Algunos bodies gastan part of its energy to produce bioluminescence. Despite this high energy expenditure, is profitable for them because they can alienate other agencies and avoid being eaten. Something happens to the algae of the genus Noctiluca , a dinoflagellate protists that have an enzyme that reacts with oxygen to produce bioluminescence. When they are eaten by zooplankton, are marked, making them more vulnerable to a predator as happens to the krill.
Why do it?
These "algae" as Gender
Noctiluca, are not capable of photosynthesis, so in order to survive must make a heterotrophy, the As happens to us humans. To make this process, Noctiluca
bodies become predators, feeding on a variety of prey including both phytoplankton (mainly diatoms), eggs, larvae and fecal as well as other crustacean zooplankton organisms. Due to this, these algae play an important role in the food chain of marine ecosystems in which they are both in their depredations, as its action of "branding." For example, copepods, and individuals of
krill (Euphausiacea)
, when they eat the algae with the ability of bioluminescence are marked with predators such as fish larvae.
These algae have vesicles with enzymes that produce such bioluminescence in the presence of oxygen, for a split second, so that it be coordinated between all cells, can last for a few seconds, such as copepods have a transparent body, the disaster is done for the copepod itself, given that we are in an area of \u200b\u200bocean with little natural light.
When in the water, the copepod "stirring the water" of her around to start eating the Noctiluca , but actually causes the algae start producing light by the agitation of water so that the copepod is marked both by eating the body, for the rest of organisms that illuminate it and make visible to other predators.
Thus, the algae would benefit with this alarm because the copepod is like a thief when the alarm goes off, benefiting the alga. This is something that we observe in some summer nights with new moon as the Night of San Juan, which shake the sea water or throw a stone, we can observe a certain luminescence in the water.
This video
divulge Project (Adaptive strategies: Hypothesis "burglar alarm") you can see how the process in the waters of Galicia. If you want to know the
making off the video, you can enter here
Adaptive strategies: Hypothesis "burglar alarm" from divulge
on Vimeo
.
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More
- Project Blog divulge Group
"Plant Ecology and Evolution, University de Vigo "
-
Noctiluca scintillans -
Krill: the food of whales
- Bioluminescence
- Glowing Australian algae turn electric blue lakes
- The Noctiluca and astronaut
-
Noctiluca scintillans. Lanterns under the sea.
- Sato, NE, Hernandez, D. & Viñas, MD Food habits of Noctiluca scintillans
in coastal waters of the Province of Buenos Aires, Argentina. Lat. Am J Aquat. Res, 38 (3): 403-412, 2010
DOI: 10.3856/vol38-issue3-fulltext-5
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