Abyssal bioluminescence
(2018) 15th Deep-Sea Biology Symposium, Monterey — Location: California, USA (9.September.2018)
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- Abstract
- Abyssal seafloor is considered to extend from 2000 to 6000m, it is a cold dark place (0 to 4°C no sunlight), it represents more than 70% of the ocean and about 50% of the total planet surface. This vast territory was virtually unknown a century ago and it is only quite recently that during 10 years a systematic exploration was conducted by one international consortium called CeDEMar (Census of the Diversity of Abyssal Marine Life). An astonishing biodiversity was found and the researchers aimed to describe 500 commonly found species. It is believed that only 1% of this biotope has been sampled and a huge number of organisms remain unknown. Rarely sampled, the abyssal benthic fauna capability to produce light is virtually unknown. Few reports were produced using highly sensitive camera mounted on an autonomous lander send to the seafloor. Abyssal luminous organisms were either not recognized or could not be identified at specific level but most of them belong the following taxa: Cnidaria, Ctenophora, Copepods and Echinoderms. During a recent expedition on the East coasts of Australia, systematic surveys of abyssal plains from Hobart to the Great Barrier Reef were realized using bottom beam trawls. These brought back at the surface specimens that were observed in a cold dark room enabling us to document for the first time some bioluminescent display of rarely seen organisms using sensitive camera, video recordings, luminometer and microspectrophotometer. Images and data from benthic abyssal organisms revealed the diversity of abyssal bioluminescence. Tissue were frozen and fixed for further analysis, work is in progress to describe this fauna. Deep down animals shine light but for what purpose, this remains a mystery, new expeditions will be necessary to better understand abyssal bioluminescence.
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Mallefet, J., & O’Hara, T. (2018). Abyssal bioluminescence. 15th Deep-Sea Biology Symposium, Monterey, California, USA. https://hdl.handle.net/2078.5/54976