SAN DIEGO — A new exhibit at SeaWorld San Diego highlights the beauty and importance of jellyfish.
When viewing the captivating beauty of jellyfish, Mike Dunn says it was important to give visitors a unique way to look at the different species. To view upside-down jellyfish, visitors can crawl under a clear glass tank to view them from below. Dunn is the education and conservation manager at SeaWorld San Diego.
“Guests are going to be able to crawl under and we think it’s going to be a great place for little kids to come and see a neat perspective,” Dunn said.
A first of its kind at any SeaWorld park, the Jewels of the Sea exhibit is an all-new immersive aquarium diving into the mysterious world of jellies. Dunn says highlights include a walk-through living archway filled with jellyfish and one of the largest jelly cylinders in the country.
Dunn says people can often overlook the importance of jellyfish to the overall health of ecosystems, as they help to control plankton populations and serve as a food source to other species, balancing the food chain.
“One of those keystone species where when you see the ocean in perfect harmony with each other, everything’s in balance, and the jellyfish help keep it that way,” he said.
The crown of the attraction though is behind the scenes, where Charles Trautner, a zoological specialist, is raising and caring for jellyfish in the propagation program.
“They are, I think, the closest things we can get to like sci-fi aliens that we can get on Earth,” he said.
Trautner says most jellyfish only live about a year, and SeaWorld San Diego is working with aquariums across the U.S. to propagate jellyfish to share and learn more about them. He says caring for jellyfish at all stages of life is a delicate matter, requiring constant monitoring of a complex filtration system, temperature, and feeding schedule.
"Because they’re 95% water, whatever is in the water will end up inside of them, so it’s really important that we get our water perimeters right," he said. "Otherwise, it can directly impact them in a very short amount of time."
Trautner explained how they start off as a small polyp, moving into bigger tanks with each growth stage, showcasing the beauty of marine life but also their commitment to conservation.
“It’s important for us to be able to propagate our own colonies of jellyfish so that way, we can minimize our impact and we can also end up filling these exhibits with animals that we know have had no detrimental effect on where we took them from,” Trautner said.
Dunn says he is proud of the propagation program they have developed — and hopes everyone sees the magic behind these enchanting animals.
“Jellies are incredibly important to the overall health of the oceans, and they’re darn fun to look at,” he said.
Jewels of the Sea opened Saturday at SeaWorld San Diego.
