Mission Blue II
David Gruber: Glow-in-the-dark sharks and other stunning sea creatures
Filmed:
Readability: 4.3
2,351,063 views
Just a few meters below the waves, marine biologist and explorer-photographer David Gruber discovered something amazing -- a surprising new range of sea creatures that glow in many colors in the ocean's dim blue light. Join his journey in search of biofluorescent sharks, seahorses, sea turtles and more, and learn how these light-up creatures could illuminate a new understanding of our own brains.
David Gruber - Marine biologist, explorer-photographer
David Gruber searches the undersea world for bioluminescent and biofluorescent marine animals. Full bio
David Gruber searches the undersea world for bioluminescent and biofluorescent marine animals. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
00:12
I'm a marine biologist
and an explorer-photographer
and an explorer-photographer
0
738
3160
00:15
with National Geographic,
1
3922
1741
00:17
but I want to share a secret.
2
5687
1678
00:19
This image is totally incorrect,
3
7793
3643
00:23
totally incorrect.
4
11460
1737
00:25
I see a couple of people
crying in the back
crying in the back
5
13221
2127
00:27
that I've blown their idea of mermaids.
6
15372
2444
00:29
All right, the mermaid is indeed real,
7
17840
2651
00:32
but anyone who's gone on a dive
8
20515
2135
00:34
will know that the ocean
looks more like this.
looks more like this.
9
22674
2598
00:37
It's because the ocean
is this massive filter,
is this massive filter,
10
25767
3500
00:41
and as soon as you start going underwater,
11
29291
2073
00:43
you're going to lose your colors,
12
31388
1673
00:45
and it's going to get dark
and blue very quickly.
and blue very quickly.
13
33085
3206
00:48
But we're humans --
we're terrestrial mammals.
we're terrestrial mammals.
14
36315
2785
00:51
And we've got trichromatic vision,
15
39124
2175
00:53
so we see in red, green and blue,
16
41323
2666
00:56
and we're just complete color addicts.
17
44013
2325
00:58
We love eye-popping color,
18
46362
2643
01:01
and we try to bring this eye-popping color
19
49029
2587
01:03
underwater with us.
20
51640
1380
01:05
So there's been a long and sordid history
of bringing color underwater,
of bringing color underwater,
21
53044
4037
01:09
and it starts 88 years ago
with Bill Longley and Charles Martin,
with Bill Longley and Charles Martin,
22
57105
4946
01:14
who were trying to take
the first underwater color photograph.
the first underwater color photograph.
23
62075
2921
01:17
And they're in there
with old-school scuba suits,
with old-school scuba suits,
24
65020
2715
01:19
where you're pumping air down to them,
25
67759
2125
01:21
and they've got a pontoon
of high-explosive magnesium powder,
of high-explosive magnesium powder,
26
69908
5590
01:27
and the poor people
at the surface are not sure
at the surface are not sure
27
75522
2207
01:29
when they're going to pull the string
when they've got their frame in focus,
when they've got their frame in focus,
28
77753
3630
01:33
and -- boom! -- a pound
of high explosives would go off
of high explosives would go off
29
81407
2924
01:36
so they could put
a little bit of light underwater
a little bit of light underwater
30
84355
3055
01:39
and get an image
like this beautiful hogfish.
like this beautiful hogfish.
31
87434
2770
01:42
I mean, it's a gorgeous image,
but this is not real.
but this is not real.
32
90228
2849
01:45
They're creating an artificial environment
33
93101
2759
01:47
so we can satisfy
our own addiction to color.
our own addiction to color.
34
95884
3676
01:51
And looking at it the other way,
what we've been finding
what we've been finding
35
99996
3828
01:55
is that instead of bringing color
underwater with us,
underwater with us,
36
103848
3204
01:59
that we've been looking at the blue ocean,
37
107076
2752
02:01
and it's a crucible of blue,
38
109852
2262
02:04
and these animals living there
for millions of years
for millions of years
39
112138
3096
02:07
have been evolving all sorts of ways
to take in that blue light
to take in that blue light
40
115258
4530
02:11
and give off other colors.
