Bioluminescence
I. Introduction
A. Bioluminescence is the production of light by an organism. It is the capability of an organism to produce an emit light through chemical means.
B. Bioluminescence is a cold light. This means that less than 20% of the light creates thermal radiation.
C. Many animals use bioluminescence to defend themselves, attract mates, and lure prey.
II. How Bioluminescence Works
A. Luciferin
1. A luciferin is a light-producing substance
B. Luciferase
1. A luciferase is an enzyme that catalyzes the reaction
C. Other Substances Used
1. Oxygen
2. Adenosine triphosphate (ATP)
3. Sometime uses a photoprotein rather than a luciferase
D. How these substances work together to create bioluminescence
III. Function/ Use of Bioluminescence
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Defense against predators
1. Can be used as a decoy/distraction
C. Communication
1. Mating
D. Camouflage
1. Squids use bioluminescence to match the light above them to make it difficult for prey to detect them from below.
E. Repulsion
1. Certain squids and crustaceans use bioluminescence to make clouds of luminescence to repel predators
IV. Appearance/ Colors
A. Color is based on the chemistry
1. What causes what colors
B. Land animals mostly bioluminesce in green or yellow colors, sometimes red.
1. fireflies
C. Ocean animals mostly bioluminesce in blue-green or green colors
1. Because all light colors do not transmit equally through the water
2. Blue-green light transmits the best through ocean water
V. Dinoflagellates
A. Most common source of bioluminescence at the surface of the ocean.
B. Unicellular protists
1. planktonic
C. Cause the ocean to have a sparkling appearance at night
D. Emit blue-green light
VI. Counterillumination
A. Form of bioluminescence used to camouflage
1. Makes it difficult differentiate from the light above
a. Squid
VII. Misconceptions
A. Bioluminescence is caused mostly by bacteria
1. Actually: bacteria can bioluminesce but most bioluminescent animals have chemicals absorbed in their bodies to produce
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Bioluminescence is the same as “fluorescence”
1. Actually: Fluorescence is “luminescence that is cause by the absorption of radiation at one wavelength at one wavelength followed by nearly immediately reradiation usually at a different wavelength and that ceases almost at once when the incident radiation stops,” Merriam-Webster dictionary. This basically means turning on and off a light switch. Fluorescence is what is used in lightbulbs.
C. Bioluminescence is the same as phosphorescence
1. Actually: Phosphorescence is similar to fluorescence but more stable. The time until energy is released is much longer. This results in an afterglow. Phosphorescence is used in glow-in-the-dark stickers.
D. Arrow Worms are the only plankton that are not bioluminescent
1. Actually: While most arrow worms (also known as Chaetognatha) do not, there is one species that does in fact bioluminesce when they are disturbed.
VIII. Bioluminescent Organisms
A. Land Organisms
1. Fireflies, fungi, glow worms, Railroad worms, foxfire etc.
B. Marine
5. The difference between chemiluminescence and fluorescence is the origin of energy used for the light emission. The energy source for fluorescence arises from the excited electron falling back to its ground state, emitting light. This energy is emitted as light when it is absorbed at a higher frequency and then released at a lower frequency visible to humans. The energy source of chemiluminescence comes from the breaking, forming, or restructuring of chemical bonds in a
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.
How does it work? Glow sticks produce light using a process known as chemiluminescence. Chemiluminescence is the production of light energy from a chemical reaction without the use of heat or a flame.
