Imagine that you are having a gentle swim in the sea and you hear someone shout ‘jellyfish’. Would you, like most people, visualise a bell-shaped medusa with billowing tentacles? Do you feel fear? Trepidation? Or are you curious to know more?
With their ‘alien’ nature and ethereal beauty, jellyfish instil a mix of fear and wonder whenever they make an appearance in coastal waters. In this article, Jeanette Sanders takes a deep dive into the changing fortunes and remarkable biology of the jellyfish and other jellylike animals found in British and Irish seas.