84 Luminescence in Nature-Low

Luminescence in Nature FOCUS Question Why does bioluminescence occur in nature?

自然界中的发光焦点问题为什么自然界中会发生生物发光?

LIVING LIGHT Imagine entering a dark forest and seeing a faint light. The forest floor shines green while floating yellow lights blink. Up ahead, a soft glow from the mouth of a cave beckons. Have you wandered into an enchanted land? Not quite. The lights you see are not magic at work—they're science. Some living things can produce light through a chemical process known as bioluminescence (by-oh-loo-muh-NEH-suhnss). During this process, a chemical called a catalyst helps oxygen combine with another chemical called a substrate. When oxygen and the substrate combine, light is produced. The organism glows!

想象一下，你进入了一片黑暗的森林，看到了微弱的灯光。 森林地面闪烁着绿色的光芒，漂浮的黄色灯光闪烁着。 在前方，一个洞口发出柔和的光芒。 你是不是走进了魔法之地? 不完全是。你所看到的光并不是魔法在起作用——它们是科学。 一些生物可以通过一种被称为生物发光的化学过程来发光。 在这个过程中，一种叫做催化剂的化学物质帮助氧气与另一种叫做底物的化学物质结合。 当氧气和底物结合时，光就产生了。 生物体在发光!

Most bioluminescent light is blue or green. Some living things produce other colors, though. The railroad worm can actually glow two colors. Its head shines red, while its body glows yellowish- green. Unlike some lightbulbs that get hot when making light, living things don't get hot when they're shining. That's because bioluminescent light produces very little heat. Some living things, as well as nonliving things such as rocks and minerals, can glow in a way that is different from bioluminescence. These things do not make light. but instead can give off fluorescent light They absorb light from another source and then release it as a different color. Still other things may have phosphorescent light, which is similar but can glow for a longer time.

大多数生物发光的光是蓝色或绿色。 不过，有些生物会产生其他颜色。 铁路蠕虫实际上可以发出两种颜色的光。 它的头散发着红色的光芒，而它的身体散发着黄绿色的光芒。 不像某些灯泡发光时会发热，生物发光时不会发热。 这是因为生物发光产生的热量很少。 一些生物，以及非生物，如岩石和矿物，可以以不同于生物发光的方式发光。 这些都不发光。 它们吸收来自另一个光源的光，然后以不同的颜色释放出来。 还有一些东西可能会发出磷光，这是类似的，但可以发光更长的时间。

WHY LIGHT UP? What is the purpose of an organism's ability to make light? Some organisms glow to attract food. Cave glowworms bright glow attracts insects that then get stuck in the worms sticky mucus threads. Some organisms glow to communicate. Adult fireflies produce flash patterns to identify themselves as either male or female. At the larval stage, though, they glow as a means of defense. Firefly larvae taste terrible to predators. They light up to warn predators that those that strike will end up with a mouthful of yuck! Some organisms glow to reproduce. Glowing mushrooms attract beetles and wasps that then distribute their spores on the ground, where they sprout and grow into new mushrooms.

为什么要点灯?生物产生光的能力的目的是什么? 有些生物会发光来吸引食物。 洞穴萤火虫明亮的光芒吸引昆虫，然后被困在虫子粘稠的粘液线。 有些生物通过发光来交流。 成年萤火虫会产生闪光图案来识别自己是雄性还是雌性。 但在幼虫阶段，它们发光是一种防御手段。 萤火虫的幼虫对捕食者来说很难吃。 它们亮起来是为了警告捕食者，那些攻击它们的人最终会吃到一口恶心的东西!有些生物为了繁殖而发光。 发光的蘑菇会吸引甲虫和黄蜂，然后它们将孢子传播到地面上，在那里它们发芽并生长成新的蘑菇。

SHINING SEAS Bioluminescence is actually much more common in the ocean than on land. Sunlight does not penetrate the depths of the ocean. In the darkness, flashes of bioluminescent light really stand out. Most luminescent marine creatures do not use the light to see in the dark, though. Some animals use it to confuse attackers. For example, some squid produce flashes of light to startle predators. This gives the squid a chance to sneak away quickly. A type of organism called a brittle star actually detaches one of its arms. Predators pursue the glowing arm while the rest of the brittle star goes dark and crawls away. Wowser! More than 75 percent of deep-sea creatures produce their own light.

发光的海洋生物发光实际上在海洋中比在陆地上更常见。 阳光不能穿透海洋深处。 在黑暗中，闪烁的生物发光真的很显眼。 然而，大多数发光的海洋生物并不利用光来在黑暗中看东西。 有些动物用它来迷惑攻击者。 例如，一些乌贼会发出闪光来惊吓捕食者。 这给了鱿鱼一个快速溜走的机会。 一种叫做海蛇尾的生物实际上分离了它的一只手臂。 捕食者追逐发光的手臂，而海蛇尾的其他部分则变黑并爬走。 老古板!超过75%的深海生物可以自己发光。

Sea cucumbers take this idea a step further. Some can detach a glowing part of their body and attach it to a nearby fish! The fish swims off with the glowing body part while the predator gives chase. Meanwhile, the sea cucumber dims the rest of itself and crawls or swims away. Some sea animals use bioluminescence as a kind of two-tier defense system. Tiny creatures called dinoflagellates (dy-noh-FLA-juh-luhts) float on the water's surface. Swarms of them flash at night to startle fish that feed on them. The flashes also signal to larger animals that fish are in the area. The larger predators come along to eat the fish feeding on dinoflagellates!

海参将这一想法更进一步。 有些人可以将身体的发光部分分离出来，并将其附着在附近的鱼身上!鱼带着发光的身体部位游走，而捕食者则在追逐。 与此同时，海参会把身体的其他部分调暗，然后爬行或游走。 一些海洋动物利用生物发光作为一种两层防御系统。 被称为鞭毛藻(dy-noh-FLA-juh-luhts)的微小生物漂浮在水面上。 它们成群结队地在夜间闪烁，以惊吓以它们为食的鱼类。 闪光灯还会向大型动物发出信号，表明该区域有鱼。 更大的捕食者会来吃以鞭毛藻为食的鱼!