What happened to the weird, purple jellyfish in my backyard?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the discovery and subsequent disappearance of a purple jellyfish found by a participant in their backyard. Participants explore the potential ecological implications of the jellyfish's consumption by local wildlife, express concerns about mutations, and engage in humorous speculation about the situation. The conversation includes elements of biology, ecology, and personal anecdotes, with a mix of serious and lighthearted tones.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Debate/contested
  • Conceptual clarification
  • Humorous speculation

Main Points Raised

  • One participant describes finding a dead purple jellyfish and expresses concern about its ecological impact after it was eaten by local animals.
  • Another participant suggests consulting a molecular biologist for insights.
  • Some participants question the color and characteristics of jellyfish, noting that they are typically clear with purple stripes.
  • There are humorous suggestions about the need for a search team to investigate the situation, including fictional elements like proton packs.
  • One participant speculates that the purple substance emitted by the jellyfish could serve as a pheromone trail for other jellyfish to locate their missing relative.
  • Another participant humorously suggests that jellyfish might have developed stealth capabilities to retrieve their relative.
  • A participant expresses concern about the implications of introducing a non-native species to the local ecosystem.
  • There is a discussion about the naming conventions of the participant "Zooby" and the distinction between "zoobie" and "Zooby," leading to playful banter.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express a mix of serious concern and humorous speculation, with no clear consensus on the ecological implications or the nature of the jellyfish. The discussion remains unresolved regarding the potential consequences of the jellyfish's disappearance and the reactions of local wildlife.

Contextual Notes

Participants acknowledge the uncertainty surrounding the ecological impact of the jellyfish's consumption and the potential for mutations in local wildlife. There are also references to the fictional nature of some suggestions, highlighting the blend of humor and concern in the discussion.

zoobyshoe
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As you all know, the weird, purple jellyfish is a creature of great importance to me. Last week or so, I discovered one of these washed up on Pacific Beach, here in San Diego. I rolled it into a plastic bag and brought it home for further study. Here, at the zoobie brush shelter, I placed it in a bucket of water, and poked at it when the spirit moved me.

It was quite dead, of course. After a day it started to stain the water in the bucket purple. That was fascinating. Day after that the water was so purple you couldn't see the jellyfish any more. I took it out in the back yard and dumped it on a pile of brush. I though it would be cool if it dried out in the sun. I might be able to send it through the mail to someone.

A few days later I went out to see what shape it was in, and it was completely gone! Not the slightest weird, purple trace of it.

I am positive it didn't crawl away. I believe something ate it. The suspects are: a stray kitty, two skunks, a possum, several racoons, and possibly a coyote I once saw out in the brush back there.

I am worried that whatever ate it may start mutating. I am afraid I have started an ecological chain reaction that could have dire consequences for the planet. What do you suppose would be the characteristics of a skunk fortified on a diet of weird, purple jellyfish? Or a possum? It's too horrible to consider.

This is the weird purple jellyfish in quetion, for those of you who may have advice back up with biological knowledge:

Phillip Colla Natural History Photography :: Online Photo Search
Address:http://www.oceanlight.com/lightbox.php?cs=-549
 
Biology news on Phys.org
Ask Monique, she's a molecular biologist
 
JFruit said:
don have a biological view but got a questoin
aren jellyfbish lightyellow huh ?
The jellyfish in quetion are primarily clear. They sport weird, purple stripes.
why not go ask soemone around for more infor, go suck in soem homeless dogs like police tracing crimanl to help hunting ?
What would I hunt? I don't even know what ate the dam thing.
 
Oh thank goodness this is just about jellyfish. I thought you might have had a 'Main B bus undervolt' or something... :-p
 
Last edited:
JFruit said:
ok, ok, my lady, my bad !
You assume way too much about my gender with no evidence whatever to back your assumption.

I need some good, critical thinkers to help me with this potential ecological disaster, not conclusion-jumpers.
 
zoobyshoe said:
You assume way too much about my gender with no evidence whatever to back your assumption.

Yeah - c'mon JFruit, his name is Zooby, not Zoobie! :-p
 
Zoob, this is very serious. Have you noticed anything else unusual taking place in the immediate environment? Animals turning purple or growing tentacles for example?
 
whats B bus ?

Rocketry stuff.
 
Animals turning purple or growing tentacles for example?

Sounds like what happen to Stewie on the Family Guy apocolypse episode. :-p
 
  • #10
First, you need to fence off a circular area of about a 1000 square miles, centered on the pile of brush in your backyard. Then you need to assemble a search team (of course, armed with proton packs and clothed in radiation safe bio-suits) to look for "anything weird". Have a team of FBI's biological-chemical experts on standby. Of course, only pick those that can also kick butt and deliver a mean punchline.

