Incredible creatures that can glow in the dark. Deep sea luminous fish Living organisms that glow in water

Glow is considered a common phenomenon in nature. Therefore, the ability to emit light using a simple chemical reaction, or bioluminescence, occurs in at least 50 various types mushrooms, fireflies and even terrifying sea creatures. With this reaction glowing creatures They derive many benefits for themselves: they drive away predators, attract prey, rid their cells of oxygen, or simply cope with existence in the eternal darkness of the depths of the ocean.

One way or another, luminescence is one of the most ingenious tools of life, and we will present you a list of the most unusual and strange creatures, capable of glowing in the dark. Many of these species are currently on display at the American Museum. natural history in NYC.

Female and male monkfish

Hell Squid

Glowing jellyfish

What unusual and amazing creatures not found in the sea or in the depths of the ocean. The following green-rimmed purple creatures live in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of North America. These jellyfish are capable of generating two types of glow at once. Bioluminescent has a purple-blue glow and is produced by a chemical reaction between calcium and protein. And this reaction, in turn, causes a glow around the jellyfish’s rim, forming a green fluorescent protein, and then a green glow. Scientists widely use this feature of the creature to study the visualization of processes in the body.

firewater

Surely few people know that in nature there is a phenomenon that can be compared to a luminous ocean. However, no one would refuse to watch the bright blue neon surf of the ocean with their own eyes. The thing is that the water is filled with dinoflagellates, single-celled planktonic creatures with tails, which are distributed over impressive areas off the coast. Scientists believe that these creatures have inhabited our planet for a billion years, and for the last few millennia, puzzled people have been inclined to attribute this phenomenon to the mysterious magic of the sea gods.

Big Mouth

To hunt for food, this fish first uses bioluminescence to produce fluorescence in the form of red lights in the area near its nose, and then emits red pulses to detect shrimp. When prey is found, an unlock signal is sent and the jaw is activated. The ingenious predator takes advantage of the fact that shrimp, like many other inhabitants of the sea, cannot recognize red light.

Systellaspis shrimp

However, not all shrimp are so pliable and easily accessible to predators. For example, sistellaspis shrimp have excellent protection, including against largemouth. These shrimp disarm predators by spitting a nasty, glowing liquid from their tail right in front of their mouths.

Coral wall

A 1,000-foot-tall blood wall made of glowing coral has been discovered in the Cayman Islands. This interesting phenomenon became possible due to the fact that many bioluminescent creatures found refuge here. Many scuba divers enthusiastically take pictures of how the corals transform their red color into an amazing green glow.

Bioluminescence (translated from Greek “bios” - life, and Latin “lumen” - light) is the ability of living organisms to emit light. This is one of the most amazing phenomena. It is not found very often in nature. What does it look like? Let's watch:

10. Glowing plankton

Glowing plankton in Lake Gippsland, Australia. This glow is nothing more than bioluminescence - chemical processes in the body of animals during which the released energy is released in the form of light. The phenomenon of bioluminescence, amazing in its nature, was lucky not only to see, but also to be photographed by photographer Phil Hart.

9. Glowing mushrooms

The photo shows Panellus stipticus. One of the few mushrooms with bioluminescence. This type of mushroom is quite common in Asia, Australia, Europe and North America. Grows in clumps on logs, stumps and trunks deciduous trees, especially on oaks, beeches and birches.

8. Scorpio

The photo shows a scorpion glowing under ultraviolet light. Scorpios do not emit their own light, but they do glow under the invisible emission of neon light. The thing is that in the exoskeleton of a scorpion there is a substance that emits its light under ultraviolet radiation.

7. Glow worms Waitomo Caves, New Zealand

In New Zealand, the Waitomo Cave is home to luminous mosquito larvae. They cover the ceiling of the cave. These larvae leave threads of glowing mucus, up to 70 per worm. This helps them catch flies and midges, which they feed on. In some species, such threads are poisonous!

6. Glowing jellyfish, Japan

An amazing sight could be seen in Toyama Bay in Japan - thousands of jellyfish washed up on the shore of the bay. Moreover, these jellyfish live at great depths, and during the breeding season they rise to the surface. At this moment they were brought to land in huge numbers. Externally, this picture is very reminiscent of glowing plankton! But these are absolutely two different phenomena.

