• Health
  • Science
  • U.S.
  • Technology
  • Business
  • World
  • Politics
  • Entertainment
  • Sports

Building a Better World

News and information

  • Home
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact Us
  • Our Team

Bioluminescent fish are more prevalent in our deep oceans than first thought

June 12, 2016 By Jenny Marchal

Bioluminescent fish are more prevalent in our deep oceans than first thought

Scientists have looked into the importance of bioluminescence in deep-sea dwelling creatures and found more information than they were expecting.

Most of us will never get to see the mysterious deep depths of our oceans but we know of bioluminescent fish that light up the dark waters. Scientists have now discovered bioluminescence is more common in fish than previously thought and has evolved a serious amount of times.

Researchers have studied the region known as the deep scattering layer, around 1,000 to 1,500 feet beneath the ocean’s surface, and found a plethora of glowing fish – an previously underestimated amount.

Bioluminescence is a chemical process used to produce light and has evolved in fish for communication, hiding from and confusing predators and also luring its prey. In fact it’s so important to these marine creatures that scientists have found the bioluminescence element has evolved independently around 27 times starting around 150 million years ago.

Matt Davis, an ichthyologist at St. Cloud State University in Minnesota, and lead the study says this research shows the significance of how the fish use and need light in the deep oceans.

“As you get deeper and deeper in the water column, it becomes less and less penetrable to sunlight. The only light many of these animals see is made from other organisms. When we see something that’s repeatedly evolving over and over again, that’s a good clue that it is of biological importance.”

Previous studies on bioluminescent organisms using Darwin’s Tree of Life model had shown that the ability to produce light had evolved 40 times, however this new study shows it happened many more times than that.

The study also found that fish that use bioluminescence for communication such as reproduction and feeding have managed to produce many more species than expected which they think comes down to the glowing light attracting mates with specific light displays attracting specific fish.

The study brings up many questions including how bioluminescent ability evolved in the first place and why it hasn’t evolved in freshwater fish living in dark caves.

The research was published in the journal PLOS One.

Sharing

Facebooktwittergoogle_plusredditpinterestlinkedintumblrmail

Filed Under: Front Page, Science

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Follow Us

Facebookrss

Search:

Recent Posts

  • NASA’s InSight spacecraft makes important course correction May 26, 2018
  • Scientists outraged at latest Trump decision May 15, 2018
  • Huge uproar erupts over major incident at Utah park May 13, 2018
  • Incredible moon discovery stuns scientists May 12, 2018
  • Authorities shocked by discovery about common painkiller May 6, 2018
  • Outrageous crocodile experiment stuns scientists May 5, 2018
  • Great Barrier Reef is too quiet, scientists say May 1, 2018
  • Massive Hiroshima bomb discovery shocks scientists May 1, 2018
  • Earth will be slammed by massive asteroid April 29, 2018
  • Teens are doing something incredibly alarming in schools April 29, 2018
  • Huge discovery in Tasmania stuns scientists April 28, 2018
  • Shocking discovery in New Jersey stuns authorities April 22, 2018
  • Huge volcanic explosion could wipe out the United States April 21, 2018
  • Huge controversy erupts over world’s hottest pepper April 15, 2018
  • SpaceX is about to do something astonishing April 15, 2018

Copyright © 2021 Jones Kilmartin Group, LLC · Metro Pro Theme On Genesis Framework · WordPress