The closest to the surface is the epipelagic subzone stretches to about 200m. This zone has enough sunlight and nutrients for bigger marine creatures like tuna, sharks, giant jellyfish and predator fishes. The second subzone, the mesopelagic, also known as the twilight zone, with the depth of 200m to 1000m; this zone has barely sunlight. The insufficient of sunlight prohibits organisms to perform photosynthesis in the twilight zone. Surviving in the twilight zone is about seeing and not being seen. These organisms need to be able to see their prey, but they should not be spotted by their predators. The next subzone is the bathypelagic ranging from 1000 to 4000 m, containing bioluminescent marine organisms which create light, like hatchet fish and squid. Below 150m, photosynthesis is impossible; hence there are only animals and no plants in this region and below. The animals living in the bathypelagic zone solely rely on detritus for food or on eating other animals. At this depth and pressure, the animals most commonly found are fish, mollusks, crustaceans, and jellyfish.Red, black and bioluminescent animals in this appear as completely black to others since there is very little to no light penetration at this depth. Following the bathypelagic is the abyssopelagic zone, locating with the depth of 4,000m, it is
Furthermore, there are aquatic organisms such as the mantis shrimp that has an estimated 12-16 photoreceptor cells. In the presence of the 750 nm wavelength of light that humans cone cells aren’t sensitive enough to signal an observation, the mantis shrimps red cone cells are sensitive to this wavelength of light and can absorb the wavelengths to send a response to their brain. In the presence of UV-B (290-320 nm) wavelengths, humans blue cone cells aren’t sensitive enough or able to absorb enough of the light to signal a response to their brain. Whereas the Mantis Shrimp has various photo receptors that are sensitive to these
Being able to see in the dark often does not come easy. For humans, we typically need to find a flashlight, and more times than not, find new batteries to power the device. For animals, it can be different. Some animals may see fine and night, and some animals have large eyes like owls that capture lots of light, and some animals use other senses to gather information about their surroundings. We humans on the other hand are left fumbling for candles when the power is out for any length of time. But there are some life forms that have a completely different approach – bioluminescent life forms. Bioluminescence life forms make their own light and carry it around in their bodies. This paper will address bioluminescence and try to
Therefore, there are two major challenges that organisms living in this zone would face had they not evolved with the proper adaptations. One problem is that there is scarce light that penetrates this zone, making it difficult for animals to avoid predators. A trait that many organisms bear to solve this issue is being bioluminescent. Bioluminescence is the ability for an organism to produce light via the reaction of chemicals. Bioluminescence is an example of a convergent trait as it is a common trait that evolved independently among different animals who must adapt to similar environments. Therefore the development of these same features are not due to a common ancestor but rather a result of their shared environment. One way is that animals generate light through specialized organs called photophores and the other way is that they are able to host bacteria that harvest light through functional sacs that illuminate. The bioluminescent ostracod, a small crustacean, exhibits this trait by secreting a trail of glowing dots as it swims through the Gulf of California. The female bolitaenid harbors a bioluminescent ring surrounding its mouth as a tactic to lure male mating partners. The Johnson Black Anglerfish emits a glow from its head to invite prey. The lantern fish resides primarily in the Red Sea and utilizes photophores on the ventral side of its stomach as well as a light on its nasal
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
Derived from the ancestral mollusk, the squid has evolved to better suit its environment and therefore thrive and reproduce fertile offspring more effectively. This process is known as natural selection, which leads to evolution or a change in allele frequency from generation to generation. The phenotype of the squid appears completely to its ancestral form; the new variations have occurred. Some examples of these pre-existing variations in squids are the lack of an outer shell, fusion of its head and foot, siphon, tentacles, location of its mouth, and its skin. The squid lacks an outer shell; instead, it is instead underneath its skin. The function of this is that the squid doesn’t need protection from
Creatures of all habitats and ways of life may have the capacity to use this ability. From the bottom of the ocean floor to the plains of the windy desert, the variability of these illuminating creatures knows no bounds. When it comes to earthbound animals, certain Arthropods, Mycetophilid Flies, Centipedes, and Millipedes share this ability with Fireflies, Click Beetles, Glow Worms, Railroad Worms, Quantula Stirata and Annelids. Furthermore, there are also animals with these features found within the ocean. The fish included but not limited to are the Cookiecutter Shark, Anglerfish, Flashlight Fish, Gulper Eel, Black Dragonfish, Cat Shark, Lanternfish, Midshipman Fish, Pineconefish, Viperfish, Marine Hatchetfish, but these aren’t the only marine creatures that retain this ability. Invertebrates such as Cnidarians, Coral, Sea Pens, certain Jellyfish, Ostracods, Copepods, Chaetognaths, Vampire Squid, Clams, Nudibranchs, Cephalopods, Krill, Molluscs, Octopuses, Bolitaenidae, Sepiolida, Teuthida, colossal squid, Mastigoteuthidae, and the sparkling Enope Squid are included in the list of species that possess bioluminescent qualities. Many species of Fungi and Bacteria are found with these illuminating qualities. From the microscopic bacteria, Photorhabdus luminescence to the Colossal Squid, the size and shape of these beings are nearly endless.
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