Our planet’s oceans are vast, beautiful, and full of mystery. And as marine biologists have worked to uncover more about them, they’ve found that light plays a critical role in both marine ecosystems and wildlife. Read on to learn a bit more about why light transmission is important to marine biologists.
Provides Insight Into Aquatic Wildlife
Light transmission in the oceans can help marine biologists gain deeper insight into the animals underneath the waves and their behaviors. This is because most aquatic species depend on light intensities to determine critical patterns for their survival in each ecosystem. For instance, radiated finfish will determine their migration, schooling, and feeding patterns according to different light intensities in their surroundings.
Light transmission can also help marine biologists understand how certain species have evolved to blend into their environments as intelligently as they do. This is especially true of deep-water species that boast colors, such as red, that aren’t registered at the dark depths in which they live, making them invisible to predators and prey alike. And because marine biologists can use light transmission as a means of studying these evolutions and changes in behavior, it can help them gain more insight into the vast myriad of animals living in our planet’s oceans.
Helps Gain Understanding of Marine Ecosystems
Perhaps the primary reason why light transmission is important to marine biologists is that light affects the productivity of the ecosystems in each layer of our planet’s oceans. Because the sea has varying depths, the amount of light transmission on each level differs and dictates what can survive in each unique environment. To illustrate, the plant and animal life that exists at 35,000 feet looks incredibly different from the life that exists on a coral reef.
And when marine biologists can understand how light energy impacts these environments and what can thrive in them, they’re able to gain more insight into the evolution of these ecosystems. As a result, this leads to a more comprehensive understanding of a world we still know very little about, which allows marine biologists to conduct more accurate and influential research.
The Takeaway
In summation, light transmission plays an integral role in marine biologists’ ability to understand our oceans’ diverse and truly mysterious ecosystems. Light transmission gives these scientists sharper insight into how each layer of the sea remains productive and livable and helps them to gain an extensive, working knowledge of wildlife behaviors on every level of these vast bodies of water.
And when marine biologists arm themselves with this crucial information, it enables them to share it with the rest of us. And hopefully, this leads us to a deeper appreciation for the ocean and an understanding of the importance of its conservation.
