



In an interview with Yale Environment 360, Widder - author of the recently published book Below the Edge of Darkness: A Memoir of Exploring Light and Life in the Deep Sea - talks about the surprising strategies that bioluminescent creatures employ to survive in a world without light, explains why deep-sea research remains woefully underfunded, and laments that with the advent of deep-sea fishing, mining and oil drilling, “we’re exploiting the ocean before we even know what’s in it. Among other things, Widder has worked with engineers to develop highly sensitive deep-sea light meters and special cameras, like the remotely operated Eye-in-the-Sea, which allow for real-time monitoring of the seafloor. One of the leaders in this exploration is marine biologist Edith Widder, who has extensively studied bioluminescent, or light-producing, organisms that use this trait to communicate, defend themselves, and hunt in darkness. But advances in submersible technology are increasingly giving scientists a window into this little-known universe. Until recently, the depths of the world’s oceans remained almost entirely unexplored.
