At the end of a long day in the inner harbor of Baltimore, we left the Institute of Marine and Environmental Technology (IMET) building, rolling a cooler behind us and excitedly chatting about ctenophores. With the addition of two new types of jellyfish, Cladonema and benthic (bottom dwelling) ctenophores, from the Baltimore Aquarium, the IZ aquaroom staff were at that moment preparing to dive into a gelatinous adventure. The AquaRoom in the Department of Invertebrate Zoology (IZ) is a place where IZ associates collect and care for jellyfish and other marine invertebrates, as well as carry out research with them. The room is managed by Peter Buck Predoctoral Fellow Cheryl Ames, with the help of interns Mehr Kumar and Kate Muffet. The staff is currently studying the ontogeny of Cassiopea, that is, how the animal grows from a polyp, its juvenile stage, to a medusa, its full adult stage. Such work requires a lot of care and nurture. For all of the effort that goes into maintaining the tanks, the staff has, unsurprisingly, grown quite fond of their invertebrate charges, giving some nicknames.
The latest experiment underway in IZ’s AquaRoom involves infecting certain jellyfish polyps with dinoflagellates in order to cause them to strobilate, that is, to reproduce asexually. Strobilation is a natural reproductive strategy of jellyfish in the class Scyphozoa. Other possible experiments that the staff may carry out in the future could include studying the effect of free-floating plastic particulates on the health and growth of jellyfish polyps. In addition, the staff plan to mate their living specimens, to produce new generations of jellyfish right here in IZ. So far, all of IZ’s living jellyfish were obtained from Pennsylvania State University, the Baltimore Aquarium, and the University of Kansas. The AquaRoom staff also hold outreach events in the Q?rius exhibit hall, answering questions from visitors to the museum about jellyfish and showing kids how to feed brine shrimp to Cassiopeia.
For this most recent jellyfish transfer, our day started by visiting the new Jellyfish touch-tank, in the Baltimore National Aquarium’s Living Seashore exhibit. We also looked at the aquarium’s Jellies Invasion exhibit. After, we spent hours viewing a large range of fascinating invertebrates, from Limulus (horseshoe crabs) to Aurelia (moon jellyfish), in tanks in both the aquarium’s exhibits and in IMET. We probably could have wandered through the facility for days—there were so many animals to see! When it was time for us to receive the new living additions to IZ’s AquaRoom, the aquarium’s staff handed over the Cladonema and benthic ctenophores in plastic bags, much like you would bring home a new pet goldfish from the store.
While our method for transporting scientific specimens may be surprisingly simple, the day-to-day maintenance that is necessary for tank upkeep at the Baltimore National Aquarium definitely isn’t. The aquarium uses a variety of methods to promote long, healthy, and stress-free lives for their jellyfish and other denizens. One such technique is called bio-filtration. In bio-filtration, the right types of sand and water are mixed together for three full days in order to make sure that the water contains the bacteria that exist in natural habitats. Because the aquarium’s water is sourced from pier five on the Chesapeake Bay, it contains small amounts of harmful waste, which must be treated and removed. To do so, the water is run through high intensity ultraviolet (UV) light treatment facilities, which kill off bacteria, while protein skimmers remove organic compounds from the water.
Our guide for the day was the tremendously kind Jennie Janssen, who is the manager of changing exhibits at the National Aquarium. Her team is in charge of the maintenance, set up, and design of the many, many exhibits and tanks in the aquarium. You probably didn’t know that everything in an aquarium is specially designed for certain qualities of insulation, lighting, and tank shape, specific to certain exhibits and creatures. In the exhibits, if a jellyfish dies, the staff must carefully investigate the animal’s death, to identify whether any pathogenic diseases are present in the tank and prevent the further death of other creatures. Every detail of every tank is managed by a professional like Jennie in order to ensure that the tanks provide an optimal experience for visitors and the best conditions for scientists studying these animals, in addition to being great homes for the animals inside.
Back in the IZ AquaRoom, we have big dreams for these tiny new critters. Mostly, we’re excited to continue learning about the biology of these complex and beautiful animals.
By—Zoe Grabenstetter (post and photography, unless otherwise noted) [Edited by: Elizabeth Boatman and Allen Collins]
Check out our twitter @InvertebratesDC to see updates about our AquaRoom.
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Posted by: mindfulness Perth | 15 June 2020 at 07:33 AM