. The Biological bulletin. Biology; Zoology; Biology; Marine Biology. VAMPYROTEUTHIS BIOLUMINESCENCE 107 o 5 2 <u at A -A-NwJWV-^ 1 0 Time (s) 1 5 20 3 5 g. 1 4. 12 16 Time (s) Figure 5. Luciferin and luciferase assays for arm-tip light organs of Vampyroteuthis infernalis. (A) Light produced by methanolic extracts upon the addition of Oplophorus luciferase indicates the presence of the luciferin coelenterazine. (B) Addition of coelenterazine to aqueous extracts shows high luciferase activity. Negative controls for both assays (omitted here for clarity) did not deviate measurably from the pr
. The Biological bulletin. Biology; Zoology; Biology; Marine Biology. VAMPYROTEUTHIS BIOLUMINESCENCE 107 o 5 2 <u at A -A-NwJWV-^ 1 0 Time (s) 1 5 20 3 5 g. 1 4. 12 16 Time (s) Figure 5. Luciferin and luciferase assays for arm-tip light organs of Vampyroteuthis infernalis. (A) Light produced by methanolic extracts upon the addition of Oplophorus luciferase indicates the presence of the luciferin coelenterazine. (B) Addition of coelenterazine to aqueous extracts shows high luciferase activity. Negative controls for both assays (omitted here for clarity) did not deviate measurably from the pre-injection baseline. The higher noise associated with the coelenterazine assay is due to the higher gain setting required to detect the presence of that molecule. Discussion The effect of arm-tip luminescent displays on the dark- adapted human eye is striking; coupled with the bright blue light emitted by the two fin-base photophores, these dis- plays produce a complex and dynamic visual field. The fundamental question they raise is, how does Vampyroteu- this use the light? Because these responses can be elicited by mechanical stimuli, we assume that production of light from the arm-tip organs and the cloud of luminous particles are elements of an anti-predation strategy based on startling or distracting a potential predator, thus allowing for escape (Young, 1983). The visual predators that we know about are all better swimmers than Vampyroteuthis, so its escape strategy must rely on more than speed. Deceptive, deimatic behavior, such as chromatophore displays and unpredictable protean behavior, is often coupled with locomotion in cephalopod escape strategies (Hanlon and Messenger, 1996). In the darkness of its habitat, Vampyroteuthis may substitute luminescence for chromatophore displays in an otherwise familiar cephalopod behavior pattern of decep- tion, diversion, and flight. Arm-tip light organs, which can be bitten or broken off and then regenerated, may serve as sacrific
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Keywords: ., bookauthorlilliefrankrat, booksubjectbiology, booksubjectzoology
