Video Analysis: Bioluminescence

An unusual form of biological work is the production of light. Conduct research online to determine how fireflies use ATP energy to produce their well-known flashes of light. How efficient is this process?

If you have ever seen Finding Nemo you might remember when Marlin and Dory venture into the deep sea in their search for an address on a pair of goggles. As they dive into the deep they are entranced by a bright light in the darkness. Unfortunately, though, this light was attached to a hungry angler fish. Like most deep sea creatures the angler fish looks scary and strange, especially when compared to the animals that we are used to. Deep sea creatures may seem odd, but their appearances are there for a reason. The way these creatures look, along with other adaptations help them to live in their extreme underwater environments.

      The anglerfish developed a relationship with a certain type of bacteria that can glow. That bacteria is in them but it stays in their esca. This is a good thing because that makes them be able to light their esca so that they can draw prey in and eat them. Also when they light their esca you can not see them at all you only see a light and that is why the prey does not think any thing is wrong and goes up to the esca.

Chemiluminescence is a reaction well known to those who enjoy crime scene shows. Luminol is first synthesized in the experiment. Then, the crude luminol produced is oxidized to release photons giving off a light blue glow in a dark room. In a crime scene show, the blood acts as a catalyst aiding in the oxidation of luminol and hydrogen peroxide resulting in the blue glow 1.

Now, instead of adventure, all (marine) biologists have gone all over the world to save what used to be the most beautiful part of the ocean to parts of the ocean where animal species need to return to its’ natural number because of garbage, toxins, and other wastes in the ocean. The thought of being surrounded by darkness at the bottom of the sea might give people an ambiguous feeling, but not for biologists who truly think of the ocean as something so ethereal. Today, the possibility to explore any part of the ocean, has infinite chances that are all almost inevitable of

Bioluminescence − light produced by a living plant or animal − is one of nature’s great spectacles. If you’re lucky, you may have seen a summertime display by fireflies, members of the most well-known bioluminescent species in the United States. Meanwhile, on the other side of the world, a creature known as the firefly squid also provides a yearly light show. Gathering each year to spawn along the coast of Japan, these squid light up bays and shorelines with a brilliant wash of blue.

have Previously watched many ocean documentaries. One I found particularly interesting was David Attenburgs bio luminescent documentary, (I'll try to provide a link to it) This one, is also by him and I'm seeing some repeated scenes. In our course material it wasn't mentioned much, as far as the textbook goes. The creatures of the deep have large eyes and strong large jaws. I was surprised to hear how large the hairy angler was, I had always assumed angler fish where small, about the size of a prawn. I was surprised at there being walking sea urchins, they look very strange. The mushroom coral looks to be a coral that could be used to repopulate the planet in case the coral there went extinct. I find it pretty amazing that there are such large

Blue light is around 475 nm and is able to radiate the longest distance of any colour through the open ocean (Widder 2010). Interestingly, the most sensitive wavelengths for detection by deep-sea fish and shrimp is blue light wavelengths (Haddock & Case 1999). Green light, which has a wavelength of around 510 nm, is said to be more commonly emitted by marine organisms residing in turbid environments or those that have chlorophyll as it has a longer wavelength than blue light and is does not attenuate by scatter as easily after short distances. These environments could be shallow or benthic (Haddock & Case 1999; Widder 1010). Benthic environments include the ocean floor and are at a lower depth than the pelagic zone. Coelenterazine is perfectly suited for luminescence in the open ocean as it produces blue light at a maximum of 470-480 nm. The emission of blue light by the bioluminescence reaction of this imidazolopyrazine luciferin is almost wholly based on its own structure with subtle sway by the luciferase reactant (Rees et al.

Today I read an article on bioluminescence. Bioluminescence occurs when two types of chemicals come together to create a chemical reaction. Luciferin and either luciferase or photoprotein come together with oxygen it combines to form a different chemical that shows off the light. Bioluminescence can be found mostly in marine life, for example fish, bacteria, and jelly. It can be found on land in fireflies, fungi and railroad worm. Bioluminescence has been adapted to ade in many different task from mating, hunt prey, defending from predators and more! In the article it talked about how humans could use bioluminescence in everyday life as a safer alternative to light.

