Science
Bioluminescence in Deep Sea Creatures
Did you know that ninety percent of deep sea dwellers are able to give off light straight from their bodies? The light emission from a living organism in the ocean is known as bioluminescence. As a human race we need to dig deeper into the study of these creatures in hopes of fully understanding what bioluminescence is, why is it being used, and how can it help us.
Bioluminescence is a mixture of chemicals inside a living thing that glows and generally lives in the twilight zone of the ocean. Bioluminescence consists of, “Two different kinds of light emission, luminescence is when chemical compounds mix together and glow. Incandescence is a filament inside the creature that gets very hot and emits light.” (Wilson, Tracy). Bioluminescence is mostly chemistry and how different chemicals mix together to give off different appearances. Luciferin produces light, while luciferase is a catalyst which often needs a charged ion to activate it. Life in the sea most often use coelenterazine, a type of luciferin. These particular animals live in the deeper parts of the ocean like the twilight zone.
These animals can’t function in the shallows of the ocean, so they retreat to the depths. The twilight zone is 660 to 3030 feet deep which means, “The only light that reaches where these fish are is a blue greenish color which gets absorbed by plant, so most of the light they give off is red” (Haddock). This scientist is describing the world of color or lack of that these special creatures face. The light in this zone is usually red due to the fact that there is not a lot of light the plants absorb the blue and green and animal life then give off a red light. These creatures use thi...
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... Sylvia. Darlene Crist. Gail Scowdoft. James Harding. World Ocean Census. New York; Firefly Books Ltd. 2009. Print
Haddock, S.H.D.; McDougall, C.M.; Case, J.F. “The Bioluminescence Web Page”, http://lifesci.ucsb.edu/~biolum/
Knowlton, Nancy. Citizens of the Sea, Wondrous Creatures from the Census of Marine Life. Washington DC: National Geographic Society, 2006. Print.
McInnis, Joseph. James Cameron’s Aliens of the Deep. Washington DC. National Geographic Society. 2003. Print.
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Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology. "Bioluminescence Imaging Used For Eye Cancer Detection." Science Daily. Science Daily, 14 October 2009. .
Enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) was originally isolated from a bioluminescent jellyfish called Aequorea victoria. As suggested by the name, this protein fluoresces green when exposed to light in the ultraviolet range. The ultimate goal of the following experiment was to successfully create a pET41a(+)/EGFP recombinant plasmid that was transformed into live E. coli cells. The success of this transformation could be evaluated based on whether EGFP’s fluorescence properties were displayed by the colony in question. The protein’s fluorescence properties “triggered the widespread and growing use of GFP as a reporter for gene expression and protein localization in a broad variety of organisms” (Ormo, et. al., 1996). Although EGFP and GFP differ for a few amino acids that make EGFP’s fluorescence mildly stronger, the basic principle that such a protein allows for the evaluation of transformation success remains intact.
In this entertaining, search into global fish hatcheries, New York Times writer Paul Greenberg investigates our historical connection with the ever changing ocean and the wild fish within it. In the beginning of the book Paul is telling his childhood fishing stories to his friends, that night Paul discovers that that four fish dominate the world’s seafood markets in which are salmon, tuna, cod, and bass. He tries to figure out why this is and the only logical answer he could come up with is that four epochal shifts caused theses wild fish population to diminish. History shows that four epochal shifts happen within fifteen years causing certain fish species populations to diminish. He discovers for each of the four fish why this happened to
An example of bioluminescence is a firefly. The production of light in bioluminescent animals is caused by converting chemical energy to light energy (Bioluminescence, 1 of 1). In a firefly, oxygen, luciferin, luciferase (an enzyme), and ATP combine in the light organ in a chemical reaction that creates cold light (Johnson, 42). This bright, blinking light helps the male firefly attract female fireflies as a possible mate. Other examples of bioluminescent organisms are fungi, earthworms, jellyfish, fish, and other sea creatures (Berthold Technologies, 1 of 2).
So you’re under about 2,000 tons of pressure, you’re eyes are blinded as the dark water wraps you into a gigantic bear hug. You’re body is overwhelmed with pain and unbearable agony. You’re scared to death as you see a flash of light revealing a mouthful of sharp teeth. After you know this, do you think any other animals could survive here in the abyssal zone? You’re probably thinking that animals have to be very highly adapted to live there. Well, you’re right! An adaptation is a change in the body to survive in a certain area or environment. The place where these fish live is in the abyssal zone of the ocean, which is the deepest part of the ocean. The abyssal zone has very extreme cold temperatures. It also has about 2,000 tons of pressure. No sunlight reaches the abyssal zone, so animals have to produce their own light.
Many living organisms in nature display fluorescent pigments. More than 180 different species of fluorescent fishes have been identified. The red fluorescence of ruby is caused by trivalent chromium, Divalent manganese accounts for the red or orange fluorescence in calcite and also for the green fluorescence of willemite. Natural aurora is another effect of fluorescence. The molecules and ions that are formed in high-altitude nuclear explosions and rocket-borne electron gun experiments, have a fluorescent response to light.
"Ocean Pollution." MarineBio Conservation Society ~ Marine Biology, Ocean Life Conservation, Sea Creatures, Biodiversity, Research... Web. 19 May 2014.
Second, some corals in New Caledonia were found fluorescing with vivid colors. This is in fact a chemical sunscreen they secrete in order to protect themselves from the heat they are experiencing. In a way, their brilliance can be a tool for people to notice them and their current situation or as what one scientist said in the film, it is an “incredible and beautiful face of death”.
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Deep sea is the largest ecosystem on Earth and it exhibited a large diversity of life forms that appeared to be bizarre and curious to both general and scientific communities. The sediment samples obtained from deep seas were usually containing fecal pellets (released by animals lived in photic zone of ocean), foraminiferan tests, as well as organic matters.
Light is a quintessential feature that affects jellyfish perception to environmental stimuli to communicate within their environment. As mentioned before, jellyfish
Their eyes track the movement of objects through something called an Optokinetic Pursuit system (Sandeman and Atwood 1982). This is a type of reflex that allows the organism to translate other animals’ movement through a series of controllable stimuli, also allowing it to determine what direction those animals are going in as well as how fast (Sandeman and Atwood 1982). This way, they can move around in the dark and take advantage of the fact that their predators, which include many species of fish and Gray whales, cannot actually see in the dark and prevent themselves from being
Fungi make up an intriguing and esoteric kingdom; bioluminescent mushrooms offer a perfect example. Of the 71 glowing mushroom types, Armillaria mellea (honey mushrooms) comprise the most common North American variety. All species emit a green to blue light that differs
Lotze, Heike K., Marta Coll, Anna M. Magera, Christine Ward-Paige, and Laura Airoldi. "Recovery of Marine Animal Populations and Ecosystems." Trends in Ecology & Evolution 26.11 (2011): 595-605. Print.
Toufexis Anastasia, Andrea Dorfman, Eugene Linden, and Edwin M. Reingold. "The Dirty Seas Threatened by Rising Pollution, the Oceans Are Sending out an SOS." Time 132.5 (1988): 1-8. MasterFILE Complete. Web. 16 Apr. 2014.
“Light availability activities that increase erosion or stir up the bottom cloud the water and reduce light penetration.” The sun is a chief element to water, when the sun’s light reflects into water, it absorbs, supplements, and produces plants, living and non-living community underwater life. The light penetrated into the rivers or sea, it determines the life span of aquatic life. Light can penetrate transparent water better than murkier water, therefore providing more nutrients to the aquatic ecosystem allowing it to flourish. The murkier the water is the less supplements the community receives therefore an insufficient life span it crates.