5. Glowing mushrooms (Mycena lux-coeli)

What you see here is glowing mushrooms Mycena lux-coeli. They grow in Japan, during the rainy season, on fallen Chinquapin trees. These mushrooms emit light thanks to a substance called luciferin, which oxidizes and produces this intense greenish-white glow. It's very funny that, in Latin, Lucifer means “light of the giver.” Who would have known! These mushrooms live only a few days and die when the rains stop.

4. Glow of the ostracod Cypridina hilgendorfii, Japan

Cypridina hilgendorfii - the so-called shell ostracods, tiny (for the most part no more than 1-2 mm), transparent organisms living in coastal waters and the sands of Japan. They glow thanks to the substance luciferin.

An interesting fact is that during the Second World War, the Japanese collected these crustaceans in order to obtain light at night. After soaking these organisms in water, they begin to glow again.

3. Glowing fireflies

This is what firefly habitats look like, taken with a long exposure. Fireflies blink to attract the attention of the opposite sex.

2. Glowing bacteria

Glowing bacteria - amazing a natural phenomenon. Light in bacteria is created in the cytoplasm. They live mainly in sea water, and less often on land. One bacterium emits a very weak, almost invisible light on its own, but when in large quantities, then they glow with a more intense, very pleasing to the eye blue light.

1. Jellyfish (Aequorea Victoria)

In the 1960s, Japanese-American scientist Osamu Shimomura at Nagoya University identified the luminescent protein aequorin from the equorea jellyfish (Aequorea victoria). Shimomura showed that aequorin initiates with calcium ions without oxygen (oxidation). In other words, the light-emitting fragment is not a separate substrate in itself, but a substrate tightly bound to the protein. This in turn made a huge contribution not only to science, but also to medicine. In 2008, Shimomura was awarded Nobel Prize for your efforts.

Luminescence is radiation visible light and light in the ranges from ultraviolet to infrared.
The phenomenon of luminescence in nature has been known for a long time. Its study led to the discovery of X-rays and radioactivity.
Some animals have systems that allow them to produce fluorescent light in order to confuse or frighten an enemy.

Do you know where the tales about the Firebirds and evil spirits came from? Yes, yes, yes, we are familiar with this phenomenon - luminescence!
Those who have been to the tropics could observe truly amazing underwater glows. And under certain circumstances, some have seen birds, fish and even people glowing in the dark!

In previous centuries, people were in awe of what they saw. They mistook the birds glowing with cold fire for flying demons. Myths and fairy tales were written about this phenomenon. Here is one of such myths.
The chronicle of the cathedral located in Staraya Ladoga tells that clerk Fyodor, on an autumn evening in 1864, walked along a cliff above the Volkhov River and heard the noise of wings, similar to that made by ducks. But what was the horror experienced by Fyodor when he saw the demon flying straight at him! The sexton became even more frightened when the demon turned into a goose. Of course, at first no one believed Fyodor’s stories, but after a few days the “demons” appeared to other people. The bravest tried to catch these Firebirds, but their efforts were not crowned with success. And in late autumn the “evil spirit” disappeared.

Glowing birds can still be seen in the Arkhangelsk region to this day. Mostly ducks and geese. Such meetings also happened in the Moscow region. One of the hunters once shot such a bird, and, putting it in his hunting bag, he was surprised to realize that his hands also began to flicker with a strange light. But the glow stopped while he carried his trophy home.
Scientists explain this phenomenon quite simply. According to ornithologists, special microorganisms settle on the feathers of many birds, which create an amazing glow effect.

Stripes on the water, phosphorescent with cold light, can be seen during a night boat trip along the Black Sea near the city of Sochi. Imagine a huge starry sky, in the distance - the lights of coastal villages with proud mountain peaks rising above them and the water gradually flaring up around the ship, which begins to shimmer more and more with a bluish light! The crests of the waves begin to blaze amazing light, dolphins play joyfully in these flashes. Truly a magnificent sight!

