Bioluminescence Explained | Lights of the Deep Sea

[Music] life in the deep sea is unique for a reason here pressure is immense waters are cold and below 3300 feet down there is no sunlight creatures that live beyond the twilight zone spend their lives in an expanse of darkness but although there may be no sunlight in the deep sea many organisms have used this feature to their advantage developing a remarkable adaptation in order to communicate with others hunt and confuse predators these twinkling flashing pulsating lights are caused by the process of bioluminescence the result of a chemical reaction that produces light energy within the body of an organism it is a common feature of many marine organisms a single adaptation uniting vastly different creatures from bacteria and algae to cephalopods and sharks there are 1 500 species of fish alone that are able to luminesce and the fact that so many different organisms have this ability is evidence of convergent evolution in which bioluminescence has evolved multiple times on at least 40 separate occasions this suggests that down in the deep sea it is a highly beneficial adaptation to have contributing to the success of organisms by allowing them to communicate find a mate and attract prey among other useful behaviors [Music] more than half of the ocean's jellyfish antenna for species produce bioluminescence in some form this comb jelly moves by beating its shimmering hair-like cilia and can produce bright flashes to startle predators their relatives siphonophores release glowing particles into the water to confuse the predator one particular sophonophor variety known as irena cyrena lures its prey by wiggling glowing bioluminescent lures the spindle-shaped body of the firefly squid is covered in bioluminescent organs called photophores that emit a blue green light in the case of these shimmering cephalopods they utilize the adaptation to attract prey such as small fish down in the gloomy mesopelagic zone but they also demonstrate another evolutionary phenomenon counter illumination a form of camouflage in which they light up in varying intensities to match the ambient light around them for example they glow brighter as they ascend to shallower waters at night the color they emit matches the faint glow of moonlight from the surface meaning they can blend in with their surroundings whether it is dark or light and hide themselves from predators in much of the open ocean there is no concealment so animals must adapt to be able to hide in the wide open this unique skill is helped by the fact that firefly squid are the only cephalopods to see in color so they are able to distinguish between the ambient light and their own bioluminescence firefly squid gather at the surface in large numbers from march until may during their spawning season here at toyama bay in japan they bathe the beaches in an eerie blue glow lighting up particularly bright in order to attract their mate however not all bioluminescent creatures are able to produce their own light themselves a common example of this is the case of the female anglerfish unlike some creatures they rely on a symbiosis with bioluminescent bacteria called photobacterium which move into the anglerfish's eska or law potentially by entering through a pore that develops in adult anglerfish the fish provides protection for the bacteria in exchange the bacterial symbiont produces the bioluminescent glow that the anglerfish could not otherwise produce thus we find these fish displaying glowing bacteria-filled orbs that protrude from their bodies which lead wandering prey astray with eery lights towards their doom much like the mythological willow the wisp finding a mate can be hard in the vast dark depths so the far smaller male anglerfish also makes use of the luminous bacteria within the females as a means of locating them in the expanse of the deep sea in most cases however an organism itself will contain the chemicals needed to luminesce in order for bioluminescence to occur a species must contain a molecule called luciferin when luciferin reacts with oxygen it produces light organisms are able to regulate their chemistry in order to control when they light up as well as how bright and what color this is useful as different situations will benefit from differences in the way their light is expressed this is the green bomber worm a tiny pollock worm that uses light to startle predators by dropping a bioluminescent bomb exploding its light producing organs when it feels threatened one common feature that is present in almost all bioluminescent organisms is the color of their lights blue but it isn't mere coincidence that all these creatures have evolved to emit the same color light it is because blue light travels furthest in water with its intermediate wavelength visible lights with very long wavelengths like red or very short wavelengths are absorbed faster and filtered out the very same phenomenon is responsible for the ocean appearing blue some creatures can use this feature of differently coloured light to their advantage like the bloody belly comb jelly which lights up red to make itself invisible to predators furthermore the fact that most bioluminescence is blue in the deep sea is linked to the vision of deep sea organisms many of which do not have color vision but rather they have a single blue sensitive visual pigment having eyes that are highly sensitive to blue light is useful for detecting luminous prey as well as potential mates this explains the large eyes found in many deep sea creatures like the barrel eye an adaptation that enables them to absorb as much light as possible overall bioluminescence is an adaptation that drives many of the processes in the deep sea for it is used by many creatures flashing and glowing for many different reasons used for repelling predators luring prey and seducing potential mates bioluminescence underpins a coruscating dance of life death and sex in the deep sea thanks for watching check out the brand new deep sea hub over on our website for more facts and footage about the deep sea see you next time [Music] you

Channel: Natural World Facts

Views: 129,557

Keywords: glowing fish, bioluminescence, bioluminessense, bioluminessence, glowing animals, deep sea wonders, deep sea, deep sea lights, new years, deep sea fireworks, deep sea creatures, weird creatures, bioluminescence in the ocean

Id: vZ0pTp5Vt-Q

Length: 8min 34sec (514 seconds)

Published: Tue Dec 15 2020

Reddit Comments

[u/Oodson]

Another great video! I really like the topics you choose and the way you give a broad range of info about them. Keep it up 👍

[u/Skittles-n-vodka]

Thanks that was a trip

Gonna go play Flow now

[u/DiFrenze]

Wow, nice video! The bomber worm thing looks especially creepy!