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Jellyfish grown in the laboratory

Barcelona’s Institute of Marine Sciences has succeeded for the first time ever in reproducing the most common species of jellyfish found in the Mediterranean in its laboratories.

Staff | June 22, 2010

Rhizostoma pulmo jellyfish

With this huge step forward, scientists hope to examine in detail the life cycle of these animals, which spend a year attached to the seabed in the form of polyps. The reproduction of these jellyfish was carried out in large aquariums on the premises of the Institute of Marine Sciences (ICM), part of Spain National Research Council (CSIC), located in Barcelona. The initiative is part of the Proyecto Medusa (Jellyfish Project), jointly organized by the Catalan Water Agency and ICM-CSIC and directed by the oceanographer Josep Maria Gili.

There are basically four species of jellyfish in the Mediterranean. For many years now, scientists have kept track of the different species, and throughout the world there has been an increase in jellyfish populations. This is mainly due to overfishing, which removes predators such as large fish and sea turtles from the habitat. Without enemies and with fewer fish in the water, the large amount of plankton available is used to feed the increasingly large population of jellyfish.

But while one thing is the global trend, quite another are the intrusions of these animals on the beaches and coastal areas of Catalonia. The project found that there is no clear increasing trend in the presence of jellyfish in the Catalan coast, given that there is an annual fluctuation in a rise and fall of jellyfish in the area. In fact, 2010 is, till now, a very quiet year for jellyfish in Catalonia’s costal waters.

If you want to check if there are many jellyfish in the water where you go to the beach, you can consult this website provided by the Catalan Water Agency. For more information, please visit the project Un mar de medusas at Recerca en Acció’s website.