41
119812
1691
02:13
And here's just a little sample
of what this secret world looks like.
of what this secret world looks like.
42
121527
3286
02:16
It's like an underwater light show.
43
124837
1878
02:18
(Music)
44
126739
4084
02:23
Again, what we're seeing here
is blue light hitting this image.
is blue light hitting this image.
45
131495
3920
02:27
These animals are absorbing the blue light
46
135439
2089
02:29
and immediately transforming this light.
47
137552
2481
02:35
So if you think about it, the ocean
is 71 percent of the planet,
is 71 percent of the planet,
48
143390
4373
02:39
and blue light can extend down
to almost a 1,000 meters.
to almost a 1,000 meters.
49
147787
4070
02:43
As we go down underwater,
50
151881
2104
02:46
after about 10 meters,
all the red is gone.
all the red is gone.
51
154009
2694
02:48
So if you see anything
under 10 meters that's red,
under 10 meters that's red,
52
156727
3203
02:51
it's an animal transforming
and creating its own red.
and creating its own red.
53
159954
3058
02:55
This is the largest single monochromatic
blue environment on our planet.
blue environment on our planet.
54
163472
6253
03:02
And my gateway into this world
of biofluorescence begins with corals.
of biofluorescence begins with corals.
55
170670
4690
03:07
And I want to give
a full TED Talk on corals
a full TED Talk on corals
56
175384
2086
03:09
and just how cool these things are.
57
177494
1802
03:11
One of the things that they do,
one of their miraculous feats,
one of their miraculous feats,
58
179320
3222
03:14
is they produce lots of these
fluorescent proteins,
fluorescent proteins,
59
182566
2778
03:17
fluorescent molecules.
60
185368
1485
03:18
And in this coral, it could be making
up to 14 percent of its body mass --
up to 14 percent of its body mass --
61
186877
4747
03:23
could be this fluorescent protein.
62
191648
2085
03:25
So you wouldn't be making, like,
14 percent muscle and not using it,
14 percent muscle and not using it,
63
193757
4429
03:30
so it's likely doing something
that has a functional role.
that has a functional role.
64
198210
3584
03:33
And for the last 10, 15 years,
this was so special to me,
this was so special to me,
65
201818
3837
03:37
because this molecule has turned out
to be one of the most revolutionary tools
to be one of the most revolutionary tools
66
205679
5420
03:43
in biomedical science,
67
211123
1700
03:44
and it's allowing us
to better see inside ourselves.
to better see inside ourselves.
68
212847
3514
03:49
So, how do I study this?
69
217464
2341
03:51
In order to study biofluorescence,
we swim at night.
we swim at night.
70
219829
3071
03:54
And when I started out,
71
222924
1378
03:56
I was just using these blue
duct-tape filters over my strobe,
duct-tape filters over my strobe,
72
224326
4011
04:00
so I could make sure
I'm actually seeing the light
I'm actually seeing the light
73
228361
2379
04:02
that's being transformed by the animals.
74
230764
2032
04:04
We're making an exhibit
for the Museum of Natural History,
for the Museum of Natural History,
75
232820
3477
04:08
and we're trying to show off how great
the fluorescent corals are on the reef,
the fluorescent corals are on the reef,
76
236321
3807
04:12
and something happened
that just blew me away:
that just blew me away:
77
240152
3056
04:15
this.
78
243232
1389
04:16
In the middle of our corals,
79
244645
1816
04:18
is this green fluorescent fish.
80
246485
3006
04:21
It's the first time we've ever seen
a green fluorescent fish
a green fluorescent fish
81
249515
2812
04:24
or any vertebrate for that matter.
82
252351
1627
04:26
And we're rubbing our eyes,
checking the filters,
checking the filters,
83
254002
2555
04:28
thinking that somebody's maybe
playing a joke on us with the camera,
playing a joke on us with the camera,
84
256581
3199
04:31
but the eel was real.
85
259804
1943
04:33
It was the first green
fluorescent eel that we found,
fluorescent eel that we found,
86
261771
3539
04:37
and this just changed
my trajectory completely.
my trajectory completely.