The ocean covers 71 percent of the Earth’s surface, making the deep ocean one of the most expansive habits. Although the ocean is extremely large, it is largely undiscovered; there has been more people that have traveled to the moon than have gone to the depths of the ocean. Depth and light are inversely related, so the deeper in the ocean one goes the less light is able to reach to that point. Organisms that have called the depths of the ocean their home have adapted to the extreme conditions in quite peculiar ways. Because red light is the first frequency of light filtered out by the depth of water, deep sea jellies have evolved bodies that produce red light that effectively makes them appear black because there is no red light to reflect.

People marvel at the colors that organisms are able to emit naturally. Bioluminescence is not as simple as it seems. To people out of the scientific field, bioluminescence is like a natural light show, but to the organisms, it is a way of life. Bioluminescence is not there to make organisms pretty, it is there for the organism to use to its own advantage. In organisms, bioluminescence is used for camouflage, attraction, repulsion, communication, and illumination (webexhibits.org). Bioluminescence for an organism can determine its survival or downfall in its habitat. Learning about the uses of bioluminescence in organisms helps people understand how other organisms live in order to survive. When they understand other lifestyles from organisms, they get a better understanding and respect for the natural world. With the study of bioluminescence, scientists have become more cautious with the natural habitats of deep sea organisms. With a better understanding, people learn more about the organisms living around them and they become more aware of the natural habitats of earth. (Add more reasons to support

The next layer of the pelagic zone is the mesopelagic, this subzone extends from 200-1000 meters deep. There is very little light, not enough for photosynthesis. This layer, also called the twilight zone is home to fish such as; big scale fish, ctenophores, firefly squid, hatchet fish, snipe eels and siphonophores. These fish have some odd adaptations, one example would be the firefly squid. The squid has four photophores which emit light. These photophores are

The animal has a pattern formed by its dark purple veins. This specific dive assisted researchers discover 40 new varieties of Nudibranch near the harbor of Puerto Galera in the Philippines. But you don’t have to go to remote parts of the world to find new species; the entire ocean is alive, new species of coral is also being discovered. Coral is usually not recognized as living, and is only really mentioned when ships sail too close to shore and sink after running into coral reefs; but coral isn’t only found in the shallows. Biologist Thomas Shirley and a group of scientist of the Harte Research Institute at Texas A&M University conducted a deep sea coral expedition of the coast of Canada. By using a mini submersibles to closely study deep sea coral and compare them to shallow water corals; Shirley learning that deep sea corals grows anywhere from one and a half meters to three meters high in large pastures. Also deep sea coral form colonies instead of reefs like shallow water coral; these colonies contain thousands of animals such as fish, crabs, and shrimp. Some coral down in the depths produce bioluminescence, little pulses of light which are usually either blue or green whenever a fish or other animals rub alongside it when passing by.

Cold is encircling you, and the deeper you go, the tighter it squeezes. There’s enough light for you to see a dark, looming shape weaving back and forth through the water, slowly heading toward you. It aggressively opens its mouth, ready to gulp you down its starving stomach, and its teeth seem to sparkle with hunger. But something else catches eye. Abruptly bolting past you, it swiftly devours a fish twice its size. Welcome to the Pelagic zone. Large organisms roam this open space, and this is perhaps why another name for it is the Open-ocean zone. Including numerous subzones, this limitless territory has includes the subzones of the epipelagic, mesopelagic, bathypelagic, and abyssopelagic. Despite being home to many large predators though, many species use it to spawn, grow to maturity, feed, and breed. Slightly or majorly morphing in order to survive in your surroundings, adapting, is required for this ever-changing environment, and phytoplankton, sunfish, and flying fish have become adept at this skill.

Eighty percent of all living things known to produce light Iive in the ocean. This is because the need for light is greater in the ocean than on land. In the ocean, it is darker. Animals use bioluminescence for many things, like finding food, letting out an alert symbol, talking to other animals, luring in food, finding mates, and even cloaking themselves. The most infamous ocean animal with bioluminescence is the anglerfish. The anglerfish uses a bioluminescent sack on its head, named the esca, that's full of bioluminescent bacteria to lure in unsuspecting prey. In the opposite role of using bioluminescence, is the deep sea shrimp, also known as “Acanthephyra Purpurea”. This creature spews a bioluminescent goop from its mouth when in danger. The goop sticks to the predator, which then attracts the predator’s predators, while the shrimp swims away. A different technique of escaping predators is of the brittle sea star. The brittle sea star can glow all over, and when threatened can detach a glowing limb to distract a predator. The brittle sea star, like all starfish, can regrow limbs.