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Metridia in a container glowing with bioluminescence.

Metridia in a container glowing with bioluminescence.
Metridia in a container glowing with bioluminescence.
Metridia in a container glowing with bioluminescence.
Metridia in a container glowing with bioluminescence.
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348316
Linder, Christopher L.
Metridia in a container glowing with bioluminescence.
Still Image
05/04/2009
graphics/PD5_dailys/cl_20090504154448.jpg
So, there was something else neat about Metridia? This is it. They glow. Actually, lots of sea creatures do this. It's called bioluminescence, producing light by chemical means. It's found among fish, jellyfish, dinoflagellates, and many other animals. The best-known example on land is fireflies.
Image of The Day caption:
WHOI biologist Carin Ashjian studies how climate change is affecting the Arctic ecosystem, especially the abundant ocean zooplankton and including tiny crustaceans called copepods. The copepods pictured here (genus Metridia) were collected in the Bering Sea on Ashjian's 2009 expedition and produced blue bioluminescence when poured onto a sieve. Ashjian is currently leading the first research cruise in the Bering and Chukchi Seas during the onset of winter, and her blog lets readers view this unique 44-day expedition as it happens.
Photo by Chris Linder
© Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
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