87
265334
2959
04:40
So I had to put down my corals and team up
88
268317
3334
04:43
with a fish scientist, John Sparks,
89
271675
2033
04:45
and begin a search around the world
90
273732
2499
04:48
to see how prevalent this phenomenon is.
91
276255
3251
04:51
And fish are much more
interesting than corals,
interesting than corals,
92
279530
2475
04:54
because they have really advanced vision,
93
282029
2214
04:56
and some of the fish even have,
the way that I was photographing it,
the way that I was photographing it,
94
284267
3785
05:00
they have lenses in their eyes
that would magnify the fluorescence.
that would magnify the fluorescence.
95
288076
3436
05:03
So I wanted to seek this out further.
96
291536
2310
05:05
So we designed a new set of gear
97
293870
1722
05:07
and we're scouring the reefs
around the world,
around the world,
98
295616
2289
05:09
looking for fluorescent life.
99
297929
1579
05:11
And it's a bit like "E.T. phone home."
100
299532
2055
05:13
We're out there swimming
with this blue light,
with this blue light,
101
301611
2709
05:16
and we're looking for a response,
102
304344
2205
05:18
for animals to be absorbing the light
and transferring this back to us.
and transferring this back to us.
103
306573
3575
05:22
And eventually, we found
our photobombing Kaupichphys eel.
our photobombing Kaupichphys eel.
104
310172
4712
05:26
It's a really shy, reclusive eel
that we know almost nothing about.
that we know almost nothing about.
105
314908
4470
05:31
They're only about the size of my finger,
106
319402
1961
05:33
and they spend about 99.9 percent
of their time hidden under a rock.
of their time hidden under a rock.
107
321387
4480
05:37
But these eels do come out to mate
under full-moon nights,
under full-moon nights,
108
325891
4121
05:42
and that full-moon night
translates underwater to blue.
translates underwater to blue.
109
330036
3493
05:45
Perhaps they're using this
as a way to see each other,
as a way to see each other,
110
333553
2530
05:48
quickly find each other, mate,
111
336107
1461
05:49
go back into their hole
for the next long stint of time.
for the next long stint of time.
112
337592
3714
05:53
But then we started to find
other fluorescent marine life,
other fluorescent marine life,
113
341330
2880
05:56
like this green fluorescent bream,
114
344234
2797
05:59
with its, like, racing stripes
along its head and its nape,
along its head and its nape,
115
347055
3985
06:03
and it's almost camouflaged
and fluorescing at the same intensity
and fluorescing at the same intensity
116
351064
4301
06:07
as the fluorescent coral there.
117
355389
1786
06:10
After this fish,
118
358190
2087
06:12
we were introduced to this red
fluorescent scorpionfish
fluorescent scorpionfish
119
360301
4301
06:16
cloaked and hidden on this rock.
120
364626
2143
06:18
The only time we've ever seen this,
it's either on red fluorescent algae
it's either on red fluorescent algae
121
366793
3801
06:22
or red fluorescent coral.
122
370618
1675
06:24
Later, we found this stealthy
green fluorescent lizardfish.
green fluorescent lizardfish.
123
372634
5333
06:29
These lizardfish come in many varieties,
124
377991
2088
06:32
and they look almost exactly alike
under white light.
under white light.
125
380103
3269
06:35
But if you look at them
under fluorescent light,
under fluorescent light,
126
383396
2374
06:37
you see lots of patterns,
127
385794
1401
06:39
you can really see
the differences among them.
the differences among them.
128
387219
2686
06:41
And in total -- we just reported
this last year --
this last year --
129
389929
2937
06:44
we found over 200 species
of biofluorescent fish.
of biofluorescent fish.
130
392890
4348
06:50
One of my inspirations is French artist
and biologist Jean Painlevé.
and biologist Jean Painlevé.
131
398135
5926
06:56
He really captures this entrepreneuring,
creative spirit in biology.
creative spirit in biology.
132
404085
4049
07:00
He would design his own gear,
make his own cameras,
make his own cameras,
133
408158
3803
07:03
and he was fascinated with the seahorse,
Hippocampus erectus,
Hippocampus erectus,
134
411985
3994
07:08
and he filmed for the first time
the seahorse giving birth.
the seahorse giving birth.
