Marine Bioluminescence: Mechanisms and Evaluation
Abstract
Our long-term goal is to understand the mechanisms and adaptive significance of marine bioluminescence (BL) and to apply knowledge thus gained towards evaluation of population dynamics of pelagic marine organisms. The ubiquity of marine BL, the huge variety of its chemical and physiological mechanisms and regulatory behavior, when compared with the present scarcity of knowledge in all these sub-disciplines, argues that marine bioluminescence most probably has major unknown significance to life in the sea (Case, et al., 1995). Moreover, experience has shown that understanding of bioluminescence as a scientific problem provides a valuable store of knowledge for naval and other applied applications. Our specific objectives are expressed in three types of questions about BL involving increasing levels of complexity from cellular through populational. All have some hope of at least partial answers that appear to lie within the limits of our present resources.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Sep 30, 2000
- Accession Number
- ADA609780
Entities
People
- James F. Case
Organizations
- University of California, Santa Barbara