Bioluminescence

{ Genevieve & Meghan

  Production and emission of light by a biological
organism.
 Some Insects, fungi, fish, many marine
invertebrates, and some microorganisms.
 This is a naturally occurring form of
chemiluminescence (the chemical emission of
photons with limited heat emission).
 An enzyme releases a chemical pigment called
luciferin, this chemical reacts with oxygen to create
light with very little heat.

Bioluminescence
Habitats

 Organisms in the ocean that use

bioluminescence live at all
depths of the ocean
 Sensitive photomultipliers have
detected light from organisms at
a depth of 3 750 metres
Flashlight fish with bioluminescent
 Dinoflagellates have some of the organs filled with red bacteria
brightest flashes and create
intense light in the euphotic zone
Dinoflagellate
  Found here in Bonne Bay, just around the corner
 Large group of protists
 Marine & fresh water habitat

Some Dinoflagellates are

bioluminescent
Dinoflagellates
 Luminescence in the deep sea is
a powerful tool utilised by many
organisms for attracting prey,
discouraging predators,
communication and attracting Deep sea squid using bioluminescent
mates bacteria to their advantage by finding
each other in the dark
 Another use is to offset the surrounding twilight in
order to blend in. An exact match is barely
detectable by predators.
 This is done by lantern-fish with their ventral
photophores
 This deters predators

Lantern Fish
 Angler fish use an illuminated
lure to attracted prey
 Their bioluminescence is a result
of a symbiotic relationship with
bacteria, the exact specifics are
not known.

Angler Fish
 Genes spliced with
jellyfish

Just for fun