“Only after this pore develops do bacteria inhabit the lure once it comes in contact with sea water,” explains Freed.Ī female adult anglerfish from the Linophryne family collected in the northern region of the Gulf of Mexico. Judging by their undeveloped esca, female anglerfish larvae don’t appear to have the real estate for luminescent bacteria at a young life stage. This means that each species of anglerfish has a specific species of bacterium it’s paired with.” However, no one knows how many unique species of luminescent bacteria there are in total.ĭespite uncertainty around bacteria taxonomy, Freed admits there’s an even bigger mystery at hand-“It’s really hazy how these fishes are getting their bacteria in the first place.” “We’ve known that bacteria occupy the lure of female anglerfishes since studies made in the 50’s,” says master’s candidate Lindsey Freed, “but as for determining the actual species of bacteria? That’s more recent.”Īccording to Freed, who studies marine biology at Nova Southeastern University, “Bacterial symbionts vary between species of anglerfish. Tiny glowing bacteria called Photobacterium, take up residence in the anglerfish’s esca (the “lure”), a highly variable structure at the end of its “fishing rod.” In exchange, the bacteria gains protection and nutrients as the fish swims along.ĭory and Marlin encounter a hungry anglerfish in the animated feature film, Finding Nemo. If a predator looks up from below, the squid is able to seamlessly disappear among the starlight.Īrguably one of the most well-recognized creatures of the deep, some species of anglerfish have developed a creative workaround capitalizing off “borrowed” bioluminescence to attract and capture prey. "The squid emit ventral luminescence that is often very, very close to the quality of light coming from the moon and stars at night," explains Margaret McFall-Ngai, professor of medical microbiology and immunology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in an online article. Sea creatures like the bobtail squid are one of many that rely on symbiotic bacteria to help them illuminate the darkness. But what happens when a bioluminescent animal can’t make its own light? Some organisms, like the lanternfish, can produce the chemicals needed to maintain an onboard headlamp. It serves a few predictable purposes, like possibly signaling to members of the same species or illuminating prey, along with some capricious ones like the ability to eject luminescent body parts in order to distract a predator. It’s thought that 90 percent of open ocean organisms produce light of some kind, and that this ability that has evolved many times. Creatures that live beyond the Twilight Zone spend their lives almost entirely in a near-limitless black expanse, save for a group of luminous fishes, invertebrates and bacteria that have evolved a special adaptation: bioluminescence.īioluminescence is the predominant source of light in the largest fraction of the habitable volume of the earth-the deep ocean. Descend two hundred meters (about 656 feet) below the surface and the ocean is reduced to total darkness.
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