Grammar’s Jellyfish Invasion

Its or It’s?

Its shows that something belongs to something: “The dog wagged its tail.”

It’s is a contraction of it is or it has: “It’s time to go” or “It’s been fun.”

Behold the jellyfish! These strange and beautiful creatures have been floating through the ocean for more than 500 million years. The smallest species of jellyfish is about the size of a fingernail; the largest can be up to 7 feet in diameter with tentacles more than 100 feet long.

Despite its/it’s name, a jellyfish isn’t actually a fish—its/it’s an invertebrate, meaning it doesn’t have a spine. In fact, a jellyfish doesn’t have any bones at all.

At times, some species of jellyfish live together in giant groups. These groups, known as blooms, can be made up of hundreds or even = millions—yes, millions!—of jellyfish.  

Jellyfish blooms may be on the rise. Some scientists believe that’s because of climate change, among other factors. Others think its/it’s too soon to say if blooms are increasing—that we need more data before we can know for sure. What is certain is that large numbers of some jellyfish species are appearing in parts of the ocean where they’ve never been seen before.

Jellyfish blooms cause trouble for humans. For one thing, a jellyfish has venom in its/it’s tentacles. The venom gets released when the jellyfish brushes against something. If that something is a person, the person gets stung. So when a jellyfish bloom appears at a beach, a whole lot of people can get stung. Its/It’s not fun getting stung by a jellyfish. But most stings cause nothing worse than a bit of pain and a rash. However, some jellyfish stings can cause vomiting or muscle aches, and a few can be fatal.

Jellyfish blooms also interfere with the operation of power plants that use ocean water to cool their machinery. If jellyfish clog up a cooling system, the power plant may have to shut down. Jellyfish can also clog up ship engines and fishing nets.