‘Small is mighty’: Shedd Aquarium spotlights plankton’s impact on aquatic ecosystems with vibrant, bubbly exhibit
Behind closed doors at the Shedd Aquarium, green, orange and red water bubbles and gurgles in carefully organized jars and vats up to 5 feet high. In this water, microscopic organisms live, thrive and reproduce. It’s like a scene out of a science fiction movie.
But it’s all real. And now, this backstage reality has been turned into an interactive exhibit for guests to learn more about the key role plankton play in aquatic ecosystems and the aquarium itself. For over a decade, Shedd has cultured plankton in-house to feed and nourish tens of thousands of animals on site daily.
“This is literally a replica of what we’re doing behind the scenes,” said Holly Akkerman, associate art director at the aquarium, gesturing to a dozen jars on shelves at the aquarium’s new permanent exhibit “Plankton Revealed,” now open and located between the “Oceans” and “At Home on the Great Lakes” galleries.
The jars are stacked in such a way that their vibrant liquids harmonize in a color gradient. Two tall vats stand to the side, holding pale green and yellow water that, frankly, looks like refreshing lemonade. If one were to drink it, though, it would prove to be an unpleasantly salty beverage.
The bubbles, however impressive, are not meant to be theatrical. They have a function: to keep phytoplankton, or minuscule algae, afloat like in the wild.
The different species of phytoplankton also have different colors. On their own, individual organisms might be invisible to the naked eye, but in large numbers, their high concentrations of chlorophyll, or green pigments, and other color pigments change the way water reflects light.
Plankton are “drifters,” which means they float and are carried by water movements such as tides and currents. The etymology of their name suggests so: the Greek planktos means “wandering.”
The aquarium’s staff has one big hope: that this new and eye-catching display provokes in visitors a deep admiration for zooplankton, or tiny animals, and phytoplankton, and how their place at the bottom of the food chain helps sustain all life on Earth.
“I really hope that it sparks their curiosity. Small is mighty and plankton really are important to our lives in the world and a really healthy ecosystem overall,” Akkerman said.
Next to the exhibit’s liquid containers, guests can press two buttons to turn lights on and off in a tank with zooplankton and discover how these organisms respond to light to find food. Because phytoplankton need to photosynthesize for nutrition, they often float at the surface of the water, where the process generates oxygen and absorbs carbon emissions.
The food chain continues with zooplankton, which consume the phytoplankton to acquire energy and grow. Zooplankton then become food for small aquatic creatures.
“Without these organisms, the entire food chain of our waterways could not exist, all the way up to sharks and whales,” said Rachel Zak, the Shedd’s manager of aquarium sustainability. “Everything would be affected without these.”
At the Shedd, staff is raising seven species of microscopic marine algae and five species of zooplankton “for different needs,” Zak said. For comparison, a drop of ocean water can have anywhere between 20 and 100 species of plankton, she said.
“When you think about how much (plankton) is normally in the water — we will never compare to that, and will never give that varied of a diet, but that’s what we’re going for,” Zak said.
Guests can peer through a magnifying lens to watch zooplankton, like brine shrimp, collect algae with their limbs. And a nursery on the left side of the exhibit will house a rotation of juvenile animals like silversides, white-spotted jellyfish, flamboyant cuttlefish, green chromis, larval sea horses and brine shrimp, which all rely on plankton as a live food source for a well-balanced diet.
The larger animals in any given community — think tigers, elephants and pandas, or aquatic creatures like whales, penguins and sharks — often amass widespread popular appeal in comparison to their smaller peers, which is why they are called “charismatic megafauna.” But learning opportunities like “Plankton Revealed” can hopefully endear more people to the littlest yet most impactful of organisms as well.
“I have always been fascinated by the tiny, weird-looking things and how important they are, and so I want to bring that to the guests that get to come here,” Zak said. “Everyone wants to come and see the belugas. But now, who wants to come and see the plankton?”
Shedd’s plankton-raising operations are meant to support sustainable breeding programs that contribute to conservation efforts in the wild, as culturing live foods in-house reduces the need to source food from the ocean. It also reduces the packing waste and carbon footprint associated with shipping food.
“What it has led to, recently, is we actually started a fish breeding program to breed species that have never been bred in an attempt to repopulate our aquariums without ever having to take from the wild,” Zak said.
According to a news release, “Plankton Revealed” is the Shedd’s first fully bilingual exhibit with text in both Spanish and English. Staff also say it is the first permanent exhibit they have had in the last 20 years. These milestones bring to life a modernized aquarium experience, a vision that’s part of the aquarium’s Centennial Commitment ahead of its 100th anniversary in 2030.
The Centennial Commitment is an eight-year, $500 million undertaking that aims to expand the connection to nature and amplify ways to care for people and aquatic life, ensuring equitable, sustainable, thriving futures.
“Plankton Revealed” is now open at the Shedd Aquarium, 1200 S. DuSable Lake Shore Drive; 312-939-2438 and sheddaquarium.org