135
416003
3227
07:12
So this is the male seahorse.
136
420086
1552
07:13
They were one of the first fish
to start swimming upright
to start swimming upright
137
421662
4714
07:18
with their brain above their head.
138
426400
1628
07:20
The males give birth,
139
428052
1151
07:21
just phenomenal creatures.
140
429227
1420
07:24
So he stayed awake for days.
141
432955
1342
07:26
He even put this electrical visor
on his head that would shock him,
on his head that would shock him,
142
434321
3175
07:29
so he could capture this moment.
143
437520
1592
07:32
Now, I wish I could have shown Painlevé
144
440796
2120
07:34
the moment where we found
biofluorescent seahorses
biofluorescent seahorses
145
442940
3097
07:38
in the exact same species
that he was studying.
that he was studying.
146
446061
2699
07:40
And here's our footage.
147
448784
1214
07:42
(Music)
148
450022
2827
07:46
They're the most cryptic fish.
149
454476
1467
07:47
You could be swimming right on top of them
and not see the seahorse.
and not see the seahorse.
150
455967
3380
07:52
They would blend right into the algae,
which would also fluoresce red,
which would also fluoresce red,
151
460228
4508
07:56
but they've got great vision,
152
464760
1461
07:58
and they go through
this long mating ritual,
this long mating ritual,
153
466245
2174
08:00
and perhaps they're using it
in that effect.
in that effect.
154
468443
2102
08:03
But things got pretty edgy
155
471647
2919
08:07
when we found green
fluorescence in the stingray,
fluorescence in the stingray,
156
475442
5013
08:12
because stingrays are
in the Elasmobranch class,
in the Elasmobranch class,
157
480479
2764
08:15
which includes ...
158
483267
1239
08:17
sharks.
159
485075
1459
08:18
So I'm, like, a coral biologist.
160
486558
3198
08:22
Somebody's got to go down and check
to see if the sharks are fluorescent.
to see if the sharks are fluorescent.
161
490161
3445
08:25
And there I am.
162
493630
1262
08:26
(Laughter)
163
494916
1398
08:28
And I was like, "Maybe I should
go back to corals."
go back to corals."
164
496338
2539
08:30
(Laughter)
165
498901
1032
08:31
It turns out that these sharks
are not fluorescent.
are not fluorescent.
166
499957
2396
08:35
And then we found it.
167
503473
1416
08:36
In a deep, dark canyon
off the coast of California,
off the coast of California,
168
504913
4838
08:41
we found the first
biofluorescent swellshark,
biofluorescent swellshark,
169
509775
4437
08:46
right underneath all the surfers.
170
514236
1775
08:48
Here it is.
171
516035
1185
08:49
They're just about a meter long.
It's called a swellshark.
It's called a swellshark.
172
517244
2724
08:51
And they call them a swellshark
because if they're threatened,
because if they're threatened,
173
519992
2912
08:54
they can gulp down water
and blow up like an inner tube,
and blow up like an inner tube,
174
522928
2746
08:57
about twice their size,
175
525698
1159
08:58
and wedge themselves under a rock,
so they don't get eaten by a predator.
so they don't get eaten by a predator.
176
526881
4745
09:04
And here is our first footage
of these biofluorescent swellsharks.
of these biofluorescent swellsharks.
177
532158
4143
09:09
Just magnificent -- I mean,
they're showing these distinct patterns,
they're showing these distinct patterns,
178
537229
4721
09:13
and there are areas that are fluorescent
and areas that are not fluorescent,
and areas that are not fluorescent,
179
541974
3573
09:17
but they've also got these
twinkling spots on them
twinkling spots on them
180
545571
2589
09:20
that are much brighter
than other parts of the shark.
than other parts of the shark.
181
548184
2591
09:22
But this is all beautiful to see.
182
550799
2527
09:25
I was like, this is gorgeous.
183
553350
1630
09:27
But what does it mean to the shark?
184
555004
2831
09:29
Can they see this?
185
557859
1347
09:31
And we looked in the literature,
186
559230
1532
09:32
and nothing was known
about this shark's vision.
about this shark's vision.
