Why Can Jellyfish Spread so Easily?
The answer lies in the fact that jellyfish are nearly indestructible and have survived for millions of years. they are adapted and evolved to do nothing other than survive and breed.
Jellyfish feed on almost every other marine animal that will fit into it's mouth and in some cases, even larger. This simple fact alone, that jellyfish are predators to many, combined with the fact that few other marine animals are predators to the jellyfish, allow them to drift into unknown waters without fear of predators but with the promise of food. These are two essential ingredients when it comes to survival and the Jellyfish has both.
When a jellyfish catches it's prey, it's tentacles inject a poison into the flesh of the victim paralysing it, killing it or annoying it, depending on the size of the creature. not only does this poison only kill prey small enough to eat, but it discourages any predator that fancies a taste of the odd- looking fish drifting by. The toxin injected by the jellyfish that do so can be detected by humans and can even be fatal. The jellyfish's defence mechanism is the same mechanism it uses to catch food and so it does not need a complex set of organs or even a brain to survive, it simply drifts. In fact, it's mechanism is so good, that even humans, land mammals much larger and capable of thinking ways around the problem, still vacate the water when a jellyfish is spotted.
The spread of jellyfish is inevitable as there are little predators and a fear factor associated with them. We have little defence and their rapid spread over the last few years has started to have knock on effects for humans on land... here is a short video giving a visual of a jellyfish and its efficiency when it comes to feeding. ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BF6lNP0Uiss )
When a jellyfish catches it's prey, it's tentacles inject a poison into the flesh of the victim paralysing it, killing it or annoying it, depending on the size of the creature. not only does this poison only kill prey small enough to eat, but it discourages any predator that fancies a taste of the odd- looking fish drifting by. The toxin injected by the jellyfish that do so can be detected by humans and can even be fatal. The jellyfish's defence mechanism is the same mechanism it uses to catch food and so it does not need a complex set of organs or even a brain to survive, it simply drifts. In fact, it's mechanism is so good, that even humans, land mammals much larger and capable of thinking ways around the problem, still vacate the water when a jellyfish is spotted.
The spread of jellyfish is inevitable as there are little predators and a fear factor associated with them. We have little defence and their rapid spread over the last few years has started to have knock on effects for humans on land... here is a short video giving a visual of a jellyfish and its efficiency when it comes to feeding. ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BF6lNP0Uiss )
The next video shown is an information video describing the spreading of jellyfish and the areas affected. ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kJEYuaMTolo )
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