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Awesome jellyfish
By Nancy Arcayna
exhibit makes comeback
Special to the Star-BulletinLast week's jellyfish invasion on our beaches has nothing to do with the return of the jellyfish exhibit at the Waikiki Aquarium.
"Jellyfish are so popular ... we didn't know how popular until they were gone and people kept asking, 'Where are the jellies?,' " says Carol Hopper, the Aquarium's director of education.
The last time the creatures appeared at the Aquarium was from summer 1994 to fall 1998, when a coral display went into the exhibition space.
The new exhibit will feature lagoon and moon jellies. The jellyfish that washed up on the beaches were box jellyfish that Aquarium staffers haven't had luck keeping alive. Ditto the impressive Portuguese man-of-war.
Hopefully, the jellyfish will survive through fall, for as alien as they seem while alive, they even die mysteriously. According to Hopper, "They shrink and shrink until nothing is there." Jellyfish normally have a life span of just 8 to 10 months.
Jerry Crow, a research associate for the Aquarium said many people fear jellyfish, considering them to be annoying creatures that invade our beaches and sting anyone who gets in their way.
Remove the danger and the jellyfish have an opposite effect.
"When they see them like this ... it is spectacular. They are mesmerized watching the jellies gently pulse through the water," Crow says. "It's so relaxing."
Crow is responsible for the retrieval and care of the umbrella shaped animals. He finds most of the jellyfish in Pearl Harbor, Koko Marina and Kaneohe Bay. The creatures are fragile and are gently captured using a bucket of water.
Hopper said using a net to catch the jellyfish would tear into its skin layers. Oozing jellyfish may not be a pretty sight.
"They feel kinda like a firm jello," Hopper explains. Hopper is seeking alternative ways to make the display more interactive. Jello molds would be ideal stand-ins for jellyfish in an interactive display but unfortunately could lead to food fights among keiki touching the wobbly gelatin, she says.A black light helps to illuminate the transparent moon jellyfish. People are most amazed when watching them feed.
"There is not a lot to a jellyfish ... they are 96 percent water," Hopper said. "When they eat the shrimp larvae, you can see the shrimp in their guts."
The moon jelly's food is captured and swallowed by four central mouth arms. As pieces of an orange colored brine shrimp reach the jelly's four stomach pouches, the creature begins to glow and the shrimp is clearly visible through its transparent body.
Crow added, "You can actually see them concentrating their food." After digestion, nutrients are distributed through the jelly's body and the jelly then becomes completely transparent again. The whole process takes about half an hour.
The lagoon jellies have a brownish tint that comes from the algae that lives within its tissues. In addition to regular feedings, they receive nutrition through photosynthesis. Some species even exhibit light-seeking behaviors. Spectators were amused when the spotted fellows enjoyed resting upside down.
Jellyfish do not have brains, says Hopper, but they use the same chemical processes as humans to send nerve signals. They have the ability to differentiate between light and dark and just like humans, quickly respond to food.
Jellyfish are an important link in ocean ecology because they feed continuously, often cleaning up food debris left by bigger creatures. They are also important to humans because their powerful toxins are yielding new medicines. Their simple structures also provide a research model of more complex human systems.
There is obviously a lot to be learned from the small, intriguing critters.
"It's great to have them back!" said Hopper.
On view
What: Moon and Lagoon Jellyfish Exhibit
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