My one hundred word challenge: Suddenly

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Look left look right and cross to another world, she told me why and I followed without knowing and now I float and enchant but want but I should? And should you really we part our ways but our spirit stays forever on the blue haze of our short lives, and we don’t question it but should we our lives are fragile but we don’t question it. Should we, should I, should you we leave and sometimes could we come back and experience life again! Should I have told them and you too someday we will embrace suddenly and life.

The Wonderful World Of Bioluminescence- My research essay

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Intro

Imagine glowing green, blue, purple or even red! Well some animals do, whether on land or in water the world gives them this gift and to us it might be a weird and cool trick but too these animals it is not just a it’s a way of life but is wasn’t always like this.

 

The Ocean Zones

Our ocean has has 5 zones. Although most bioluminescent creatures are found in the mesopelagic and bathypelagic zone some of these creatures used to live on land “But they originally evolved in surface waters where they had eyes and visual signals” Edith Widder president of the Ocean Research and Conservation Association in Fort Pierce, (http://www.nbcnews.com/) It is important to know about all of our oceans zones. Our first zone is the epipelagic (aka the sunlight zone) this is the lightest zone, it is also the smallest zone because light can not travel far through the water. Now let’s go a bit deeper to the mesopelagic zone (aka the twilight zone). This is where we start seeing signs of bioluminescent life. But if we go farther down to the bathypelagic zone (aka the midnight zone). We will start to see more and more signs of bioluminescent life. This is the third darkest zone. The abyssopelagic (aka the abyss) is the second darkest zone, not many animals live here.  Even less live in the hadalpelagic zone (aka the trenches). But there are not only zones! There are shelves, rises, basins, and slopes such as the continental shelf, rise, basin, and slope.

 

Animals that are bioluminescent  live like other animals. Bioluminescence is just an adaptation. “You might think such an extreme adaptation would be a rarity, but in fact many species have the ability to bioluminesce” (http://evolution.berkeley.edu). that helps them hunt fish sleep and find mates. Most bioluminescent animals live in the bathypelagic zone ( aka. The midnight zone), and the mesopelagic zone (aka. The twilight zone) the light of bioluminescence is typically found in darker zones because bioluminescence is not needed in lighter places in the ocean.  Now we meet our first animal  from the bathypelagic zone. The amazing anglerfish.

 

The Amazing Anglerfish

Brown and black in color sometimes a dark gray the anglerfish uses these colors to blend into the dark waters of the bathypelagic zone. The only thing remotely light about it is light this animal does “have bioluminescent lures to attract food to them,” says Edith Widder president of the Ocean Research and Conservation Association in Fort Pierce, (http://www.nbcnews.com/), that is why another name for the anglerfish is the lantern fish. Another name for it is the black devil  Found at 3,000 feet deep in the black water the name is appropriate.

   

      

Angler fish have a strange way of mating the male the size of a small finger fuses himself to the female’s body (the female is about a foot long) and gets nourishment off of her then he slowly wears down to just the part the female needs for mating. Then she lays her eggs the larva will live on the surface while young and come back down when adults. The main diet of a angler fish is plankton. Only females actually hunt because the male feeds on the females nutrients the main diet of an anglerfish female, is fish or plankton. They use their light on the top of there head for luring prey.

 

The Beautiful Comb Jelly

The comb jelly the varies in size. It can be the size of a ping pong ball, the size of a football  or anywhere between. The size of their tentacles vary with the size of their bodies. The comb jelly has long shimmering tentacles  that can glow in all colors. The body’s of a comb jelly Shimmers like the tentacles although the body shimmers different colors, the underside of a comb jelly is always red.

 

The comb jelly is actually not bioluminescent, the plates (see last paragraph) shimmer not glow

This is not common for an animal that lives in the bathypelagic zone another uncommon feature is that It does not use its tentacles for getting around. The plates on its body push water in and out to create a jet like energy burst.

 

The Squid Don Don Don…

 Most  squids’ live in the bathypelagic zone you probably have noticed that’s where most bioluminescent life is. The sizes of a squid vary from the size of a finger to the giant squid that was rumored to have sank boats. the squids are similar in appearance yet different. Squids have no teeth they have bird like beaks that capture their prey ( Most commonly fish and crustaceans), Most also only have one eye varying in sizes the giant squids eye is the size of a basketball! While the firefly squid (3 cm to 7 cm) would have a way smaller eye.

 

The firefly squid has over 550 glowing dots on its body called photophores. They glow with a deep blue light. It also has a light under its eye this is the reason it is called a firefly squid. The firefly squid is not the only bioluminescent squid, the giant squids ink is bioluminescent! The ink emits an eerie blue glow scientist can use it to track this marvelous animal!

 

So Now you know about this wonderful world. So say goodbye, and the next time you go to the beach think about the wonderful world of Bioluminescence.

 

               Citations

 

“A Light in the Darkness.” A Light in the Darkness. Blackwell Publishing, Malden, MA., n.d. Web. 25 Apr. 2016. <http://evolution.berkeley.edu/evolibrary/article/fishtree_05>

 

“Bioluminescence Lights up Creatures of the Oceans.” Msnbc.com. 2010. Web. 07 Mar. 2016. <http://www.nbcnews.com/id/37093310/ns/technology_and_science-science/t/bioluminescence-lights-creatures-oceans/#.Vt2pl1WrQes>.

 

“Bioluminescence.” National Geographic Education. Jeannie Evers, 13 June 2013. Web. 07 Mar. 2016. <http://education.nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/bioluminescence/>.

 

“Bioluminescence.” Smithsonian Ocean Portal. 2013. Web. 08 Mar. 2016. <http://ocean.si.edu/bioluminescence>.

 

Deep Sea Anglerfish.” – Deep Sea Creatures on Sea and Sky. Web. 30 Mar. 2016.

 

Regan, Lisa. Way to Glow!: Amazing Creatures That Light Up in the Dark. Red Bird. Print.

 

Smith, Susan. “Log in.” Britannica School. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 May 2016. http://school.eb.com/levels/middle/magazine/article/84619957http://school.eb.com/levels/middle/magazine/article/84619957 .