I SHALL CALL HIM SQUISHY
AND HE SHALL BE MINE. PHOTO: WILL FISHER
[THE SECR ET LI FE OF…] JELLYFISH
SpongeBob SquarePants had a pet jellyfish named Jelly. Jelly mostly stung SpongeBob. Duh! That’s what jellyfish do. But these translucent miracles of nature hide many secrets. Next time a jellyfish floats by, consider these facts. LISA DENSMORE BALLARD
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Jellyfish have drifted through fresh- and saltwater for over 500 million years. They are simple creatures with no brain, heart or lungs. Jellyfish aren’t made of jelly, at all they are compromised of 95 percent water.
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Jellyfish may hold the secret to eternal youth. Scientists at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee are studying the Aequorea victoria jellyfish for proteins that keep cells young. And Harvard scientists are using the same species’ bioluminescent proteins to track neurons in the brain.
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Jellyfish are killers. Over 100 deaths occur each year due to jellyfish stings. Box jellyfish are the most deadly, though all jellyfish have toxin in their stingers. The toxin provokes a spike in blood pressure that can lead to heart failure.
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Jellyfish are a delicacy. Seafood lovers around the world eat hundreds of tons of jellies each year. There are 85 species of jellyfish, but only 12 are edible. Jellyfish chefs dry the creatures for up to a month. The resulting crisp doesn’t have taste, so the jellies are cooked with spices and sauces. Jelly-burger, anyone?
• • Since the start of the 21st century, jellyfish populations have
exploded. A recent study published in The Bulletin of Marine Science blames over-fishing of the jellyfish’s natural predators.
Jellyfish have caused massive power outages. In 2008, a swarm of jellyfish blocked the water intake for the Diablo Canyon Power Plant near Avila Beach, California, leaving three million households without electricity for several days.
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Off the coast of Japan, massive blooms of giant jellyfish that weigh up to 500 pounds and measure more than six feet wide have clogged nets and overturned fishing boats.
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