Ocean and Jellyfish | Aquarium La Rochelle

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Locate the theater Ocean and Jellyfish in the Aquarium

Jellyfish and Open Ocean Area

The stage opens onto the Ocean for a musical tableau... Blue runners tune up to the guitarfish, and a duo of little bonnethead sharks composes a fugue before the serious eyes of stoic barracudas.

While the jellyfish ballet is in motion, dainty strands of lace float about. White-spotted and compass jellyfish, Cassiopeas and Aurelias: these lovely ladies gracefully parade by, drawing attention for the elegance of their unfurled gowns.

A trip to the open sea

As we travel further from the coastline, the ocean's depth increases and the animals' living conditions begin to change. The influence of the tides gradually fades out, and temperature and salinity vary much less than on the coast. Nearest the bottom, the effects of swells are no longer felt. Dominant trade winds and westerly winds blow regularly, causing ocean currents like the Gulf Stream to form.

« And from that time on I bathed in the Poem
Of the Sea, star-infused and churned into milk,
Devouring the green azures... »

Arthur Rimbaud
In the open sea, small fish travel in groups for want of proper shelter. Some shoals contain millions of fish and can span up to 40 km.
The limpid blue waters of the open sea may appear devoid of life, and yet they are populated by plants and microscopic animals on which every ocean species is dependent. Those animals are plankton, which float along wherever the currents take them.
In Greek mythology, Medusa (another name for jellyfish) was one of the three Gorgon sisters transformed into monsters with snakes instead of hair.