Summer Is For Fireflies



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Somehow every term during finals I manage to find something only slightly related to what I'm working on that gives me a bit of inspiration and renews my love of marine science right at that moment when I'm about to crack and start thinking about taking up some ridiculous business scheme.  This year it was the discovery of the Firefly Squid also known as the Sparkling Enope Squid, Watasenia scintillans.  I found this curious little creature while studying for my Marine Chemistry and Chemical Ecology final exam, while trying to pound into my head the function of luciferin and luciferase, two key components in producing bioluminescence in marine organisms.  It turns out these little guys (and yes I do mean little, with a maximum size of about 3 inches) produce light in photophores which are located on each tentacle.  They give off a magnificent blue glow and the creatures who are normally a rather dull coloration of off-white with red spots, become something of a light show when they gather together once a year to display their lights and mate. 


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So since I am studying for finals I haven't had the chance to learn as much as I would have liked to about these guys.  This site however, has some pretty good quick facts and fills in all the information I've left out of post on the off chance that anyone else is interested in learning more about W. scintillans: http://www.seasky.org/deep-sea/firefly-squid.html.  I'm not exactly sure how this helps me with finals, but it is pretty awesome and just illustrates how cool marine science is and all of the incredible things out there that inspire awe.