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View a slideshow of some pictures from the Bioluminescence 2009: Living Light on the Deep Sea Floor Exploration, where scientists observe bioluminescence on the deep-sea floor off the Bahamas. Bioluminescence is a fascinating phenomenon that is found in only a few species on land (e.g. fireflies), but is common in all the world’s oceans. It has been estimated that 90% of the animals living in the pelagic (water column) are bioluminescent. However, information on bioluminescence in the deep-sea benthos (organisms that live on the bottom) is very sparse, due to the difficulty in getting live animals in trawls and dredges.

 

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Bioluminescence 2009

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