PORTUGUESE MAN O WAR PHYSALIA PHYSALIS By Samantha

PORTUGUESE MAN O’ WAR (PHYSALIA PHYSALIS) By Samantha Rikli Marine Biology

WHAT IS IT? The name comes from the animal looking like an 18 th century Portuguese warship under full sail.

LOCATION AND HABITAT • Portuguese Man of War are found mainly in tropical and subtropical waters around the world. • They can be found along the Florida Keys, along the Atlantic coast, Pacific Ocean, Indian Ocean, Caribbean and Sargasso Sea.

FEEDING TIME • The Portuguese Man O’ War feeds on small fish, fish larva, plankton and crustaceans. • The Man O’ War uses its tentacles like a net and entangles its prey, stuns them with its nematocysts and then secretes a digestive enzyme that liquefies the prey. • The Pacific Sand Crab, Ocean Sunfish, Loggerhead Sea Turtle and the Nudibranch are on the list of predators for the Portuguese Man O’ War.

SYMBIOTIC RELATIONSHIPS • Has symbiotic relationships with the Yellow Jack, Pilot Fish, Spotted Ruff, Long Snipefish and the Man O War Fish. • The symbiotic relationship with the Man O War Fish can last up to 20 years which is about the lifespan of the Portuguese Man O War.

REPRODUCTION • Each Portuguese Man O’ War is either a male or female and reproduces sexually via broadcast spawning. • Fertilization usually takes place during the Fall.

ECONOMIC IMPORTANCE: POSITIVE & NEGATIVE • One negative aspect about the Portuguese Man O War is that they have been known to scare away tourists from beaches if there are big groups of them in the water or washed ashore. • On the positive side they are a food source for fish and crustaceans that are of commercials value, which benefits the economy.

SOURCES • Hoover, Miranda. “Portuguese Man-of-war, Physalia Physalis. ” Portuguese Man-of-war, Physalia Physalis. N. p. , n. d. Web 03 Nov. 2015. • Research Article: Wittenberg, Jonathan B. "The Source of Carbon Monoxide In the Float of the Portuguese Man Of War, Physalia Physalis. " [698] THE SOURCE OF CARBON MONOXIDE IN THE FLOAT OF THE PORTUGUESE MAN-OF-WAR, (n. d. ): n. pag. Jeb. biologists. org. Web. 7 Dec. 2015. • Portuguese Man-of-War. " Portuguese Man-of-War. N. p. , n. d. Web. 07 Dec. 2015. • King, Dr. Rachael, and Dr. Dale Calder. "The Portuguese Man of War (physalia Physalis). " (n. d. ): n. pag. Www. dnr. sc. gov. Web.