which feels like a squishy sponge or gummy candy.  The blobs are typically seen in the late summer or early fall, when the colonies grow large and noticeable in ponds or lakes.  By fall, they create tiny seed-like structures called statoblasts that sink to the bottom of these waterways to survive the winter. In spring, the statoblasts wake up and start new colonies.

Wildlife officials noted that these microscopic survival pods "can withstand freezing, drying, and even time itself" because of their tough outer coating, which keeps them safe and lets them stay dormant until conditions improve.  Despite their odd appearance, bryozoans are not considered dangerous to humans and don't carry viruses or harbor disease-carrying pests like other animals, raising concerns this year.

Bryozoan colonies can grow pretty large, sometimes over a foot wide. They start small but expand as more zooids join the group, forming the big, blob-like structures swimmers have seen this summer. Environmental officials in Missouri said that if you spot a bryozoan, leave it alone and let the colony do its job.  For those out on the water and find one that's attached itself to a boat, experts urge boaters to be extremely careful with the blobs.  "If you spot a bryozoan on your boat or near your dock, don't remove it unless necessary. If you do remove one, carefully scrape it off so you don't end up harming the invertebrates," said the Missouri Department of Conservation.