187
560786
3158
09:35
So I took this shark to eye specialist
Ellis Loew at Cornell University,
Ellis Loew at Cornell University,
188
563968
4182
09:40
and we found out that this shark
sees discretely and acutely
sees discretely and acutely
189
568174
3523
09:43
in the blue-green interface,
190
571721
2094
09:45
probably about 100 times better
than we can see in the dark,
than we can see in the dark,
191
573839
2830
09:48
but they only see blue-green.
192
576693
1726
09:50
So what it's doing
is taking this blue world
is taking this blue world
193
578443
3119
09:53
and it's absorbing the blue,
creating green.
creating green.
194
581586
2753
09:56
It's creating contrast
that they can indeed see.
that they can indeed see.
195
584363
2818
09:59
So we have a model,
196
587205
1151
10:00
showing that it creates an ability
for them to see all these patterns.
for them to see all these patterns.
197
588380
3372
10:03
And males and females
also have, we're finding,
also have, we're finding,
198
591776
2881
10:06
distinct patterns among them.
199
594681
1936
10:09
But our last find came really just
a few miles from where we are now,
a few miles from where we are now,
200
597276
5433
10:14
in the Solomon Islands.
201
602733
1451
10:16
Swimming at night, I encountered
the first biofluorescent sea turtle.
the first biofluorescent sea turtle.
202
604208
4460
10:20
So now it's going from fish
and sharks into reptiles,
and sharks into reptiles,
203
608692
3412
10:24
which, again, this is only one month old,
204
612128
3284
10:27
but it shows us
that we know almost nothing
that we know almost nothing
205
615436
2378
10:29
about this hawksbill turtle's vision.
206
617838
2274
10:32
And it makes me think about
how much more there is to learn.
how much more there is to learn.
207
620136
2856
10:35
And here in the Solomon Islands,
208
623016
1532
10:36
there's only a few thousand
breeding females of this species left,
breeding females of this species left,
209
624572
3571
10:40
and this is one of the hotspots for them.
210
628167
2044
10:42
So it shows us how much we need
to really protect these animals
to really protect these animals
211
630235
3067
10:45
while they're still here,
and understand them.
and understand them.
212
633326
2356
10:47
In thinking about biofluorescence,
213
635706
2144
10:49
I wanted to know, how deep does it go?
214
637874
1945
10:51
Does this go all the way
to the bottom of the ocean?
to the bottom of the ocean?
215
639843
2444
10:54
So we started using submarines,
and we equipped them
and we equipped them
216
642311
3547
10:57
with special blue lights
on the front here.
on the front here.
217
645882
2174
11:00
And we dropped down,
218
648080
1960
11:02
and we noticed one important thing --
219
650064
2717
11:04
that as we get down to 1,000 meters,
220
652805
3298
11:08
it drops off.
221
656127
1316
11:09
There's no biofluorescent marine life
down there, below 1,000 meters --
down there, below 1,000 meters --
222
657467
3904
11:13
almost nothing, it's just darkness.
223
661395
2005
11:15
So it's mainly a shallow phenomenon.
224
663424
2430
11:17
And below 1,000 meters,
225
665878
1453
11:19
we encountered the bioluminescent zone,
226
667355
2661
11:22
where nine out of 10 animals
are actually making their own lights
are actually making their own lights
227
670040
3337
11:25
and flashing and blinking.
228
673401
1754
11:27
As I try to get deeper,
229
675179
1373
11:28
this is slapping on a one-person
submarine suit --
submarine suit --
230
676576
2975
11:31
some people call this my "Jacques Cousteau
meets Woody Allen" moment.
meets Woody Allen" moment.
231
679575
3763
11:35
(Laughter)
232
683362
1151
11:36
But as we explore down here,
233
684537
2051
11:38
I was thinking about: How do we
interact with life delicately?
interact with life delicately?
234
686612
3719
11:42
Because we're entering
a new age of exploration,
a new age of exploration,
235
690355
2697
11:45
where we have to take great care,
236
693076
1803
11:46
and we have to set examples
how we explore.
how we explore.
