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BIOLUMINESCENCE RESEARCH Bioluminescence in our oceans can provide spectacular displays and these come from many animals including squid, fish, jellyfish and shrimp. These animals are all inhabitants of the midwater where bioluminescence is known to be very common. In fact in the mesopelagic zone (200 m - 1000 m) approximately 90% of the animals are bioluminescent. By contrast, in the benthic environment very few of the animals are known to be bioluminescent. Yet, as Dr. Frank explains in her project summary, the eyes of benthic animals are often much bigger  than those of midwater animals. Dr. Frank and
Dr. Edie Widder's
mission on this research cruise is to try to learn what these big-eyed animals are seeing at
depths where the only possible light source must be bioluminescence.
To do this we are going to be searching for new sources of bioluminescence, both with the submersible, but also with a very special camera system that I've been developing called Eye-in-the-Sea. This camera can be left on the bottom and record behavior when there is no noisy submersible with bright lights in the vicinity to scare the animals away. It is an especially sensitive camera that can record bioluminescence and it is hooked into a light sensor that turns the camera on in response to a bioluminescent flash. After the 
camera comes on and records some of the bioluminescence, a red light turns on revealing
the animal. Based on Dr. Frank's recordings from the eyes of deep-sea animals, we believe
that this light should be invisible to the animals. It is our hope that this deep-sea
observatory will allow us to see behaviors and possibly even animals that no one has ever
seen before.
Deep ocean exploration is still in its infancy and often frustratingly primitive. The staggering immensity of the ocean volume, representing as it does more than 99% of the biosphere, mocks our tiny nets and brief visits with submersibles. It is little wonder that bizarre and wonderful creatures such as giant squid continue to elude us. How many more such animals are there that we must only guess at for lack of the evidence of even a corpse, the only clue coming from fleeting glimpses? To learn more about the life in the ocean we must continue to search the depths and find new ways of exploring with tools like the Eye-in-the-Sea. • HBOI MARINE SCIENCE - BIOLUMINESCENCE DEPT. • BIOLUM.ORG - Bioluminescence Discovery - www.biolum.org • Bioluminescence Explained at www.bioscience-explained.org [ VIDEO FOOTAGE - QUICKTIME REQUIRED ] - PURCHASE 'SECRET LIGHTS IN THE SEA' 
Secret Lights in the Sea - Excerpt One
Secret Lights in the Sea - Excerpt Two
Secret Lights in the Sea - Excerpt Three
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