Now that we have a way to travel to complete our bioluminescent mission, let’s dive right in! While you explore, be sure to record your observations on your bioluminescent dive sheet or in your Science Notebook. As is the case in real dives, there will be some creatures with the ability to glow, but it may not have necessarily been captured on camera for that dive. It is also important to note that these organisms have the ability to move across zones! Just because we observe a creature at one depth does not mean that it is the only depth that the organism can be found.
Not sure what you will be looking for? Check out Dr. Edith Widder's Glowing life TED talk followed by the Bioluminescence on Camera by National Geographic video. Write down any of the bioluminescent organisms that you observe in these resources in your science notebook.
The different depths of the ocean can be thought of in layers or zones. Scientists have named the zones: epipelagic, mesopelagic, bathypelagic, abyssopelagic, and hadalpelagic.
We will begin our journey in the epipelagic zone... scroll down to dive in!
The epipelagic zone starts at the surface of the ocean and ends at 200 meters. This zone is often referred to as the “sunlight zone,” and is where the majority of visible light can be found thanks to the Sun’s energy! Many of the creatures in this layer are photosynthetic—that is, they have the ability to convert the Sun’s energy into usable, chemical energy. At about 10 meters, nearly half of the available light is already gone, the deeper we travel, the less visible light there will be. About 30 meters is the depth limit for recreational SCUBA divers! It is a good thing you created a submersible, we would not be able to get very far in our SCUBA gear. Let’s explore and see if we can meet some bioluminescent organisms.
Ocean Surface/Epipelagic: Dinoflagellates
Credit: Discovery
Epipelagic: Crystal Jellyfish, Aequorea victoria
Credit: UltraNeos1999 and the Mystic Aquarium
Epipelagic: Bobtail Squid, Euprymna scolopes
Credit: National Science Foundation
Epipelagic: Parchment Worm, Chaetopterus sp.
Credit: National Science Foundation
Epipelagic: Parchment Worm, Chaetopterus sp.
Credit: Nathan C. Shaner and the 2019 NeuroNex Practicum Class
This video of a parchment worm secreting bioluminescent mucus was recorded in the laboratory by our 2019 NeuroNex Practium Class!
We will now be exiting the epipelagic zone and entering the mesopelagic zone, ocean depths between 200 meters and 1,000 meters. There is very little visible light at this zone, which is why it is often referred to as the “twilight zone.” Learn more about the mesopelagic zone by watching Dr. Heidi M. Sosik's TED talk. There is not enough light at this zone for photosynthesis! Bioluminescent creatures are abundant in this zone though; flashes of blue light can be observed from your submersible. What are these creatures? What adaptations do they have to survive in this zone? Continue to record your observations.
Mesopelagic: Strawberry Squid (or Cock-eyed Squid), Histioteuthis heteropsis
Credit: Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute and Wired
Mesopelagic: Barreleye Fish, Macropinna microstoma
Credit: Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute
Mesopelagic: Firefly squid, Watasenia scintillans
Credit: Deep Marine Scenes
Mesopelagic: Deep Sea Dragonfish, Stomiidae sp.
Read more about the Deep Sea Dragonfish on The Bioluminescence Web Page.
Credit: BBC
Mesopelagic: Luminescent Siphonophore
Credit: E/V Nautilus
Mesopelagic: Glowing Shrimp
Credit: NOAA Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory
Mesopelagic: Viperfish, Chauliodus sp.
Credit: E/V Nautilus
What fascinating creatures! It is very dark outside of our submersible now as we make our way out of the mesopelagic zone and into the bathypelagic zone. This zone is 1,000-4,000 meters deep. The only light we will be able to observe will come from bioluminescent creatures. This zone is often referred to as the "midnight zone."
Bathypelagic: Deep Sea Anglerfish
Credit: The Rebikoff Foundation and Science Magazine
One of the last organisms that we see in the bathypelagic zone is this unidentified jellyfish (Credit: NOAA). Beyond the bathypelagic zone is the abyssopelagic (4,000-6,000 meters) and hadalpelagic zones (6,000-10,994 meters). Although life does exist within these zones, it is more scarce than the zones above it! These zones are very cold and the weight of the water above is crushing. We will not observe any bioluminescent creatures within these zones on this dive, but life is still interesting without a glow! Check out some life beyond 4,000 meters (Oceanlab, University of Aberdeen).