Jellyfish at Monterey Bay Aquarium — Live Webcam

Moon Jellyfish (Aurelia aurita) — Aquarium Inhabitants

Monterey Bay Aquarium in California has launched a live webcam offering a view of one of its most captivating exhibits — the moon jellyfish aquarium. The translucent bell-shaped bodies of Aurelia aurita pulse through the water, illuminated by dark blue backlighting that creates an ocean-depth effect. This species belongs to scyphozoan jellyfish and is widely distributed in the coastal waters of the World Ocean, including bays and estuaries with reduced salinity.

Moon jellyfish get their name from their characteristic translucent umbrella (bell), which resembles a crescent moon during certain phases of their life cycle. The bell diameter of adult individuals ranges from 25 to 40 cm, although in captivity they often reach smaller sizes. Short, numerous tentacles extend from the bell's edge, while four horseshoe-shaped gonads are located at the center, clearly visible through the transparent tissues. The oral lobes (oral arms) surround the mouth opening and serve to direct food to the gastric cavity.

The life cycle of Aurelia aurita involves alternation between sexual and asexual generations. The adult jellyfish (medusa stage) produces gametes, from which a planula — a microscopic larva — develops after fertilization. The planula settles on a substrate and transforms into a polyp. The polyp reproduces by budding and forms young jellyfish through strobilation — transverse division of the body into disc-shaped buds. In the aquarium setting, specialists control all developmental stages, ensuring a stable population for the exhibit.

What the Stream Shows

The real-time camera displays moon jellyfish in a special aquarium with dark blue backlighting that emphasizes the transparency of their bodies and creates contrast with the surrounding water. The viewer observes the characteristic pulsing movement of the bell — rhythmic contractions of epidermal muscle cells push water out from under the dome, providing reactive thrust. The pulsation frequency is regulated by the jellyfish's nervous system and depends on water temperature, oxygen saturation, and the presence of food.

In the water column, jellyfish move primarily passively, following currents created by the aquarium's filtration system. However, bell pulsations allow them to maintain vertical position and move in the horizontal plane over short distances. When observed via the webcam, an impression of slow, serene hovering is created — it is this effect that makes the exhibit popular among visitors and online stream viewers.

The color of the jellyfish in the aquarium can vary from milky white to pale pink or orange depending on their diet. When fed brine shrimp, the translucent tissues acquire a characteristic orange hue, as pigments from the crustaceans accumulate in the epidermis. The dark blue backlighting of the exhibit enhances visual contrast and creates the illusion of deep-sea space, although Aurelia aurita in nature inhabits predominantly surface waters.

How Jellyfish Are Kept at Monterey Bay Aquarium

Keeping jellyfish in captivity requires specialized equipment, as their gelatinous bodies are easily damaged by contact with hard surfaces and aquarium equipment. Monterey Bay Aquarium uses kreisel and pseudo-kreisel tanks, which provide continuous gentle water movement mimicking ocean currents. The design of such aquariums prevents jellyfish from being sucked into filters and eliminates damage to their bodies from the walls.

The life support system includes flowing seawater drawn from Monterey Bay at a depth of about 15–20 meters, ensuring stable salinity parameters (33–35 ppt) and temperature (10–15°C for cold-water species). The water undergoes multi-stage filtration — mechanical, biological, and ultraviolet sterilization — before entering the exhibition tanks. Parameter monitoring is carried out automatically using sensors for pH, dissolved oxygen, and ammonium nitrogen.

The basis of the moon jellyfish diet in the aquarium consists of brine shrimp nauplii — live feed administered using a pipette or sprayer. Young jellyfish are fed several times a day, adults — once or twice. The diet also includes zooplankton, rotifers, and special gel feeds enriched with vitamins and unsaturated fatty acids. Regular feeding ensures normal growth and maintenance of characteristic tissue coloration.

Interesting Facts About Jellyfish

Moon jellyfish were among the first invertebrates to travel to space. In 1991, individuals of Aurelia were sent into orbit aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia (mission STS-40) to study the effects of weightlessness on embryonic development and gravireceptor formation. The experiment showed that jellyfish developed in weightlessness had impaired orientation upon returning to Earth's gravity conditions.

The glow of jellyfish in Monterey Bay Aquarium exhibits is often mistaken for bioluminescence, however Aurelia aurita itself is not capable of producing light. The effect is created by decorative aquarium lighting or is due to the presence of other species — for example, the jellyfish Aequorea victoria (crystal jelly), which contains green fluorescent protein (GFP). It was from this species that GFP was isolated, for which the Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded in 2008. The protein is widely used in molecular biology as a marker for visualizing processes in living cells.

About three-quarters of deep-sea organisms in the water column are capable of bioluminescence — a phenomenon in which chemical energy is converted into light. At Monterey Bay Aquarium, this is demonstrated in the "Midnight Zone" exhibit, which features comb jellies, glowing jellyfish, and other deep-sea species. Bioluminescence in them serves to attract prey, deter predators, or communicate with conspecifics.

Monterey Bay Aquarium — Location Information

Monterey Bay Aquarium is located on the Pacific coast in the city of Monterey, California, on the site of a former sardine cannery. The building was converted and opened to the public in 1984. Today it is one of the largest aquariums in the world, specializing in the ecosystem of Monterey Bay — a submarine canyon over 3,000 meters deep, comparable in size to the Grand Canyon of the Colorado.

Monterey Bay is characterized by high biodiversity due to upwelling — the rise of deep waters rich in nutrients. Sea otters, whales (gray, blue, humpback), seals, sharks, and thousands of invertebrate species inhabit here. The aquarium conducts scientific research in oceanography, marine biology, and environmental conservation, collaborating with Stanford University and other scientific centers.

The aquarium's infrastructure includes several thematic galleries: a coastal waters exhibit (Kelp Forest), deep-sea organisms (Open Sea), Pacific coral reefs, and special pavilions for temporary exhibitions. Over 2 million people visit the institution annually, and online streams, including the jellyfish webcam, help attract a global audience interested in marine biology and oceanography.

What You Can See on the Camera

The live webcam at Monterey Bay Aquarium shows moon jellyfish Aurelia aurita in an aquarium with dark blue backlighting. The viewer observes translucent bell-shaped bodies with thin tentacles and oral lobes that drift peacefully through the water. The characteristic pulsing movement of the bell creates an illusion of slow, serene motion — it is this effect that makes watching jellyfish meditative and appealing to viewers.

The camera operates in live broadcast mode, allowing real-time observation of jellyfish behavior. Depending on the time of day and feeding schedule, you can see varying levels of activity: from passive drifting to more intensive movements during feeding periods. The blue backlighting of the exhibit enhances contrast and creates a deep-sea effect, although in nature Aurelia aurita inhabits the surface waters of Monterey Bay and other coastal areas.

The online camera shows not only adult jellyfish but also the specifics of their care in artificial conditions. The viewer can observe the filtration system creating gentle currents in the kreisel tank and see how jellyfish interact with their environment — responding to light, water movement, and the presence of food. The stream is available 24/7, allowing observation of the exhibit at any time and appreciation of the beauty of Monterey Bay's marine life without leaving home.