Idea or model
Ocean zones
The ocean is layered by depth. Only the upper 200 meters gets enough light for photosynthesis, and below 1,000 meters it is completely dark.
Bioluminescence
Light made by living things. In surveys off California, about three-quarters of the observed animals could make light.Source: NOAASource: Martini & Haddock, 2017Source: Widder, 2010
Process
How Bioluminescence connects
Bioluminescence is related to
Studied in
Your progress
Sources & further reading
The explanations on this page are our own summaries of these sources. Follow a link to read the original; if anything here disagrees with it, the original wins. How we choose and check sources.
What is bioluminescence? (opens the original in a new tab)
NOAA Ocean Exploration. oceanexplorer.noaa.gov. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Fact sheetGovernment sourceQuantification of bioluminescence from the surface to the deep sea demonstrates its predominance as an ecological trait (opens the original in a new tab)
Martini S, Haddock SHD (2017). Scientific Reports 7:45750.
In 17 years of video off California, 76% of observed animals were capable of bioluminescence.
Peer-reviewedPrimary researchBioluminescence in the ocean: origins of biological, chemical, and ecological diversity (opens the original in a new tab)
Widder EA (2010). Science 328:704-708.
Peer-reviewedReview