Why Teach About Sea Nettles?

Sea nettles (Chrysaora quinquecirrha) are the most abundant jellyfish living in the Chesapeake Bay and its tidal tributaries. These stinging jellies have a smooth, milky white bell that usually grows to about four inches in diameter, with 24 stinging tentacles that hang from the inside of the bell.

Why should YOU teach about sea nettles?
Sea nettles have very particular habitat requirements making them a great critter to investigate in your classroom. Your students can become scientists by examining environmental conditions to predict when and where sea nettles will be present in the Chesapeake Bay.

Sea nettles prefer water temperatures ranging from 78.8 - 86 degrees Fahrenheit and a salinity of 10-16 PSU (practical salinity units). So when conditions in the bay are within these temperature and salinity ranges you will likely encounter sea nettles.

How do YOU teach about sea nettles?
You can use real salinity and water temperature data to have your students predict if these stinging jellies will be present at a certain location. NOAA’s CBIBs Buoys provide a database of salinity and water temperature readings at eight locations throughout the Chesapeake Bay. Have your students go online and write down the salinity and temperate at each of these locations. Than have them see if the environmental conditions at each location are within the range that sea nettles prefer, 78.8 - 86 degrees Fahrenheit and a salinity of 10-16 PSU.

As an extension you can also use NOAA’s sea nettle presence probability map to compare your students’ results with a real scientific model. Have students find the locations of their data points on NOAA’s probability map and determine if results suggest the same conclusions about the presence of sea nettles. If differences exist, have students suggest some reasons for these differing results.

Additional Resources
The Stinging Sea Lesson Plan (Grades 9-12) - NOAA Ocean Service