THE AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL
HISTORY ANNOUNCES
CREATURES OF LIGHT: NATURE�S
BIOLUMINESCENCE
Exhibition Opens March 31, 2012, and
Remains on View Until January 6,
2013
The
American Museum of Natural History
announces
Creatures of Light: Nature’s
Bioluminescence,a
new exhibition about the
extraordinary organisms that produce
light, from the flickering fireflies
found in backyards across the
Northeast to the alien deep-sea
fishes that illuminate the
perpetually dark depths of the
oceans. Rare among plants and
animals that live on land, the
ability to glow�that is, generate
light through a chemical reaction�is
much more common in the ocean, where
up to 90 percent of animals at
depths below 700 meters are
bioluminescent, including many
unknown to science. Like the crystal
jelly whose glow led to a revolution
in cell biology, these animals may
hold important clues to essential
questions, but scientists are in a
race against time as habitats are
increasingly threatened by
pollution, overfishing, and global
climate change.
“Creatures
of Lightreveals
to the public some of the most
magical, wondrous, and truly
extraordinary creatures and
phenomena to be found in the natural
world,” said Ellen V. Futter,
President of the American Museum of
Natural History. “The exhibition
will take visitors to such
fascinating places as a
bioluminescent bay and the far
depths of the ocean, explain why and
how certain animals create ‘living
light,’ and help us all better
understand the vast and glorious
ecosystem of which we are just a
part.
InCreatures of Light,visitors
will move through a series of
re-created environments, from the
familiar to the extreme, to
explore the diversity of organisms
that glow and how they do it;
discover the variety of ways in
which light is used to attract a
mate, lure unsuspecting prey, or
defend against a predator; and learn
how, where, and why scientists study
this amazing natural phenomenon.
Throughout the exhibition, iPads
featuring videos, infographics,
photo albums, and animations will
provide opportunities to hear
directly from researchers about
their work.
Starting in a local meadow onA
Summer’s Night,
where fireflies use unique patterns
of flashing light to communicate
with potential mates, visitors will
descend into
A Mysterious Cave in
New Zealand to watch a fantastic
spectacle of luminescent “fishing
lines” strung by larval gnats,
glowworms, to trap prey.
A unique interactive environment in
A Sparkling Seawillintroduce
the brilliant light displays of
Mosquito Bay on Puerto Rico’s
Vieques Island, where high
concentrations of microscopic
dinoflagellates, a type of plankton,
create a halo around anything that
moves through the water. Visitors
will activate the bioluminescent bay
as they move through this section.
The
Night Dive will
feature a large-scale, day-and-night
interactive image of the Cayman
Islands’ Bloody Bay Wall, a
remarkable coral wall that is home
to both bioluminescent and
biofluorescent animals, which glow
only after exposure to light.
In
Altered Light,visitors
will encounter the jellyfishAequorea
victoria, which combines
bioluminescence with biofluorescence
(in which an organism’s molecules
absorb blue light, then radiate it
at a lower energy, longer
wavelength) to emit flashes of green
light. The protein found in its
light organs, known as the green
fluorescent protein (GFP), has
become a critical tool in cellular
and developmental biology, used for
mapping neural circuits, observing
cancer cells, and much more.
Borrowed Lightwill
feature live flashlight fishes,
which harbor bioluminescent bacteria
in an organ under their eyes, and
highlight symbiotic relationships.The
Deep Oceanwill take
visitors intothe perpetually dark
deep ocean, which comprises the vast
majority of the planet’s habitable
space .
A Deep Sea Theater will reveal the
diversity of animals that marine
biologists have captured on camera,
including female anglerfishes waving
bioluminescent ”lures” to
attract prey and mates, and
jellyfishes that light up like a
flashing pinwheel when threatened.
Creatures of Lightwill
open on March 31, 2012, and remain
on view until January 6, 2013.The
exhibitionis curated by John Sparks,
associate curator and
curator-in-charge in the Department
of Ichthyology, whose research
interests include the evolution and
diversification of the
bacteria-driven bioluminescent
signaling systems in ponyfishes, and
the function of biofluorescence in
marine fishes. Sparks’ research
seeks to determine the role of
organismal light in the aquatic
realm—specifically, is the ability
to produce light or to fluoresce
correlated with increased species
richness in the ocean?
Creatures of Light: Nature’s
Bioluminescenceis
organized by the American Museum of
Natural History, New York (www.amnh.org)
in collaboration with the Canadian
Museum of Nature, Ottawa, Canada,
and The Field Museum, Chicago.
Generous support forCreatures
of Lighthas been
provided by the Eileen P. Bernard
Exhibition Fund.
American Museum of Natural History (amnh.org)
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