Jellyfish Are Smarter (And Tastier) Than We Thought
For a long time, scientists thought jellyfish were not really the most intelligent underwater creatures, but new research has shown that we have seriously underestimated them: jellyfish may not have brains, but they can still learn new tricks very fast.
The more highly developed your nervous system, the better you can learn: or so we generally assume. For a long time, tropical box jellyfish, which have no brain at all, just a thousand nerve cells (by comparison, the human brain has one hundred billion), have been seen as "quite simple”. Recent research, however, has shown that these slippery creatures can do more than we thought.
Advanced learning
The research team found that they could train the tropical box jellyfish to recognise and avoid obstacles. They placed the jellyfish in a circular tank with grey stripes on the wall to mimic the mangrove roots that also occur in the jellyfish's natural environment. At first the animal often bumped into the grey stripes because they seemed to be further away than they actually were, but seven minutes later it was able to avoid the stripes much better. The jellyfish increased its average distance from the wall by about 50%, halving the number of collisions.
This research shows that jellyfish can learn from their experiences and make connections. In summary, even the simplest nervous systems, such as that of a jellyfish, are capable of advanced learning. Equally amazing is that the jellyfish can do this just as quickly as animals with more complex nervous systems like fruit flies or mice.
Crispy jellyfish
So don't underestimate the jellyfish: they are smart, and there are lots of them. There are already a huge number of jellyfish throughout the world and their numbers are likely to increase in the future - partly due to climate change.
That population growth will lead to jellyfish being included on the menu of more and more predators. Think fish, turtles and ... humans! As our population also continues to grow, we are increasingly looking for alternative food sources. It is not so strange to have jellyfish as a snack: it has long been a delicacy in Asia, thanks to its crispy texture. So perhaps in future crispy jellyfish could become popular here too.