237
694903
2695
11:49
So I've teamed up with roboticist Rob Wood
at Harvard University,
at Harvard University,
238
697622
3664
11:53
and we've been designing
squishy underwater robot fingers,
squishy underwater robot fingers,
239
701310
4139
11:58
so we can delicately interact
with the marine life down there.
with the marine life down there.
240
706360
3102
12:01
The idea is that most of our technologies
to explore the deep ocean
to explore the deep ocean
241
709486
4715
12:06
come from oil and gas and military,
242
714225
2780
12:09
who, you know, they're not really
caring to be gentle.
caring to be gentle.
243
717029
2841
12:11
Some corals could be 1,000 years old.
244
719894
2683
12:14
You don't want to just go
and crush them with a big claw.
and crush them with a big claw.
245
722601
3109
12:17
So my dream is something like this.
246
725734
1998
12:19
At night, I'm in a submarine,
247
727756
2296
12:22
I have force-feedback gloves,
248
730076
2110
12:24
and I could delicately set up
a lab in the front of my submarine,
a lab in the front of my submarine,
249
732210
3318
12:27
where the squishy robot fingers
250
735552
2539
12:30
are delicately collecting
and putting things in jars,
and putting things in jars,
251
738115
2485
12:32
and we can conduct our research.
252
740624
1585
12:34
Back to the powerful applied applications.
253
742607
2850
12:37
Here, you're looking at a living brain
254
745481
2840
12:40
that's using the DNA
of fluorescent marine creatures,
of fluorescent marine creatures,
255
748345
3367
12:43
this one from jellyfish and corals,
256
751736
2006
12:45
to illuminate the living brain
and see its connections.
and see its connections.
257
753766
3469
12:49
It's funny that we're using RGB
258
757259
1516
12:50
just to kind of satisfy
our own human intuition,
our own human intuition,
259
758799
2548
12:53
so we can see our brains better.
260
761371
2334
12:55
And even more mind-blowing,
261
763729
2048
12:57
is my close colleague
Vincent Pieribone at Yale,
Vincent Pieribone at Yale,
262
765801
3110
13:00
who has actually designed and engineered
a fluorescent protein
a fluorescent protein
263
768935
3377
13:04
that responds to voltage.
264
772336
2095
13:06
So he could see
when a single neuron fires.
when a single neuron fires.
265
774455
3102
13:09
You're essentially looking at
a portal into consciousness
a portal into consciousness
266
777581
4539
13:14
that was designed by marine creatures.
267
782144
2914
13:18
So this brings me all back
to perspective and relationship.
to perspective and relationship.
268
786102
4686
13:22
From deep space,
269
790812
2239
13:25
our universe looks
like a human brain cell,
like a human brain cell,
270
793075
3152
13:28
and then here we are in the deep ocean,
271
796251
2482
13:30
and we're finding
marine creatures and cells
marine creatures and cells
272
798757
2871
13:33
that can illuminate the human mind.
273
801652
2279
13:35
And it's my hope
that with illuminated minds,
that with illuminated minds,
274
803955
3118
13:39
we could ponder the overarching
interconnectedness of all life,
interconnectedness of all life,
275
807097
3785
13:42
and fathom how much more lies in store
276
810906
2358
13:45
if we keep our oceans healthy.
277
813288
1715
13:47
Thank you.
278
815027
1158
13:48
(Applause)
279
816209
5116
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
David Gruber - Marine biologist, explorer-photographerDavid Gruber searches the undersea world for bioluminescent and biofluorescent marine animals.
Why you should listen
Marine biologist, ocean explorer and professor David Gruber is providing a wealth of new insights into a secret "language" of shining colors and patterns that help many marine creatures communicate, interact and avoid enemies. He and his collaborators have illuminated and discovered novel fluorescent molecules from numerous marine animals and are working at the interface between glowing sea life and the ability to visualize the inner workings of human cells.
His research group at City University of New York and the American Museum of Natural History has deciphered the genome of scores of new fluorescent proteins, which are being developed as tools to aid in medical research and illuminate biological processes. On land, his team designs submersibles and other technologies to revolutionize ocean exploration and push the boundaries of our understanding of life in the deep sea.
David Gruber | Speaker | TED.com