DEEP SEA GLOWING FISH CRACK

Gruber says the research could be used to help with conservation. It’s unknown why the sea turtles glow red, but he suspects it have something to do with attracting mates or finding other turtles. Watch: National Geographic Emerging Explorer David Gruber discovers a biofluorescent sea turtle near the Solomon Islands. (Related: “ Like The ‘Glowing’ Sea Turtle, These Animals Also Light Up.”) Gruber later examined young hawksbills in captivity, and found that all of them glowed red. Oddly, the turtle in the footage appeared to glow in two colors: green and red. “I was filming coral and then it came in front of my lens and then hung out with us for three minutes,” Gruber said at the time. While in the Solomon Islands studying biofluorescence in sharks and corals on another expedition in 2015, Gruber accidentally spotted another glowing specimen: A hawksbill sea turtle. That's what these sharks are doing.' Radiant Turtles 'Suddenly, someone jumps onto the dance floor with an outfit covered in patterned fluorescent paint that converts blue light into green. 'Imagine being at a disco party with only blue lighting, so everything looks blue,' Gruber told National Geographic at the time of the discovery. ( Read about a species of seabird with a glowing beak.) They found that these species can absorb blue light and reemit it as green. In 2016, Gruber and his colleagues developed a 'shark-eye camera' to see the world from the perspective of two species of biofluorescent sharks-the chain catshark and the swell shark. Below the surface, objects appear dark and blue, so it’s hard to pick out fluorescent organisms without special equipment.

Humans see light in shades of red, green, and blue, but our vision falters underwater. “All the sudden, we found it in a fish and that started to make the mystery novel evolve even further.” Gruber and his colleagues have also discovered that at least two species of catshark glow as well. Researchers have found evidence for biofluorescence in more than 200 species of fish, like red-glowing gobies. (See pictures of other animals that glow.) Shining Sharks and Fluorescent Fish Here are some highlights of Gruber’s recent glowing discoveries. PHOTOGRAPH BY DAVID GRUBER AND VINCENT PIERIBONEīiofluorescence is a relatively new field of study, but it has been booming in recent years. But without a yellow filter to block out blue light-which some biofluorescent fish have-these neon colors would be invisible. This chain catshark dwells in the dark night of the deep sea.

DEEP SEA GLOWING FISH CRACK

If bioluminescence is the equivalent of glow sticks that you crack open on the Fourth of July, biofluorescence is more akin to fluorescent paint glowing under a blacklight, Gruber says. “One thing keeps leading to another thing, and it’s one of these things that we’ve become a little obsessed with.”īiofluorescence is not to be confused with bioluminescence, in which animals produce their own light via a chemical reaction. “Biofluorescence in the marine environment is like this constantly unfolding mystery novel,” says David Gruber, a marine biologist and National Geographic Explorer at Harvard University. (See “ Rainbow of Fluorescent Corals Found-Why Do They Glow?”) Over the past decade, scientists have discovered the seemingly dark deep sea is actually ablaze with color.įrom corals to sea turtles to eels, countless marine species are biofluorescent, or have the ability to reflect the blue light hitting a surface and re-emit it as a different color.

Read more explorer stories and join the conversation with #NatGeoFest. Learn more about the Explorers Festival and watch a live feed of the event. Every year National Geographic brings together explorers, scientists, and storytellers from around the world to share their discoveries and insights-along with their solutions for creating a more sustainable future.

Deep sea glowing fish