image: Étienne Bourgouin and Anaïs Courtet, jellyfish curator and jellyfish aquarist at the Paris Aquarium, received training from staff engineer Alexandre Jan on comb jelly husbandry at the Michael Sars Centre.
Credit: Melanie Burford/Michael Sars Centre, UiB
The Michael Sars Centre at the University of Bergen and the Paris Aquarium have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to exchange expertise on comb jelly husbandry. The collaboration marks a significant milestone as animals first raised at the Centre are now on display in the aquarium’s Medusarium©, the largest jellyfish exhibit in Europe.
As one of the only European research institutes possessing the expertise to cultivate ctenophores, also called comb jellies, the Michael Sars Centre became a key partner of the Paris Aquarium as it seeks to expand its collection. The delicate, iridescent animals are notoriously challenging to maintain in captivity. Through the collaboration, the aquarium can now sustainably cultivate and display the comb jelly Mnemiopsis leidyi for the first time. “At the Paris Aquarium, we want our visitors to be amazed by the beauty of the Ocean and thus participate in its protection. We show that science is not boring. Science is beautiful and fun,” said Paris Aquarium Director Alexis Powilewicz. “Our partnership with the Michael Sars Centre is part of the development of our expertise on ctenophores through an exchange of skills and knowledge."
The collaboration benefits both institutions, offering an opportunity for researchers to access new resources. “We would like to have more species in our facility, to develop new techniques,” said Alexandre Jan, ctenophore aquarist for the Burkhardt group at the Michael Sars Centre. “We are all working on different species, so it's good to have this network together”. The Michael Sars Centre also has an ongoing collaboration with the Bergen Aquarium, where a jellyfish tank was inaugurated in May 2024.
A new exhibit showcasing ctenophores is expected to open in 2025 at the Paris Aquarium, further establishing the Medusarium© as a reference for jellyfish displays in Europe. “Jellyfish is one of the most important exhibitions that we have,” said Etienne Bourgouin, jellyfish curator. Together with aquarist Anaïs Courtet, Bourgouin has ambitious plans for the future of gelatinous species at the Aquarium. “We want to create a new facility only for comb jelly. Alexandre teaches us this part, what kind support system we need and how to make new generations with mature adult.”
For Michael Sars Centre Director Lionel Christiaen, collaborating with local and international aquariums is a great opportunity to connect research and education. “At the Michael Sars Centre, we are convinced that communicating new knowledge is an integral and essential part of the scientific process”, he said. “We are thus excited to have established a partnership with the Paris Aquarium, that will further spread our growing knowledge of marine living systems.
About the Paris Aquarium
Located under the Trocadéro gardens, the Paris Aquarium is the oldest aquarium in the world. Using an ‘edutainment’ approach, the aquarium’s objective is to teach a wide audience how to preserve the fragile marine diversity. The Paris Aquarium in numbers:
- 13,000 freshwater and saltwater fish and invertebrates
- 70 exhibition tanks and 400 million liters of water
- 420 different species, including the largest jellyfish collection in Europe with 25 tanks and 50 species
- 840,000 visitors in 2023
The Paris Aquarium collaborates with leading institutions worldwide, including the prestigious Kamo Aquarium in Japan.
About the Michael Sars Centre
The Michael Sars Centre at the University of Bergen, Norway is an international community of scientists using advanced technologies to study the unique molecular and cellular biology of marine organisms in a changing environment. As one of the first EMBL partners, the Michael Sars Centre is rooted in the Bergen academic community and serves as a national strategical asset for Norwegian marine life sciences. The Centre aims to establish, strengthen, and leverage local, national, and international networks through specific activities, including collaborative research, joint training, and scientific exchange.