Spineless : : the Science of Jellyfish and the art of Growing a Backbone

Locations
Call Number: Adult Book / Nonfiction / Science & Nature / Animals / Marine Life, 593.53 Be
On Shelf At: Westgate Branch

Location & Checkout Length	Call Number	Checkout Length	Item Status
Westgate Adult Books 4-week checkout	Adult Book / Nonfiction / Science & Nature / Animals / Marine Life	4-week checkout	On Shelf
Downtown 2nd Floor 4-week checkout	593.53 Be	4-week checkout	Due 03-26-2024

Planula. If you dare -- Polyp. What's your agenda? ; Jellyfish salad ; Missing polyp ; In jelly genes ; Robojelly ; Seeing what's not there ; Day-glo jellies ; Jellyfish sense ; The nerve of the jellyfish ; Life's limits -- Strobila. The bottom of the wave -- Ephyra. Stop waiting ; Sacred island ; Stalking the beast ; Jellyfish al dente ; Jellyfishing -- Medusa. Toxic cocktail ; Sting block ; In medusa's blood ; Party like a jellyfish ; Bloom.
A former ocean biologist describes how she rediscovered her passion for marine science while investigating the enigmatic jellyfish and what the species' unique physiologies can teach about engineering and environmental stability.
"Jellyfish have been swimming in our oceans for well over half a billion years, longer than any other animal that lives on the planet. They make a venom so toxic it can kill a human in three minutes. Their sting--microscopic spears that pierce with five million times the acceleration of gravity--is the fastest known motion in the animal kingdom. Made of roughly 95 percent water, some jellies are barely perceptible virtuosos of disguise, while others glow with a luminescence that has revolutionized biotechnology. Yet until recently, jellyfish were largely ignored by science, and they remain among the most poorly understood of ocean dwellers. More than a decade ago, Juli Berwald left a career in ocean science to raise a family in landlocked Austin, Texas. But then jellyfish drew her back to the sea. Recent, massive blooms of billions of jellyfish have clogged power plants, decimated fisheries, and caused millions of dollars of damage. Driven by questions about how overfishing, coastal development, and climate change were contributing to a jellyfish population explosion, Juli embarked on a scientific odyssey. She traveled the globe to meet the biologists who devote their careers to jellies, hitched rides on Japanese fishing boats to see giant jellyfish in the wild, raised jellyfish in her dining room, and throughout it all marveled at the complexity of these alluring and ominous biological wonders. Gracefully blending personal memoir with crystal-clear distillations of science, Spineless is the story of how Juli learned to navigate and ultimately embrace her ambition, her curiosity, and her passion for the natural world. She discovers that jellyfish science is more than just a quest for answers. It's a call to realize our collective responsibility for the planet we share."--Dust jacket flaps.

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COMMUNITY REVIEWS

Great facts; too much personal detail submitted by clfirlik on July 3, 2019, 10:55am I looked forward to this book coming to the library for months, and was not disappointed! I love jellyfish but admittedly knew little about them. This book is filled to the brim with facts and information: types of jellyfish, their ecosystem, the physical structures of their anatomy and how they use them, their impact on communities near their homes, what they eat—and much more. This really kept me interested through the whole book. I decided to knock one star off my review because I did not care for the structure of the book. The author takes a lot of time explaining her research process when she was writing the book, including personal details about her life and her family. I think she meant to explain how the effects of learning more about jellies impacted her own life, but it felt unfortunately a bit irrelevant. I think removing most of that material would leave more room for the jellyfish themselves to shine. All in all, a good read!

Fantastic read for entry level jellyfishers! submitted by djdramann on August 20, 2020, 3:01pm I think it is important to note that this book is part memoir, part jellyfish science. I was deeply engrossed in the memoir portions because her journey as a woman in the world of science is incredibly relatable. I learned so much from the marine science portions and have been bombarding my family and friends with jellyfish fact for weeks! This book has single-handedly ignited a new passion for me, potentially a career! Lastly, I sent some fan-mail to the author after reading and she responded promptly and recommended some more books. 5/5

an incredible scientific memoir submitted by haleyreid on July 27, 2022, 7:21pm a fantastically written memoir about her experience falling in love with the field while also presenting the reader with so many interesting facts and pieces of knowledge about the expanding field studying jellyfish