Remodeling Jellyfish

Citation

Gong, Mengsha (2022) Remodeling Jellyfish. Dissertation (Ph.D.), California Institute of Technology. doi:10.7907/pfn8-aw15. https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechTHESIS:01032022-225455509

Abstract

Why are jellyfish round? Circularity facilitates many physiological functions in jellyfish like the moon jelly Aurelia aurita, including swimming and feeding. Previous work suggests that Aurelia might maintain its circularity through its muscle contractions. We use grafting experiments to investigate how these muscle contractions regulate shape in Aurelia and find that the same mechanism Aurelia uses to quickly recover circularity after it is injured can also produce square, oval, and triangular jellyfish. We then turn to modeling to ask what characteristics of the jellyfish muscle contractions and body materials give Aurelia the capability to reorganize its shape. Our simulations suggest that Aurelia body shape is a dynamic equilibrium that is not only reorganized by periodic muscle contractions when it is disrupted, but is also reinforced by the same muscle contractions over the course of normal physiological function.

Thesis Files