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Asked by Ryan to Lydia, Ciarán on 17 Nov 2014.
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Lydia Bach answered on 17 Nov 2014:
Hey Ryan,
jellyfish have cells called stinging cells, that explode when they are triggered our touched. The sting comes from the toxins contained in them. Scientists think that there are more jellyfish on our beaches, because the conditions they need are better for them now.
Jellyfish like nutrient rich water, which comes from runoff of towns or even fields. Warmer oceans also suit them very well… Some scientists also think that their larval stages are not predated heavily anymore, because we have less larger fish. All of that probably causes greater numbers of jellyfish on our beaches.
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Ciarán O'Brien answered on 18 Nov 2014:
The cells that make up jellyfish tentacles have really tightly coiled little barbs in them, and when something triggers them (a fish gets caught in them, or they bump into a human swimming about), they burst and the coiled barb springs out and into the skin. They also have painful chemicals in them which is why the sting hurts so much.
You get loads of jellyfish washing up every now and then. If there’s not enough predators feeding on the jellyfish, or if the jellyfish get access to loads of food, then their numbers will increase quickly, and you’ll get more of them in the water, and more of them will end up stuck on the beach when the tide goes out. It’s probably a combination of the two.
Comments
Ryan commented on :
Thanks Lydia