Hi, I'm Danielle and you're watching Animal Logic: Second Nature.
[man] How can light, in
nature, undisciplined be harnessed for communications?
[♪♪♪] The light it generates
is a kind of light never before known on Earth.
Bioluminescence. The evolution of
being able to light up. This mesmerizing ability is
found in a myriad of species around the world.
From deep sea fish, to cave dwelling worms,
to the fireflies you might see in your backyard.
Yet, despite this shared phenomena,
many of these species came about it individually.
[man] There is special interest in a
special kind of lightwave. In other centuries, they would
have called it magic. [♪♪♪]
Bioluminescence has evolved in dozens of species
found in habitats around the world.
This is called convergent evolution;
when species not closely related develop similar traits
and abilities to deal with their environments.
Bioluminescence is the result of a chemical reaction
between two chemicals; luciferin and luciferase.
[man] Another pathway to
research in the spinning worlds of atomic structure.
When luciferin is oxidized in the presence of a catalyst
- the photoprotein luciferase, it produces light!
The intensity of the light is reflective of the velocity
of the enzyme-substrate reaction.
This reaction produces a cool light
that creates very little heat. Yet luciferin is not native to
all bioluminescent species. Several species absorb
luciferin by eating species that do produce it, or by
form symbiotic relationships with them.
[man] The ocean floor is
a dream world. Silent, vast, mystic, unreal,
lonely beyond words. Beauty that haunts
the majesty all its own. Inhabited by strange,
weird creatures, like this great sea anemone.
[Danielle] The majority of bioluminescent
animals live in the ocean, as freshwater is too murky
for their glow to be effective. These marine organisms tend to
produce light at the lower end of the spectrum, blue light,
as it travels furthest in the water.
Terrestrial animals, like fireflies,
often produce a yellow light, as that''s the colour to which
they have the most sensitivity. [man]
A jumble of waves of different sizes and colours
radiating outwards in wild disorder.
[Danielle] Despite it''s similarity
in unrelated species, bioluminescence is used
in many different ways. [man]úNow you notice t
hat his head is being screwed on tight. He really does need
that down under the water. You've heard of fountain
pens that write underwater, well this is a camera that
takes pictures underwater, which is an even
harder trick to perform. [Danielle]
Deep in the ocean lives a creature that has remained
virtually unchanged The Vampire Squid.
[man] Merciful powers,
what's this eerie shape? [Danielle]
This deep sea marvel is neither vampire, nor squid,
and instead scavenges the depths for organic matter.
When threatened by a predator, it will turn itself inside out,
hoping to scare it off with it''s sinister appearance.
Having no ink sacks, as a last resort,
the vampire squid will release a burst of bioluminescent mucus,
startling it''s predator as the squid escapes.
Sea Cucumbers and Brittle Stars don''t have bioluminescent mucus
to distract their predators, but they don''t let that stop them.
[Danielle] When threatened they can
detach bioluminescent parts of their bodies,
confusing their predators as they limp
their way to safety. [♪♪♪]
Some comb jellies are bioluminescent,
but it's not the ones you might think.
[Danielle] Many comb jellies simply
appear bioluminescent. When they have a
light shone on them, their rippling combs
catch the light and reflect it in gorgeous rainbow patterns.
Those comb jellies that are bioluminescent,
use the ability as a defence. [Danielle]
When threatened by a predator, they will emit a flash of light,
in hopes of startling their attacker whilst they escape.
[man] Similar tiny beams of light are
entering your own eyes. Bioluminescence is not
always used in defence, sometimes it's used to hide.
Lantern sharks like to combine these two strategies.
[Danielle] They have bioluminescent
organs along their abdomen, which they use to
replicate the colour of the sky. With little in the
deep sea to blend into, colour matching with the
sky is an excellent way to hide from predators or
prey beneath you. This is called
counter illumination. But lantern sharks also
have light emitting cells on their spines.