And it is created by marine microorganisms. Jellyfish, some types of squid and fish, and shrimp can glow.
Glowing squids were “discovered” by French scientists in 1834. This squid has 10 tentacles and is most often found in the Indian Ocean and off the coast. South Africa. The phenomenon of such luminescence is called chemiluminescence - this is a transition chemical energy into the light without the cost of heat.
But the phenomenon of luminous giant wheels in tropical seas still remains a mystery. These wheels reach several meters in diameter; they rotate and move over the water, leading eyewitnesses into sacred awe. There are many eyewitnesses to this fantastic spectacle, but so far no one has been able to photograph the wheels.

fireflies

Who among you has not met tiny fireflies flickering green lights in the grass? In Crimea, such fireflies are not uncommon and reach the size of a child’s little fingernail. When you first see such a light in the night, you can easily mistake it for the eye of a predator. Still would! Fear has big eyes!
It happens that tropical fireflies gather in huge groups and sit on a tree, several on each leaf. Their light is visible at a distance of one and a half to two kilometers! Moreover, they simultaneously “turn on and turn off” their “flashlights”.
It’s interesting that once such fireflies saved Cuba from invaders! In the 18th century, a sea expedition landed on the island, but at night the colonialists saw myriads of glowing lights in the forest. The British decided that the enemy forces were too great and they needed to flee before it was too late.

Presnyakova Tatyana

From this work I learned a lot about luminous animals:

1.Luminous animals live in the oceans and seas.

2. These animals glow at great depths because sunlight does not reach there.

3. These animals need living light in order to attract individuals of the opposite sex and distract the enemy in case of danger for several seconds.

Working with the material, I learned a lot of new things.

Download:

Preview:

Ministry of Education of the Saratov Region

Municipal educational institution

"Lyceum No. 37"

Frunzensky district of Saratov

Creative work on the topic:

"Glowing Animals"

Performed

student of grade 9 "A"

Presnyakova Tatyana Aleksandrovna

Teacher

Sarsengalieva N.Zh

Saratov 2012

1. Introduction.

2. Why do organisms need living light?

3. Glowing animals.

4. Conclusion

5.References

1. Introduction:

Sometimes at night in the forest you will encounter a strange phenomenon. In a familiar place, on a forest path well-trodden during the day, a pale bluish light suddenly flickers. It turns out that it is the tree stump and the rotten things scattered around it that are glowing. Having examined the stump and rotten spots, you will find that they are riddled with white threads - honey fungus mycelium. It is this mycelium that glows at night. Meat and fish lying in a dark pantry can also glow. On a summer evening on the shores of the Black Sea, oblong luminous objects can be seen among large pebbles rolled by the waves. It turns out that half-dried fish thrown out by the sea glow - anchovy or silverside. Glowing bacteria settle on both meat and dead fish, which is what causes them to glow.

In many places in our country - in middle lane and in the south, in Primorye and Sakhalin, there are luminous insects - fireflies. They crawl and fly at night among bushes and trees, flashing like little lights. However, most luminous insects live in the tropics. Especially known for their bright glow are three genera of click beetles - Pyrophorus, living in the Central and South America. Cuban girls decorated their hair with pyrophorus. But living “jewels” sparkle in girls’ hair only at night. Less known are the Photophorus beetles from the islands of the New Hebrides and Fiji and the Chilean Campyloxenus. In all these beetles, not only the adults glow, but also the larvae and eggs.

There is an interesting glow at sea. Behind the stern of the boat, in calm weather after sunset, a luminous trail sometimes stretches 5-6 m, and drops of water falling from the oars seem like blue sparks. These are the smallest simple organisms that have multiplied in enormous numbers in the surface layer. sea ​​water. Individually, these tiny creatures are barely distinguishable, and when there are many of them, they give the impression of a single luminous mass or luminous spots if these clusters are scattered. “And the ocean... boils and sparkles,” wrote I. A. Goncharov in travel essays"Frigate "Pallada". “Under the ship, an abyss of flame opens up, streams of gold, silver and hot coals burst out with a noise.”

The glow of the sea sometimes brings considerable benefits. It shows schools of fish to fishermen, and sailors notice an underwater danger - a rock, a reef, a shoal - from the increasing glow of the sea. IN war time the glow of the sea gave away a torpedo or a submarine. But it happened more than once during the war that ships were unable to develop full speed due to the glow of the sea. A fast-moving ship greatly disturbs the water, this causes a noticeable glow around it, and especially the ship's wake. Unmasked by the glow, the ship is forced to slow down so as not to be noticed by the enemy.

Among sea animals there are many that glow. In the Bay of Posiet on Far East at the end of summer, bluish flashes are visible at night. This group is very ancient, and they learned about it only when they began to study deep-sea fauna. Now Soviet naval expeditions have collected dozens of species of these peculiar animals. Obviously, pogonophorans also inhabited in ancient geological eras shallow seas, then they died out there and survived only in the depths of the ocean.

