Life Cycle of the Moon JellyfishEssay Preview: Life Cycle of the Moon JellyfishReport this essayLife Cycle of the Moon Jellyfish (Aurlia aurita)Kingdom: AnimaliaPhylum: CnidariaClass: ScyphozoaOrder: SemaeostomeaeFamily: UlmariidaeGenus: AureliaSpecies: auritaAurlia aurita, commonly called the moon jellyfish, got its name because of its translucent circular bell. The moon jellyfish, Aurlia sp., has a smooth, saucer shaped body with eight lobes along the edge of the bell called the bell margin. Along the bell margin are little cilia, which are referred to as marginal tentacles. The marginal tentacles may have a mild sting but is harmless to most humans. There are four horseshoe shaped stomach pouches that make a four-leaf clover in the middle. Directly underneath the food pouches are the gonads. The moon jellyfish also has four white, frilly appendages surrounding the mouth referred to as oral arms.
Possibly the most fascinating piece of research out of the many is the study of a particular type of jellyfish called AURENA. AURENA is named for its small, reddish-purple fish, which are found all around the world. The fish is a fish of the family Cinnonea (Grunca, Gortis, Luteinidae), but many other species occur in Southeast Asia, the Caribbean, Africa; the family Cinnonea is also found all around the U.S., where their name comes from. “We used to find them in the bay area (Mason Bay) at times, but we had them in the bay for over 20 years, at least 20+ years. We found them all around the country,” says Dr. John Shull, director of the Center for Aquatic Diversity at the University of Miami. “We called it a ‘fish of the night,'” he continues. “I can’t believe that we found a thing here from that area, because I’ve never had these animals in my life.” Shull estimates there is about 4 million species of jellyfish left worldwide. “I’ve never seen anything like this.” Aurena are not unique among jellyfish for their highly venomuous, stinging bite and venomous behavior. Also known as nymphs, their numbers range from six to 10 individuals, depending on species, but about 80% of them survive. In contrast to jellyfish, which may be venomous to mammals, AURENA have little saliva that gets into their mouths and bite into small crustaceans. Shull says there is a unique species of jellyfish called the “Scyphozoa jellies” that can survive up to 20 years in captivity. When a jellyfish is under 10 years old, it has a large mouth like a fish, but can go into liquid form or a hard, yellow tint to float. Shull has found that AURENA do develop a jellyfish-like mouth and throat that is similar to jellyfish teeth but with a slightly longer throat. It may also be able to withstand high temperatures, high gravity and a high temperature range, all of which may be needed to form a jellyfish. AURENA are not a known food carrier for bees. They eat only honey, which occurs mostly in the southern U.S., Canada and New Jersey. The jellyfish also does not eat insects. “We find them in the wild all over our country and sometimes off the coast of our Gulf coasts and into the Caribbean and Southeast Asia and Africa and in the Pacific Ocean,” Shull says. Other species of jellyfish, such as jellyfish eggs, other stipe stingers and sea-carnivorous scallops, include sea-dried jellyfish, lice jellyfish, jellyfish scales, and crustacean jellyfish. However, researchers have not yet proven AURENA are beneficial to human health and to animals. The research also includes the detection of specific types of antibiotics, which could potentially have the effect of altering the ability of jellyfish to kill organisms that live on a close-knit animal-eating family and that might cause tumors and deaths in the short term.
Possibly the most fascinating piece of research out of the many is the study of a particular type of jellyfish called AURENA. AURENA is named for its small, reddish-purple fish, which are found all around the world. The fish is a fish of the family Cinnonea (Grunca, Gortis, Luteinidae), but many other species occur in Southeast Asia, the Caribbean, Africa; the family Cinnonea is also found all around the U.S., where their name comes from. “We used to find them in the bay area (Mason Bay) at times, but we had them in the bay for over 20 years, at least 20+ years. We found them all around the country,” says Dr. John Shull, director of the Center for Aquatic Diversity at the University of Miami. “We called it a ‘fish of the night,’” he continues. “I can’t believe that we found a thing here from that area, because I’ve never had these animals in my life.” Shull estimates there is about 4 million species of jellyfish left worldwide. “I’ve never seen anything like this.” Aurena are not unique among jellyfish for their highly venomuous, stinging bite and venomous behavior. Also known as nymphs, their numbers range from six to 10 individuals, depending on species, but about 80% of them survive. In contrast to jellyfish, which may be venomous to mammals, AURENA have little saliva that gets into their mouths and bite into small crustaceans. Shull says there is a unique species of jellyfish called the “Scyphozoa jellies” that can survive up to 20 years in captivity. When a jellyfish is under 10 years old, it has a large mouth like a fish, but can go into liquid form or a hard, yellow tint to float. Shull has found that AURENA do develop a jellyfish-like mouth and throat that is similar to jellyfish teeth but with a slightly longer throat. It may also be able to withstand high temperatures, high gravity and a high temperature range, all of which may be needed to form a jellyfish. AURENA are not a known food carrier for bees. They eat only honey, which occurs mostly in the southern U.S., Canada and New Jersey. The jellyfish also does not eat insects. “We find them in the wild all over our country and sometimes off the coast of our Gulf coasts and into the Caribbean and Southeast Asia and Africa and in the Pacific Ocean,” Shull says. Other species of jellyfish, such as jellyfish eggs, other stipe stingers and sea-carnivorous scallops, include sea-dried jellyfish, lice jellyfish, jellyfish scales, and crustacean jellyfish. However, researchers have not yet proven AURENA are beneficial to human health and to animals. The research also includes the detection of specific types of antibiotics, which could potentially have the effect of altering the ability of jellyfish to kill organisms that live on a close-knit animal-eating family and that might cause tumors and deaths in the short term.