They use these to warn predators that they''re dangerous.
[Danielle] The theory is that their deep
sea predators have better sight than their prey, and their
prey won''t see their dimly lit spines until it''s too late.
[man]úThe organs actually attract prey when they're feeding in
the deeper zones of the ocean. It brings prey to them, which
they then can prey upon. [Danielle]
This is aposematism, and it''s quite common
among the bioluminescent. [man]
The scientist is an explorer. Moving day by day, from the
known, to the unknown. [Danielle]
Millipedes in the motyxia genus, found in California,
produce cyanide. In order to warn predators
that there is more to them than meets the eye, these
millipedes glow blue at night. Similarly, railroad worms
employ a series of yellowish-green lights on
their sides to warn predators that they''re toxic.
Though some species feature a red light on their heads,
which they use when they're hunting.
This acts as a headlight for the railroad worm,
but to their prey, they''re invisible,
as most insects cannot see red. [man]
Now anybody who hasn't a firm grip on his emotions
had better not look anymore for something's going to happen
around here and I don't mean many.
Several species of dragonfish, including the
stoplight loosejaw, and it is what it sounds like,
employ a very similar strategy. They produce a red
light that helps them hunt, which their prey
is unable to see. [man]
A light, ten million times brighter than the light
on the surface of the sun. [Danielle]
What''s most interesting though is that loosejaws
can''t naturally see red light, and they need to eat copious
amounts of copepods in order to get the required
pigments to see red. [man]
Fish from hell, that's what you are.
[Danielle] Sperm whales also
employ bioluminescence in order to find prey,
though not directly. Instead of eating
bioluminescent plankton, they use it as a lure.
When a fish that does eat plankton approaches,
the plankton shines, alerting the sperm whales
that their meal has arrived. [man]
Science itself cannot know the total promise, for it stands now
only at the threshold of its exploration.
Yet, this narrow pathway of light, leads surely to tomorrow.
[Danielle] Deep in the caves of New Zealand
live one of the world''s most mesmerizing species. The Glow Worm.
Inside the Waitomo caves, these worms produce thousands
of gorgeous blue dots that look like a fantastical night''s sky.
But their beauty is part of their trap.
These glowing larvae use their bioluminescence to lure prey
into their sticky silk threads, trapping them,
before pulling them up towards their mouths and devouring them.
[man] In this submerged world,
where unreal lights play across the ocean floor.
Strange fish peer out of unexpected corners.
Forests of gently undulating seaweed, spotty shells,
which at the touch of the divers foot
become animate and scuttle away. Possibly the most famous
bioluminescent creature also uses lures.
The Deep Sea female Angler Fish. These monstrous looking deep sea
hunters feature a bioluminescent lure which they use to not
only attract prey, but mates. Angler fish are
incredibly sexually dimorphic, and while the females look like
something out of the mind of H.R Giger, the males
are tiny and bland. These males spend their entire
lives searching for a female to mate with, and her
having a glowing lure certainly helps.
[man] A beam of light more intense
and more precisely directed than has ever been produced in mans history.
Fireflies employ a similar strategy.
[Danielle] Male fireflies use
bioluminescence to light up in different patterns to tell
females that they''re single and ready to mingle.
Though sometimes it''s a trap. Some females will light up
using a pattern of a different, smaller, species.
When a male arrives to mate with her,
the larger, female firefly will eat him.
They''re real femme fatales. [woman]
So you see, woman need to know as much about science
as some men do. Next time on
Animalogic: Second Nature, you''ll be meeting my
co-host Jess Keating. She''s an illustrator,
author, and zoologist, and all around cool person.
She will be guiding you through the scary world
of parasitic zombication. [Danielle]
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What should we talk about next? Please let me know
in the comments, and be sure to subscribe for
new episodes every week. Thanks for watching. [man]
These interesting mechanics of the lens
are not generally known and the facts presented here
have only recently been accepted by science.