Diet of Moon Jellyfish
Saucer jelly is mainly made of water. In fact, 95% of Moon Jellyfish's body is made up of water. Moon Jellyfish is a carnivorous animal and to say that this fish feeds other protein rich aquatic animals. Moon Jellyfish's menu includes minute plankton, fish eggs and larvae, crabs and shrimp.
Aurelia aurita does not use her legs or tail for locomotion. Instead the fish goes through the beating made inside its bell. Moon Jellyfish live in the ocean currents and pass through its mornings. The minutes in which the Moon Jellyfish feeds the animals are often stung by the stinging cells of the fish and are usually found drawn on the tentacles of the Moon Jellyfish. Others get trapped in the lining of their trapped prey and are then transported along the inner canals of the saucer jellyfish and eventually the fish accumulates the whole food in its stomach.
Feeding of Moon Jellyfish
The saucer jelly feeds on its prey by biting with nematocysts found on its long tentacles. Food is collected on the surface of Moon Jellyfish which is trapped in saliva. The Moon is moved closer to the margin by the actions of the Jellyfish flagella. The Moon Jellyfish is collected on lappets and again moved by the flagella into eight separate canals that protrude from the branches and run into the abdomen.
Occasionally Moon Jellyfish are also found feeding on gelatinous zooplankton such as hydromedusae and ctenophores. These fish break down the digestive enzymes from the serous cell. It is little known about the needs of vitamins and minerals to this fish but due to the presence of some digestive enzymes we can generally speculate that Moon Jellyfish can process carbohydrates, proteins and lipids.
Information about Predators
Saucer jelly has a high content of polyunsaturated fatty acids compared to other types of prey which provides important nutrition to predators. Moon Jellyfish is eaten by a variety of predators, including sea sunfish, leathery mountain sea turtles, scyphomedusa Phacellophora camtschatica and very large hydromedusa.
It was recently reported from the Red Sea that this fish was preyed upon by two herbivorous fish according to the season. This species is also fed to sea birds and may be more interested in the frequent amphipods and other small arthropods of the Moon Jellyfish but in any case the birds harm the Moon Jellyfish which is often found on the bay surface.
Conservation of Moon Jellyfish
Moon Jellyfish plays an important role in the transformation of pelagic organic matter. Since Moon Jellyfish feed on copepods and fish larvae it can affect the plankton community. Moon Jellyfish are survivors and Moon Jellyfish thrive in dirty, polluted and low oxygen water.
Body system of Moon Jellyfish
Saucer jelly does not have respiratory parts like gills, lungs and trachea. Moon Jellyfish breathe by scattering oxygen from the water through a thin membrane covering its body. These fish can be excreted inside the gastrovascular cavity, low oxygenated water, and high oxygenated water by chain action. Thus the diffusion of oxygen in the Moon Jellyfish by the cell is increased. Larger surface area membranes with volume ratios help Moon Jellyfish disperse more oxygen and nutrients into the cells.
Moon Jellyfish's basic body plan includes many parts. In this fish its food travels through the muscular route while the radial canals help disperse the food. Moon Jellyfish have a nerve grid that is responsible for the contraction of muscles in swimming and food responses.
Information about Blooms and grouping
The group of Moon Jellyfish is called Smack. Moon jellyfish gather in large groups called peacocks with more than a thousand people. The formation of peacocks in this group of fish is a complex process and depends on the temperature of the oxygen content, sea currents and nutrients.
Other Information
Kingdom : Animalia
Class : Scyphozoa
Family : Ulmaridae
Order : Semaeostomeae
Phylum : Cnidaria
Genus : Aurelia