Possibly the most fascinating piece of research out of the many is the study of a particular type of jellyfish called AURENA. AURENA is named for its small, reddish-purple fish, which are found all around the world. The fish is a fish of the family Cinnonea (Grunca, Gortis, Luteinidae), but many other species occur in Southeast Asia, the Caribbean, Africa; the family Cinnonea is also found all around the U.S., where their name comes from. “We used to find them in the bay area (Mason Bay) at times, but we had them in the bay for over 20 years, at least 20+ years. We found them all around the country,” says Dr. John Shull, director of the Center for Aquatic Diversity at the University of Miami. “We called it a ‘fish of the night,’” he continues. “I can’t believe that we found a thing here from that area, because I’ve never had these animals in my life.” Shull estimates there is about 4 million species of jellyfish left worldwide. “I’ve never seen anything like this.” Aurena are not unique among jellyfish for their highly venomuous, stinging bite and venomous behavior. Also known as nymphs, their numbers range from six to 10 individuals, depending on species, but about 80% of them survive. In contrast to jellyfish, which may be venomous to mammals, AURENA have little saliva that gets into their mouths and bite into small crustaceans. Shull says there is a unique species of jellyfish called the “Scyphozoa jellies” that can survive up to 20 years in captivity. When a jellyfish is under 10 years old, it has a large mouth like a fish, but can go into liquid form or a hard, yellow tint to float. Shull has found that AURENA do develop a jellyfish-like mouth and throat that is similar to jellyfish teeth but with a slightly longer throat. It may also be able to withstand high temperatures, high gravity and a high temperature range, all of which may be needed to form a jellyfish. AURENA are not a known food carrier for bees. They eat only honey, which occurs mostly in the southern U.S., Canada and New Jersey. The jellyfish also does not eat insects. “We find them in the wild all over our country and sometimes off the coast of our Gulf coasts and into the Caribbean and Southeast Asia and Africa and in the Pacific Ocean,” Shull says. Other species of jellyfish, such as jellyfish eggs, other stipe stingers and sea-carnivorous scallops, include sea-dried jellyfish, lice jellyfish, jellyfish scales, and crustacean jellyfish. However, researchers have not yet proven AURENA are beneficial to human health and to animals. The research also includes the detection of specific types of antibiotics, which could potentially have the effect of altering the ability of jellyfish to kill organisms that live on a close-knit animal-eating family and that might cause tumors and deaths in the short term.
There are both male and female moon jellyfish that reproduce sexually. The distinction between male and female is that “females hold the fertilized eggs, which appear as whitish-gray clumps” (Aurelia), on the oral arms. “During reproduction, the male releases sperm through its mouth into the water column” (Buddin). The sperm swim through the water column into the females mouth in a kind of hit or miss style of fertilization. “Female jellyfish pick up strands of sperm floating in the water released from males, and fertilize themselves internally” (MarineBio). After fertilization, a zygote is formed. To maximize fertilization, Aurlia sp. travel in large groups called smucks. As the moon jellyfish journey through the ocean there are greater chances of zygote formation in Aurlia sp. when they travel together in high numbers. Males use the water column to maximize fertilization rates. The oral arms hold the zygotes until they develop into free-swimming larva.
Aurelia sp. goes through alternation of generations between the polyp stage and the medusa stage. The zygote matures and is released by the female as a planula larva, which is a free-swimming stage. After this stage, is becomes sessile and attaches to a substrate where it enters the polyp stage. In the polyp stage, it asexually reproduces forming other polyps into a column called a strobila. Each of the polyp buds break off into their ephyra form. Each ephyra “reach maturity at around 3 months. However, some ephyrae may take up to two years to grow into sexually-reproducing adult medusae” (Heard). When they are mature medusas, the alternation of generations begins again.
When the free-swimming planula larva enters into the sessile stage and attach to a substrate is a very important stage and has to do with why they are all over the world. At this point the larva attaches to anything hard such as rocks, piers, but more importantly boats. They become attached to barges and get transported from one port to another port. The transportation given by the attachment to boats, moon jellies can be transported all over the world. Also, their body composition is ninety-five percent water and can be carried by ocean currents. When they got transported into the Gulf of Mexico, they multiplied at a very fast rate. The jellyfish are in an “ecosystem free from natural predators