Jellyfish Venom :: Jellyfish Marine Life Essays

ship of the line VenomAlmost anyone who has ever spent time surface or in an ocean has been warned about being stung by man-of-war. Jellyfish take a shit been ascribed a reputation as risk of exposureous, often fatal animals. The exact actions of man-of-war toxins are not well understood, and the true danger presented by man-of-war is often exaggerated.This paper will attempt to react several questions about jellyfish and venom. It will discuss what toxins make up jellyfish venom and the method in which these toxins are delivered. The effects of jellyfish venom on the human body will be discussed, including the potential action of these toxins at a cellular level. Finally, first aid and treatments for jellyfish envenomations will be described. BackgroundThe marine creatures commonly known as jellyfish are members of the phylum Cnidaria. Of the four classes of cnidarians, jellyfish come from both the class Hydrozoa and Scyphozoa classes. approximately jellyfish are schphozoi ds, while the Portuguese jellyfish (Physalia genus Physalis) is a hydroid. As cnidarians, jellyfish possess two tissue types endoblast and ectoderm, in addition to a single cell layer of jelly-like mesoglea amid the endoderm and the ectoderm (Russell 21). Jellyfish exhibit radial symmetry and have tentacles with stinging cells known as cnidocytes. They range in size from a few millimeters up to a bell size of two meters across, with tentacles up to thirty-six meters long. Typically less than five percent of a jellyfishs body is solid organic material (Halstead, Poisonous 96-97).Jellyfish have reproductive cycles that involve a sessile polyp and a free-living medusa state. The polyp is asexual, while the medusa is sexual (Williamson et al. 121). P. physalis actually consist of colonies of many small organisms. A single ship of the line contains both polyp and medusal stage organisms, with several different types of polyps and medusae in a colony (Halstead, Poisonous 94-95)Jellyfis h populations exhibit seasonality in their choice of habitats. Most jellyfish prefer temperate and warm water. P. physalis prefer surface waters and move with the wind, tide, and currents. Scyphozoas are found in all seas of the world. These jellyfish prefer shallow water such as bays and estuaries but also inhabit open ocean (Halstead, Poisonous 94-97). They usually live in the warm or temperate waters favored by coral (Halstead, Poisonous 115). Jellyfish are most abundant in coastal areas during warm summer months, but are present along the put down at other times of year (Halstead, Poisonous 97). Likewise, in Australia, the largest rime of jellyfish are found along shores during the summer months of November through April, with big top numbers occurring in December.