Unlock the secrets of jellyfish eating

Jellyfish have a huge appetite, and they are not the most picky eaters

This "take what you eat" eating strategy prevents us from understanding what kind of food the jellyfish feed on and how they adapt to the food web

Stable isotopes are isotopes of naturally occurring elements, such as carbon and nitrogen, which exist in all living tissues in a certain proportion

Isotope ratios and fatty acid concentrations change subtlely in a predictable manner in the food web

"Until now, jellyfish ecologists have used generalized calibration values ​​for these biomarkers because they do not have calibration values ​​specific to jellyfish," said the lead author of the study and recently received a master's degree from IOF Jessica Schaub ( Jessica Schaub) said

Schaub said: "The data we found are very different, and it's worth reviewing the previous jellyfish studies that used general values-if we apply our values, they might get different results

In other words, the diet of jellyfish may look very different than expected, and new research may find that some jellyfish occupy completely different positions in the food web

The research, published in the Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology, is a collaborative project between IOF researchers and the Vancouver Aquarium

The staff at the Vancouver Aquarium cultivated these two jellyfish and fed them two unique crustaceans

"It seems very simple, but it has never been that simple-when you get the data you think,'What's going on here?'" he said

The study also found that jellyfish seem to be able to "stretch" fatty acids

The authors of the study hope that these findings will help to better understand the role of organisms in marine ecosystems that have not been fully studied

"Jellyfish has been overlooked in research and is generally considered a nasty creature, not an interesting creature," said Dr.

When Schaub starts her doctoral dissertation at IOF in 2022, she will continue to contribute to this basic research

The authors of the study thank the Vancouver Aquarium for providing jellyfish and helping them with their experiments.

DOI

10.
1016/j.
jembe.
2021.
151631