A thousand meter dive into the ocean ,you are blinded as there is no light reaching these vast depths (if you aren’t dead already by the pressure, of course), when you spot a pulsating light. You creep in to investigate and suddenly , “SNAP!”. You just had a friendly encounter with an Anglerfish.
The lure (or the Esca) of the Anglerfish was due to bioluminescence, a chemical reaction which produces light energy within the body of an organism. A whopping 76% of ocean’s animals are bioluminescent.
Most creatures produce bioluminescence due to the reaction between two chemicals luciferase and luciferin and others like the Anglerfish exercise a symbiotic relationship with bioluminescent bacteria in their light organs.
GLOWING OCEANIC LIFE :
The bodies of firefly squids is covered with photophores (bioluminescent organs) emitting a blue-green light which they use to attract prey like small fish. But evolution didn’t stop just there , these squids can glow with varying intensities to camouflage ,by a phenomenon known as counter-illumination. For example ,they grow brighter as they ascent to shallower water, matching the faint glow of moonlight.
The green bomber worm uses light to startle it’s predators by dropping a bioluminescent bomb, exploding it’s light producing organs when it feels threatened.
The siphonophore Erenna Sirena, a close cousin to jellyfish wiggles, its luminescent lures to attract unsuspecting fishes. A dazzling display of predatory prowess.
In the case of Photeros annecohenae the males perform dazzling little dances ,emitting bright blue pulses of light in hope of attracting potential female mates.
The ‘Milky seas’ are a result of the conglomeration of trillions of bioluminescent bacteria giving the water an incandescent blue colour, sometimes visible even from space.
When observed almost all bioluminescent organisms are blue. Blue light, due to its intermediate wavelength it travels the farthest in water whereas long wavelengths such as red are absorbed.
Thus, through the adaptation of bioluminescence light exists in fathomless depths of the aphotic zone. Once again, marking the victory of life over extreme circumstances.
The ingenious of this very evolution is that unlike 85% of the world’s energy usage , bioluminescence is made from renewable energy.So there is a possibility that in the far or very near future that your city will be illuminated using genetically modified bioluminescent trees!
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