Shipping information and details

Please send all samples through airmail at room temperature to:

Dr. Michael Dawson
School of Natural Sciences
University of California at Merced
5200 North Lake Road
Merced, CA 95340 USA

Jellyfish samples are necessarily preserved in 2-4% formalin (for morhpological analyses) and 95% ethanol (for DNA analyses*). Both formalin and ethanol are hazardous substances and therefore must be shipped with appropriate precaution. If shipping samples in jars full of preservative, the only way to ship them is to use couriers such as FedEx, DHL, and UPS which will deal with the packages as hazardous materials. Obviously, this is very expensive because [1] such packages are large and/or heavy due to all the preservative, [2] they receive special handling, and [3] it's a door-to-door service. Fortunately, it is usually possible to send samples preserved in 4% formalin or 95% ethanol through the regular postal service as long as their rules are followed (USPS). In my experience, most clerks at the post office are not familiar with the regulations regarding sending such substances through the mail (the usual response is that you cannot do it at all), so it is best to read the regulations yourself; usually you'll find that it's OK to send very small quantities if they're packaged accordingly. A method for packing and shipping samples that I learned from Lori J. Bell (and which she had learned from someone else) is explained below. We have never had any problem with this method.

Shipping tissues preserved in ethanol for DNA analysis.

Materials required: 2 ml vial with a screw-cap and o-ring containing preservative and tissue, whirl-pak bag or box of appropriate size, one 30 cm x 60 cm '4 mil' plastic bag, paper towel (or other absorbant material), 1 rubber band, letter (describing the samples, their origin, their destination, contact information), copies of permits, padded envelope.

Procedure: Make sure the cap is screwed on firmly, place into the whirl-pak bag or box, seal the bag (or box), put into the 4-mil plastic bag including the paper towel, twist the neck of the plastic bag until it is tightly coiled, bend the coil back on itself, and secure with 2 rubber bands. Place in the padded envelope along with the letter and copies of permits. Seal, label, and airmail it.

Shipping tissues preserved in formalin for morphological analyses.

Materials required: preserved sample, whirl-pak bag of appropriate size, three 30 cm x 60 cm '4 mil' plastic bags, paper towel (or other absorbant material), 3 rubber bands, plenty of packing peanuts (not the corn ones that dissolve when wet), and two cardboard boxes (the smallest should have plenty of space for the specimens, and also fit comfortably inside the larger box)

Procedure: Carefully transfer the specimen into the whirl-pak bag. If there are more than a few ml of residual liquid in the bag. drain the bag. Carefully remove as much air as possible from the whirl-pak bag without damaging the specimen, and seal the bag. Put the whirl-pak bag into one of the 4-mil plastic bags and include some of the paper towel. Twist the neck of the plastic bag until it is tightly coiled, bend the coil back on itself, and secure with one of the rubber bands. Place this bag into the second of the 4-mil plastic bags, include some of the paper towel, remove excess air, twist the neck of the plastic bag until it is tightly coiled, bend the coil back on itself, and secure with one of the rubber bands. Now place this bag into the third of the 4-mil plastic bags, include some of the paper towel, remove excess air, twist the neck of the plastic bag until it is tightly coiled, bend the coil back on itself, and secure with one of the rubber bands. Put a layer of peanuts on the bottom of the smaller box, put the bag in the box, and fill with peanuts. Seal the box. Put a layer of peanuts on the bottom of the larger box, put the smaller box in the larger box, and fill with peanuts. Place the letter and copies of permits on top of the peanuts. Seal the box, label, and airmail it.

• A relatively benign, good, alternative to 95% ethanol is DMSO+NaCl (see Dawson et al. 1998)