Jellyfish News 3/2009

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From the Pocono Record:

"What jellyfish can tell us about climate change"

An East Stroudsburg University professor has studied a delicate sea creature off Japan's coast, and shed new light on how climate change is disrupting the ocean's food chain.

"This is the first clear link between an animal we know is threatened by ocean acidification and a variety of deep-sea species," said Jay Hunt, assistant professor of biology at ESU, describing his research...

An East Stroudsburg University professor has studied a delicate sea creature off Japan's coast, and shed new light on how climate change is disrupting the ocean's food chain.

"This is the first clear link between an animal we know is threatened by ocean acidification and a variety of deep-sea species," said Jay Hunt, assistant professor of biology at ESU, describing his research...

Ocean water has been growing more acidic because of higher concentrations in the atmosphere of carbon dioxide produced by humans. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says acid levels in the Earth's oceans are higher now than any time in the last 800,000 years, and possibly in the last 20 million years....

The oceans absorb about one-third of human-caused carbon emissions, according to NOAA.

Acidic ocean water has already affected sea life, from hearty sea corals to the shells of open ocean snails called pteropods, which swim on the surface. The shells of these snails are made out of calcium carbonate, which is starting to dissolve from the acid.

Hunt and his fellow researchers observed a startling cascade effect, noting that the young red paper lantern jellyfish roost in the shells of these snails. As the snails have started to wilt from acidic oceans, it has left young red paper lantern jellyfish vulnerable.

"If that snail goes, the red lantern goes. If the red lantern goes, maybe the sea spider and shrimp will go. We just don't know," Hunt said. "If we're not careful, we may well hinder some network of species that does impact us."

Hunt and his fellow researchers were caught off guard by the speed with which acidic water affected creatures on the ocean surface, which, in turn, rippled thousands of feet below...

Hunt and his fellow researchers wrote in the Journal that their findings suggest that the number of species now threatened by ocean acidification will go beyond current predictions. "The effects of ocean acidification will not stop at the surface waters or with animals with calcium carbonate shells or skeletons," they wrote, "but will spread from the surface to the depths of the oceans faster than was expected."
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Also - if you want to have a jellyfish aquarium:

From the New York Times:

How to Avoid Liquefying Your Jellyfish

Jellyfish are 95 percent water. They have no bones. They drift along at the mercy of the current. So guess what happens when you put them into a traditional fish tank?

“They’re going to get sucked up into the filter and liquefied,” said Alex Andon, the founder of a start-up company called Jellyfish Art.

Mr. Andon’s company makes specialized aquariums that allow people to keep jellyfish in tanks — sans liquefication. He pops up in our story about recession-era entrepreneurs, prompting us to veer away from the usual lineup of Internet obsessions and learn more about the technology of jellyfish tanks.

Mr. Andon says that a couple of decades ago, scientists figured out how to build tanks – known as Kreisel tanks – that use a special water-flow process to protect jellyfish. When the creatures drift near the pumps and filters, the tank delivers a current of water that washes the jellyfish in the other direction.

Sounds simple, and it can be — relatively. But Mr. Andon says that the technology can take getting used to, and that hobbyist discussion groups on the Internet often include conversations about tank-building efforts gone awry.

“It ends in frustration and people killing tons of jellyfish,” he said...

Another key challenge, Mr. Andon says, is getting the proper food for jellyfish. Research labs and the like feed them live plankton. But that’s impractical for domesticated jellyfish, he says. So he’s been growing algae — on his roof and in his bedroom — and freezing it to provide his customers with frozen jellyfish snacks.

“It’s a huge pain for people to feed their jellyfish,” he said. “I’m growing it for them.”