Several marine lakes in the Republic of Palau have been cut off from the sea for 10,000-15,000 years. The jellyfish (Mastigias species) in these lakes have evolved to become stingless. The jellyfish also host symbiotic algae which require sunlight to photosynthesize. In order to provide enough light for their algae, the jellyfish migrate across the lakes during the day, following the sun.

Jellyfish Lake, Palau

Several marine lakes in the Republic of Palau have been cut off from the sea for 10,000-15,000 years. The jellyfish (Mastigias species) in these lakes have evolved to become stingless. The jellyfish also host symbiotic algae which require sunlight to photosynthesize. In order to provide enough light for their algae, the jellyfish migrate across the lakes during the day, following the sun.

Palau Jellyfish Lake tropical underwater

Author(s)Jane Thomas
Author CompanyIntegration and Application Network
Date Created2007-02-24
AlbumFauna > Cnidaria
TypePhoto
Dimensions3264 x 2448
Filesize5.4 MB
Number of Downloads228
Filetype(s) JPG
LicenseAttribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Required AttributionJane Thomas, Integration and Application Network (ian.umces.edu/media-library)