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Next up: the twilight zone. Here, light barely penetrates the water. During the day, there's just enough light for a diver to see while swimming in the upper parts of this zone. There isn't much color beyond blue and some green because all the other colors of light have of the water above pressing down, the pressure is much greater, too. No plants or algae grow here because there's not enough light for photosynthesis.
Next up: the twilight zone. Here, light barely penetrates the water. During the day, there's just enough light for a diver to see while swimming in the upper parts of this zone. There isn't much color beyond blue and some green because all the other colors of light have of the water above pressing down, the pressure is much greater, too. No plants or algae grow here because there's not enough light for photosynthesis.
Some animals in this zone wait for food to drift down from above. However, other animals swim to the sunlit zone to feed. Small fish called bristlemouths, for example, spend the day in the twilight zone. At night, they swim up to the sunlit zone to feed near the surface, without fear of being eaten by seabirds. But predators lurk in the twilight zone, too. Many of them, such as the pointy-toothed lancetfish wait for prey to come close before seizing it.
Some animals in this zone wait for food to drift down from above. However, other animals swim to the sunlit zone to feed. Small fish called bristlemouths, for example, spend the day in the twilight zone. At night, they swim up to the sunlit zone to feed near the surface, without fear of being eaten by seabirds. But predators lurk in the twilight zone, too. Many of them, such as the pointy-toothed lancetfish wait for prey to come close before seizing it.
Many animals in the twilight zone have adapted to their murky world by evolving their own lights! Hatchetfish, for example, have light-producing organs called photophores on their undersides. The glow of their lights helps them camouflage with the dim light coming from above and hides from predators below. Hatchetfish have also evolved eyes that point up to help search for prey above them. Another species, the barreleye fish, even has a transparent head to peering upward easier!
Many animals in the twilight zone have adapted to their murky world by evolving their own lights! Hatchetfish, for example, have light-producing organs called photophores on their undersides. The glow of their lights helps them camouflage with the dim light coming from above and hides from predators below. Hatchetfish have also evolved eyes that point up to help search for prey above them. Another species, the barreleye fish, even has a transparent head to peering upward easier!
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