August 18, 2014 — The oceans, which make up more than 90 percent of the earth’s livable space, are full of almost invisible animals. That is because life there is different from everywhere else.
To illustrate why, Dr. Johnsen began a recent talk with a macabre scenario. Suppose just then a gunman burst into the room, shooting at the audience. Naturally, people would scramble for cover behind chairs and walls.
His point: There would be places to try to hide.
On land, many animals camouflage themselves amid the foliage and terrain; in coastal waters, sea creatures blend into the sand or find refuge among coral or rocks. But in the deep ocean, Dr. Johnsen’s realm of expertise, creatures floating in the water have nowhere to seek refuge from larger creatures that would eat them.
Sharks and whales can swim with impunity, but many other creatures need to hide in plain sight.
Transparency is the most obvious strategy — if light passes straight through, no one can see you — and the one Dr. Johnsen first began researching almost 20 years ago. In graduate school, he had been studying clear biological tissues like the lenses in eyes.
Read the full story at the New York Times