I think you can take it from there...
 
  • #11
come on don't make fun of him.. I thought this was the place to seek help.

It doest really matter if this story is true or not.. but I am sure nothing will really happen... the worst that can happen is that the animal that eats it dies..
 
  • #12
Euphoriet said:
come on don't make fun of him.. I thought this was the place to seek help.

It doest really matter if this story is true or not.. but I am sure nothing will really happen... the worst that can happen is that the animal that eats it dies..
No one is making fun of zooby, what has happened could have very serious ramifications. I do not believe that the normal laws of physics apply within the confines of the zooby brush shelter. Right now I can picture a purple cat with tentacles growing out of it's body, similar to those pictures of the cats with "wings" pictures that were posted earlier this year. :surprise:
 
  • #13
Expecting gender related correction from Math-I-H...
 
  • #14
Gokul43201 said:
Expecting gender related correction from Math-I-H...

Where? Wha'd I miss? Was there another one? :eek:
 
  • #15
(hey - Evo - it's "Zoobie Brush Shelter")[/size]

I've been kinda wondering: is the "Zoobie Brush Shelter" a shelter for "Zoobie brushes"? (Do Zoobies need brushing? Or do they have compulsion to brush lots of things?) Or is the ZBS a "Brush Shelter" for Zoobies? (And if so, does it use brush to shelter the Zoobie or does it shelter the Zoobie from brush?) Maybe a ZBS is the place where a Zoobie shelters their brush? (But is it intended as a place where brush is stored, or is it a place where brush with a violent home life can go to recover?)

Hmm, can a Zoobie brush be used on weird, purple jellyfish? Perhaps to keep the purple stripes from fading or getting tangled?
 
  • #16
Zoob, why do you have the ie ending on Zoobie brush shelter? I thought a Zoobie was a female Zooby. :confused:
 
  • #17
plover said:
(hey - Evo - it's "Zoobie Brush Shelter")[/size]
:surprise: You're right! I never noticed.

MIH, perhaps "zoobette" would be correct for a female.
 
  • #18
When is it ever the guy's house ?
 
  • #19
Evo said:
:surprise: You're right! I never noticed.

MIH, perhaps "zoobette" would be correct for a female.

I like that! Sounds sassy! :biggrin:
 
  • #20
I suspect the most likely solution to the mystery is that kin of the jellyfish finally found and retrieved their poor relative for jellyfish funeral rites. After all, if you were a jellyfish and your relative was missing, isn't a Zoobie Brush Shelter one of the places you would check?

What worries me is that Zooby didn't notice anything when the body was taken. This leads to the conclusion that jellyfish have developed stealth SCOBA*.

However, I suspect that Zooby should still keep a lookout for possums dangling purple tentacles out of trees and trying to catch unwary passers-by.

I was talking to a possum once and she said, "You know I've often wished I had a few purple tentacles. It would help so much with keeping the little possums from straying!"

* "Self-Contained Out-of-water Breathing Apparatus"
 
  • #21
I tend to believe that the purple stuff that was emitted has something to do with helping the other jellyfish track down their missing relative - kinda like the pheremone trails that ants leave. It's some kind of organic chemical that travels through the air and seeks out bodies of nearby saltwater, carrying an SOS message that only jellyfish can interpret.
 
  • #22
I have been out on beach patrol all day and missed all these responses.

First "zoobie" is what I am. It is the name of the critter. Zooby is merely my name. The Zooby/zoobie male/female distinction was artificially imposed by the Seekings when naming their kitty. All zoobies are zoobies, male or female. I could have named myself "Zoobie" but there were already too many people with that E-Mail designation and I would have to have been Zoobie3425617, which is too numerical. So I changed the spelling and added a shoe for good measure. It's unique.

Second, I am afraid to alert any authorities because I am sure they will charge me with something like introduction of a non-native species to a restricted ecological system and I'll be put in a cell next to the guys who let the African Honey bees get loose, and the guys who brought Kudzu to the south.

Now, it didn't occur to me that anything in its right mind would think of eating a weird, purple jellyfish, but I see now that I forgot two important things: 1.) animals love salt, and 2.) there's always room for jello.

A zoobie brush shelter is a shelter from the elements made of brush. However, it also serves to protect against brush during brush storms, etc. It protects, for the same reasons, against the curiosity of tumbleweeds which will roll, in their curiosity, into any areas from which they are not physically restricted. They are nosey.

Now the notion that the jellyfish carcass was removed by its next of kin is comforting. I hope that's what happened. It would also explain why you never find jellyfish bones in the woods. I'm making this the preferred theory since it kills two birds with one stone so neatly: 1.) It's comforting, and 2.) It explains a baffling mystery.

-Zooby
 

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