The deep-sea fauna apparently formed in the zone of cold and temperate seas, where animals, plunging into the depths, did not encounter significant changes in temperature. Some of the deep-sea fauna could have arisen in the tropical zone of the ocean.

The adaptations of deep-sea animals for existence in the ocean depths are very interesting and varied. There are many predatory fish- their appearance clearly speaks about the way of life. They have huge mouths with long sharp teeth curved back; the whole animal seems to consist of one mouth. The body is usually disproportionately thin, sometimes short.

What is life like in the dark, lightless depths of the ocean? The deeper daylight penetrates into the sea, the faster it weakens. Traveler to the depths of the ocean V. Beebe writes that the water in the upper 50 m has a green color, at a depth of 60 m it is greenish-blue or blue-green, at 180 m it is clear Blue colour, at 300 m - faint blackish blue. At a depth of 580 m, Beebe caught the last traces of light. Various instruments with photographic plates, or more precisely with the help of photoelectronic cameras, have discovered that light penetrates into the ocean to a depth of 1500 m. No instruments can detect it deeper. But animals also live deeper than 1500 m. They exist here in complete darkness, in which only here and there ghostly lights of cold “living light” glimmer. Even at the greatest depth - about 11 thousand m - you can find animals. At this depth they experience monstrous pressure.Monkfish - alas, does not glow.

The oceanic environment is called the kingdom of monotony. This is most true in relation to the depths of the ocean. Here in the water there are almost no fluctuations in temperature and salinity. In the depths of the ocean and on its bottom, life is thousands and tens of thousands of times poorer compared to coastal areas. Along the coasts, the number of bottom animals is often expressed in hundreds of grams or even several kilograms per square meter seabed. And in the depths of the ocean, this amount is sometimes equal to only a few milligrams per the same bottom area. The density of plankton in coastal waters reaches hundreds, sometimes thousands of milligrams per 1 m 3 , and in depth it is limited to milligrams or even fractions of a milligram. This is explained primarily by the abundance of food along the coasts and its lack in ocean depths Oh..

The population of the surface zones of the World Ocean includes about 170 thousand species of different animals, mainly protozoa, sponges, coelenterates, worms, arthropods, echinoderms, fish and mammals. The deeper, the fewer species, and at the greatest depths of the ocean only a few hundred or even dozens of species live. It is dominated by foraminiferal rhizomes, sponges, coelenterates, worms, crustaceans and echinoderms. Deep-sea fish live at somewhat shallower depths.

In our time, the study of life depths of the sea has achieved significant success. Much credit for this belongs to the Soviet scientific expeditions, conducting his research in the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian Oceans.

The deep-sea fauna was created gradually, starting from the most ancient geological eras. It continues to be created even now. Therefore, it contains both very ancient forms and still very young ones. A remarkable discovery was made by a Danish deep-sea expedition sailing on the ship Galatea. In the Pacific Ocean west of the Mexican coast, it was caught from a depth of 3.5 km amazing mollusk neopilina. This is a representative of a special class that was widespread in shallow seas hundreds of millions of years ago - in ancient geological eras. Obviously, for a long time geological periods living conditions in the ocean depths remained almost unchanged, which, of course, could not be in the surface layers of the ocean.

In the depths of the Far Eastern seas and in the deep-sea depressions of the Pacific Ocean, a group of marine invertebrate animals, close to vertebrates, lives - pogonophora.

In the water, against a sparkling background, something the size of a palm suddenly flashes, and behind you, as if along a ruler, a narrow luminous trail stretches out. This is the glowing mucus that the small shallow-water cuttlefish sepiola releases when moving away from enemies. In the south of India, fishermen at night catch in the coastal lagoons luminous fish the size of our crucian carp - leiognathus, interesting topic that it not only glows, but also makes sounds. In Indonesia, small fish called Photoblepharon and Anomalops flicker off the coast at night. The luminous organs cut out from them do not go out for several hours. Fishermen bait their fishing rods with these lanterns.

Goal of the work:

I became interested in this topic and wanted to know:

1.Where do luminous animals live?

2.Why do they glow?

3. Why do organisms need living light?

With this work I will try to reveal all the tasks assigned to me.

2. Why do organisms need living light?

Nothing in nature happens for a reason. Likewise, the glow is caused by the biological adaptation of organisms to their environment, which developed in the process of long evolution.

