Eliza taylor naked12/28/2023 ![]() Camouflage and defensive strategies have repeatedly evolved across deep-sea marine lineages, including ventral counter-illumination, whereby an organism utilizes their bioluminescent photophores to match the intensity of downwelling light in an attempt to hide their silhouette from predators lurking below (Hastings 1971). 1998), to modified dorsal-fin spines in ceratioid anglerfishes that are used to lure in unsuspecting prey (Herring 2007). The utility of luminescence for predation in fishes ranges from red searchlights in the loosejaw dragonfishes Malacosteus (Douglas et al. ![]() The functional utility of bioluminescence in a marine environment is both fascinating and wildly diverse, with incredible morphological specializations ranging from elongate species-specific barbels and lures to complex arrangements of photophores that are used to aid camouflage, defense, predation, and communication (Herring 1987 Haddock et al. 2010 Kronstrom and Mallefet 2010 Widder 2010), or through bacterially-mediated symbiosis (e.g., most anglerfish lures, flashlightfish subocular organs Herring 1987 Dunlap et al. Within teleosts, the production and emission of light is predominantly generated endogenously (e.g., the photophores of hatchetfishes and lanternfishes Herring 1987 Haddock et al. Among vertebrate lineages, bioluminescence has evolved only in cartilaginous and bony fishes that inhabit marine environments, with more than 80 % of luminous vertebrates confined to the deep sea (Herring 1987 Haddock et al. In these bioluminescent organisms, the animals broadcast their identity with distinct light patterns. ![]() In some cases (e.g., fireflies, ostracods), unique bioluminescent signals have been hypothesized to aid in the process of speciation, with species recognition providing a mechanism to promote reproductive isolation among populations (Palumbi 1994 Branham and Greenfield 1996). Among animals, bioluminescence is used to communicate, defend against predation, and find or attract prey (Herring 1987 Haddock et al. Bioluminescence has repeatedly evolved across the tree of life, from single-celled bacteria and dinoflagellates to fungi, jellyfishes, insects, and vertebrates (Herring 1987 Haddock et al. Bioluminescence is the final product of a biochemical reaction whereby energy is converted to light following the breakdown of molecular bonds, typically the molecular decomposition of luciferin substrates by the enzyme luciferase in the presence of oxygen (Herring 1987 Haddock et al.
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