Posted on 07/03/2011 1:51:54 PM PDT by navysealdad
Jellyfish Lake is located on Eli Malk island in the Republic of Palau. Twelve thousand years ago these jellyfish became trapped in a natural basin on the island when the ocean receded. With no predators amongst them for thousands of years, they evolved into a new species that lost most of their stinging ability as they no longer had to protect themselves. They are pretty much harmless to humans although some people with very sensitive skin may get a minor sting from them. If you are allergic to jellyfish you should wear a wetsuit or protective clothing.
(Excerpt) Read more at ladyrocky.angelfire.com ...
Swimming in that lake with the jellyfish was a reward on CBS’s Survivor one year. It was spectacular footage.
Do they taste good on toast?
It is a pain to get out there, but Palau is beautiful The diving is some of the best in the world. Jellyfish Lake is an interesting "gotta do it" experience if you are already there.
Have a great 4th!
LOL
Freshwater jellyfish inhabit several lakes near me in WV.
It's been ten years since I've been there, but I recommend Sam's for diving and the Carolines for lodging.
I don’t know if they’re still there, but I used to see jellyfish in Yellowood Lake in Indiana.
The two islands the US captured, Peleliu and Angaur, were at the southern end of the archipelago, but the Japanese had a massive base at Koror at the northern end of the chain. Koror was the capital of Japan’s Pacific holdings and was one of their most secure holdings in the Pacific. After the losses from Angaur and Peleliu, the US scratched all plans to invade Koror, but a massive air battle was waged from August 1944 to August 1945, and saw the loss of over two hundred American aircraft. Half of these aircraft were lost outside the lagoon (in water a couple of thousand meters deep), but there were still about 100 planes went down either over land or in the lagoon. Only about half of the crews survived.
The removal of genetic info is not evolution.
Evolution requires the ADDITION of positive genetic code. By “positive” I mean that which is to the animal’s advantage.
These jellyfish have not done any evolving.
I would say that they have adapted to their environment rather well.
Evolution is adaptation to a changing environment. If something didn't make the loss of stinger ability an advantage to reproduction, it wouldn't have happened. The fact is that the jellyfish reproduce, and for some environmental reason, stingerless jellyfish reproduce better - by definition, because they exist, and the stinger jellyfish don't.
Existing, versus not existing, is called a positive evolutionary advantage.
P.S. There's two types of evolution - adaptation, and creational. Adaptive evolution is everywhere, from deliberate breeding influences to natural changes through selective environmental pressure. Creational evolution is the unproven "jump" into initial specieshood itself. Keeping the two applications of the concept of "evolution" separate prevents serious misunderstandings, to say the least.
The article implies that the jellyfish have undergone Darwinian evolution.
I just like to set the record straight. Those of us who deny Darwinian evolution, which requires the addition of genetic information, are often scorned when confronted by such things as jellyfish who, over time, have lost some genetic info.
The loss of genetic information is not classic evolution. You may re-define it as adaptive; fine; but I just like to put that out there. I was taught the lie of Darwinian evolution throughout my childhood and I resent it.
So I speak out against it.
“If something didn’t make the loss of stinger ability an advantage to reproduction, it wouldn’t have happened. The fact is that the jellyfish reproduce, and for some environmental reason, stingerless jellyfish reproduce better - by definition, because they exist, and the stinger jellyfish don’t. “
Not really. The jellyfish don’t need the stinger protection. So some jellyfish who lost genetic info - in this case the info needed for the stingers - survived. They were able to reproduce and so on. If they had lived in their original environment, they would have no doubt perished.
So the losers of genetic info had an unusual break in that they were in a closed-off lake. It is a happy coincidence for them. But it is not even adaptive. You say they can reproduce better? But I see no evidence of that.
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