Scientists' lights blind deep-sea shrimp
Lights on the minisubmarines that scientists use to explore life around deep-sea hydrothermal vents may be permanently blinding shrimp there.
References:
Herring, P.J., E. Gaten, and P.M.J. Shelton. 1999. Are vent shrimps blinded by science? Nature 398(March 11):116.
Further Readings:
Monastersky, R. 1997. Deep ocean is no place to hide. Science News 151(Feb. 8):91.
______. 1996. The light at the bottom of the ocean. Science News 150(Sept. 7):156.
______. 1994. Light at the bottom of the ocean. Science News 145(Jan. 1):14.
______. 1989. Deep-see shrimp. Science News 135(Feb. 11):90.
O'Neill, P.J., R.N. Jinks, et al. 1995. The morphology of the dorsal eye of the hydrothermal vent shrimp, Rimicaris exoculata. Visual Neuroscience 12:861.
Shelton, P.M.J., E. Gaten, and C.J. Chapman. 1989. Light-induced retinal damage in Nephrops norvegicus (L). Journal of the Marine Biological Association 69:737.
The Web site "Ocean Adventure" offers a quick introduction to deep-sea hydrothermal vents. The site includes pictures of tubeworms and vent shrimp as well as a list of references (http://library.advanced.org/18828/).
Sources:
Peter J. Herring
Southampton Oceanography Centre
Empress Dock
Southampton SO14 3ZH
United Kingdom
Robert N. Jinks
Franklin & Marshall University
P.O. Box 3003
Lancaster, PA 17604-3003
From Science News, Vol. 155, No. 14, April 3, 1999, p. 219. Copyright © 1999, Science Service.