U deep sea fish luminescence serves mainly to illuminate and lure prey. The brightness of daylight illumination of the sea surface decreases with depth by an average of 10 times for every 50 meters. At the same time, the thickness of sea water is like a filter that allows only green and blue rays to pass through. Until recently, it was believed that four hundred meters from the surface of the sea there was complete darkness. But later accurate measurements showed that this was not so. Scientists have found that light at great depths is caused by... luminous small and large organisms. Starting from a depth of 200 meters, individual flashes of light already appear; at a depth of 300 meters they become continuous, and further weakening of illumination is no longer observed, since biological luminescence becomes stronger than the intensity of light penetrating to this depth from the surface. During night measurements, individual flashes of light were 200 times, sometimes even 1000 times, more intense than the total illumination. It is quite possible that the strongest flashes occurred when the photometer came into contact with a luminous fish or other luminous organism...
The “living” illumination of deep-sea fish is diverse: in some, the entire surface of the body glows; others have photophores - clusters of luminous cells located on the sides of the body, on the head or tail. And there are also underwater beauties - fabulous sea princesses, dressed by nature in fantastic outfits, twinkling like the starry sky.

Scientists believe that bioluminescence is sufficient for orientation in environment many deep-sea organisms. For example, big eyes Diodon fish, adapted to the low light of the ocean depths, have an aperture ratio of 1:2. But this is not inferior to the optics of good modern cameras!

The omnipotence of the evolution of living nature can sometimes be envied by the design engineers of the best optical, sound and electronic devices and apparatus. For example, if luminescence serves to illuminate the environment, then the walls of a living organ are lined with a number of cells that act as a reflector. The other cells covering the organ can be compared to a lens. Above it, in some organisms, there is a layer of colored cells that serve as a light filter. It is remarkable that many fish, depending on the situation, are able to light up or extinguish the natural “illumination”. Therefore, in the process of evolution, devices have developed that allow “live” shutters to open or close the lamp.

Another form of adaptation of animals to the environment in the struggle for existence is the throwing out of a luminous liquid or “cloud” in case of danger. In addition to such frightening, blinding light curtains, there are also camouflage “chemical curtains” that destroy and muffle the odors of a defending or attacking animal.

The luminous organs are especially interesting cephalopods- octopuses (octopuses) and squids. True, in the novels of V. Hugo and Jules Verne, these animals are sometimes confused and their sizes are somewhat exaggerated. But in the South Pacific Ocean, huge squids are indeed sometimes found, reaching fifteen to twenty meters in length (span of tentacles) and weighing several tons. Such giants sometimes engage in terrible mortal battles with sperm whales at depths of up to a thousand meters or more. It's no surprise that cephalopods have evolved many unique organs and functions: they have three hearts and blue blood; They have the ability to change the color of their body for camouflage. That's why they are called "chameleons of the sea."

But the most interesting thing for us is the glow of the mollusks.

Even the small firefly squid Watazenia from Toyama Bay in the Sea of ​​Japan, at the time of its reproduction, is found near the surface in masses, brightly luminescent from pushing against each other. The glow occurs as a result of mechanical irritation - the movement of water, friction with air bubbles and touching other organisms. The head, mantle and outer surface of the two abdominal pairs of tentacles are studded with numerous small pearls - photophores . Five identical, but brighter photophores border each eye. And the three largest and brightest photophores sit at the ends of the abdominal tentacles. The light of one watazenia illuminates an area with a diameter of 25-30 centimeters in the water. But there are countless numbers of them accumulating in the bay!

Note that the glow of these squids, like the luminescence of many worms and insects, serves the role of attracting individuals of the opposite sex. Therefore, the glow of females and males is different.

Even more complex and more perfect glow deep sea squid. N.I. Tarasov describes this phenomenon as follows: “The central eye organs of the squid Lycoteitis diadema from Indian Ocean from a depth of 3000 meters - they glow ultramarine blue, the side ones - pearl white, the middle abdominal ones - sky blue, and the front ones - ruby ​​red." How can one not say that this real miracle animal surpasses even the fantastic firebird in cold light!.. And the luminous organs of deep-sea searchlight-type squids allow light to exit only in one desired direction, contain “living” reflectors, lenses (sometimes double!), "mirror". And even the coloring of the “lenses” was discovered in the lycoteitis squid. Something to think about for bionic designers!

