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The jellyfish feeds on plankton, drawing a water current past its outstretched tentacles by pulsating the bell. When edible zooplankton are encountered, they are immobilised by the cnidocytes (stinging cells) and passed by the tentacles to the mouth on the underside of the bell. Thimble jellyfish are consumed by fish, sea turtles and other ...
Plankton can be divided into producers and consumers. The producers are the phytoplankton (Greek phyton = plant) and the consumers, who eat the phytoplankton, are the zooplankton (Greek zoon = animal). Jellyfish are slow swimmers, and most species form part of the plankton. Traditionally, jellyfish have been viewed as trophic dead ends.
Fish larvae are part of the zooplankton that eat smaller plankton, while fish eggs carry their own food supply. Both eggs and larvae are themselves eaten by larger animals. [2] [3] Fish can produce high numbers of eggs which are often released into the open water column. Fish eggs typically have a diameter of about 1 millimetre (0.039 in).
[99] [100] It may be difficult for fish stocks to re-establish themselves in marine ecosystems once they have become dominated by jellyfish, because jellyfish feed on plankton, which includes fish eggs and larvae. [101] [102] [96] Moon jellyfishes can live in northern hemisphere seas, [103] [104] such as the Baltic Sea. [105] [106]
Fish eggs cannot swim at all, and are unambiguously planktonic. Early stage larvae swim poorly, but later stage larvae swim better and cease to be planktonic as they grow into juvenile fish. Fish larvae are part of the zooplankton that eat smaller plankton, while fish eggs carry their own food supply.
However, their ability to consume plankton and the eggs and larvae of important fish species is cause for concern. Each jellyfish can filter as much as 50,000 litres (13,000 US gal) of seawater per day. While doing that, it ingests the plankton that native species need.
Jellyfish are slow swimmers, and most species form part of the plankton. Traditionally jellyfish have been viewed as trophic dead ends, minor players in the marine food web, gelatinous organisms with a body plan largely based on water that offers little nutritional value or interest for other organisms apart from a few specialised predators such as the ocean sunfish and the leatherback sea turtle.
Catostylus mosaicus is also known as the jelly blubber or blue blubber jellyfish. [1] The jelly blubber is distinguishable by its color, which ranges from light blue to a dark blue or purple, and its large (250-300mm [ 2 ] ), rounded bell which pulses in a staccato rhythm. [ 1 ]