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Science 8 July 2005:
Vol. 309. no. 5732, p. 263
DOI: 10.1126/science.1110441
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Brevia

Bioluminescent and Red-Fluorescent Lures in a Deep-Sea Siphonophore

Steven H. D. Haddock,1* Casey W. Dunn,2 Philip R. Pugh,3 Christine E. Schnitzler1

Bioluminescence (light production) and fluorescence (re-emission of absorbed radiation as light) are found in an unaccountably diverse array of marine organisms, where their functions are largely unknown. Here we report a deep-sea siphonophore that twitches glowing lures to attract fish. This is rare evidence of bioluminescence used for prey attraction among nonvisual marine organisms. The lures also contain red fluorescent material that shifts the wavelength of emitted light. The existence of a red-luminescent invertebrate suggests that long-wavelength light plays a greater role in marine interactions than previously suspected.

1 Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, 7700 Sandholdt Road, Moss Landing, CA 95039, USA.
2 Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06520, USA.
3 National Oceanography Centre, Southampton, SO14 3ZH, UK.

* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: haddock{at}mbari.org

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Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)