The light-producing glands of deep-sea octopuses and squids are equally perfect. Octopuses living near the surface, in case of danger, throw out a cloud of “inky” liquid, and deep-sea ones spew out a luminous cloud. The same thing happens with squids. This is understandable: after all, in the darkness of the depths, despite the luminescence of many organisms, the “ink” for setting up “camouflage smoke screens” will be useless. Therefore, in the process of long evolution, the ink gland was transformed into an organ that produces special mucus, which is thrown out as a light curtain.

Unfortunately, the size of the essay does not allow us to talk about other luminous animals and plants, or to introduce the reader in more detail to the phenomenon of luminescence in nature. There are still many unresolved problems in this area. We hope that familiarizing young readers with our story will encourage many to choose in the future the exciting profession of biologists and hydrobiologists, zoologists and botanists. There are enough mysteries and secrets not revealed by science for everyone!

Scientists have discovered 7 new species of deep-sea worms in the Pacific Ocean. Worms from the new genus Swima reach a length of only 10 cm. Without eyes, they have blade-like bristles, thanks to which they can swim back and forth.

But this is not their main feature. Worms are distinguished by the presence of small formations glowing with a greenish light, resembling drops in shape. These formations can be thrown away, distracting the enemy in case of danger for several seconds, which gives the worms the opportunity to hide. Observations were carried out by specialists at a depth of 2 thousand - 3 thousand m off the coast of Mexico, California and the Philippines.

Scientists say the specimens are more similar to worms that live in sediment on the ocean floor than to other swimming worms, the New York Times reports.

3. Glowing animals

Luminous animals are found in many groups and in almost all types of the animal kingdom. It should be noted, however, that in some cases the glow of an animal could be a pathological phenomenon, caused by the presence of C. bacteria in the animal’s body.

“The ocean “boils” and sparkles more than the stars. An abyss of flame opens under the ship, streams of gold, silver and hot coals burst out with a noise... After the sultry day, a stuffy, sweet long night comes with a flicker in the skies, with a fiery stream underfoot, with a trembling of bliss in the air,” he poetically described the night glow Atlantic Ocean in the tropics I. A. Goncharov in 1853, during trip around the world on the frigate "Pallada". The glow is observed in the Arctic Ocean. Academician P. P. Shirshov, an oceanologist and hydrobiologist, observed a sparkling glow in the Arctic during the winter on the Chelyuskin in 1933/34. Soviet polar explorer K. S. Badigin, who commanded the icebreaking steamship Georgy Sedov during the famous drift, wrote on January 9, 1940: “When the water runs away, a greenish glow remains on the ice. I watch him with great excitement... A terrible and, at the same time, beautiful, incomparable spectacle..."
But what gives rise to this enchanting phenomenon?

Glow of the sea has worried people since time immemorial, causing not only amazement and admiration, but also superstitious fear. Absence scientific knowledge involuntarily led to fantastic explanations, embodied in myths, legends and fairy tales.

Even during the Renaissance, the glow of the sea was perceived as a miracle. A description of the mysterious lights in the sea, seen by H. Columbus on the night of October 12, 1492, when the ship Santa Maria approached the West Indies islands, has been preserved. The ship at that time was near Watling Island, the site of Columbus's first landing. But at the end of the 15th century, he, naturally, could not unravel the nature of the lights...

But the founder of the doctrine of the evolution of living nature, Charles Darwin, in his Voyage on the Beagle, already described not only the glow of the sea, but also the glow of a hydroid - one of the lower invertebrate animals, caught in the sea near Tierra del Fuego: “I kept in a vessel with salt water a large bunch of these zoophytes... When I rubbed any part of a branch in the dark, the whole animal began to phosphoresce strongly with green light; I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything more beautiful of this kind. The most remarkable thing was that sparks of light rose up the branches, from their base to the ends.”

We are getting closer and closer to solving the mystery... Twenty years later, I. A. Goncharov, while on board the frigate "Pallada", describes the accumulation in the western part of the Pacific Ocean of the simplest single-celled organisms of the genus Noctiluca multithousandra. These tiny creatures, ranging in size from 0.2 to 2 mm, are widespread throughout almost the entire oceans of the world.
The nightsvetka is also found in the Black Sea. Oceanologist academician L. A. Zenkevich and hydrobiologist N. I. Tarasov saw the glow of many thousands of nocturnal lights in the Odessa Bay and in Sevastopol Bay even during the day!

But in the Baltic Sea, the night light does not set east of 10 degrees. east longitude.
In general, peridineans, which include the nocturnal order, are the main source of the most common sparkling glow of the sea in coastal waters. Around each luminous organism, the light scatters and a spot of light is formed. If there are many such luminous planktonic organisms, then the specks merge into a continuous veil of light. The glow of the sea intensifies in the foamy wake behind the ship.
In addition to sparkling, a flash glow is also observed. Flashes are caused by actively moving macroscopic animals and especially major representatives plankton - jellyfish and other organisms.
The glow can simultaneously cover large areas of the sea, tens and hundreds of square kilometers, or, on the contrary, form clearly defined small areas in the form of spots or stripes reminiscent of “windmills”.

Night extravaganzas

Back in the 18th century, M.V. Lomonosov wrote that “we need to think about the harmless light of rotting trees and glowing worms. Then you need to write that light and heat are not always mutually related and therefore are distinguished.”

The people of many countries have long observed the phenomenon of “cold” light in nature. And not only the northern lights, but also the night ones lights of insects - fireflies. Of the more than a thousand species of these beetles, 20 are found in the Soviet Union. In the north and in central Russia, a firefly is common, called by the people “Ivanov the worm”. Shell crustaceans of the genus Cypridina, which are called "umihotaru", are common in Japan - sea ​​firefly emitting a bright bluish light.

The independent “live” glow of fireweed and cypridina cannot be identified with the non-independent glow of wood rot and stumps caused by the mycelium of honey fungus as a result of chemical processes during oxidation. Other reasons cause the glow of rotten meat and dead fish, which was described by the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle. Of course, he did not suspect that the glow arises from contamination of the meat with bacteria. The bacterial glow of a dead fish or crustacean is noticeable in the dark at a distance of up to twenty meters.

But some caterpillars and mosquitoes, sea crayfish and fish emit light due to symbiosis with bacteria. There are many known species of aquatic and terrestrial bacteria that emit lightin the visible part of the spectrum. Bacterial cultures can glow for many years. Dutch botanist and microbiologist Martin Beijerinck cultivated the same line of glowing bacteria for a quarter of a century, from 1886 to 1911. He also created one of the firstbacterial lampsby placing glowing bacteria in a glass flask. Later, in 1935, the large hall of the Paris Oceanological Institute was illuminated with such lamps. In our country, a bacterium named after the Soviet academician B.L. Isachenko, who discovered it back in 1911, has been living in cultures for more than half a century. A valuable contribution to the study of luminescent bacteria was made by the works of the Soviet plant physiologist and biochemist V. S. Butkevich and microbiologist N. A. Krasilnikov.

But let’s return to the “living” light of fireweed worms. In 1834, the poet Pyotr Ershov, based on folk observations and Russian folklore, created his famous fairy tale “The Little Humpbacked Horse.” Academician S.I. Vavilov, the greatest optical physicist, long time who headed the USSR Academy of Sciences, aptly noted that even to an educated poet of the mid-19th century, “the cold radiance of the firebird’s feather seemed like an unrealizable, fabulous miracle.”

The Firebird in reality, unfortunately, can only be seen on the theater stage or in the cinema. But in nature there are many real organisms that emit “living” light. However, it took the work of thousands of scientists - geographers, oceanologists and hydrobiologists, zoologists, botanists and bacteriologists, physicists, chemists and biochemists - for more than two centuries before a solution to the glow mechanism was found.

Today it is known that the cold glow of some living organisms is bioluminescence- occurs as a result of biochemical reactions. The most common of them is the oxidation of the complex substance luciferin in the body with oxygen and the transfer of the resulting energy to another substance - luciferase. It is she who emits visible “living” light.

4. Conclusion.

From this work I learned a lot about luminous animals:

1.Luminous animals live in the oceans and seas.

2. These animals glow at great depths because sunlight does not reach there.

3. These animals need living light in order to attract individuals of the opposite sex and distract the enemy in case of danger for several seconds.

Working with the material, I learned a lot of new things.

5. References:

Living light in nature. Geographical collection "Globe"

Boris Yudin

Entertaining biology

Zoology with basic animal ecology

ON THE. Rykov

Amazing things about animal life

Edited by A.S. Konstantinov, N.I. Larin