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THE LIVING WORLD
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PROGRAMME INFO |
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The Living World is a gentle weekend natural history programme, presented by Lionel Kelleway, which aims to broadcast the best, most intimate encounters with British wildlife.
nhuradio@bbc.co.uk |
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LISTEN AGAIN Ìý25min |
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PRESENTER |
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"The Living World is the next best thing to being there. Our contributors are skilled naturalists who are able to reveal those fascinating facts about animals and plants that you don't always find in books. It's like having a personal guided tour of the countryside, without needing to leave the house."
Lionel Kelleway
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PROGRAMME DETAILS |
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| Lionel Kelleway joins fisherman and retired freshwater biologist Mike Ladle on the Dorset coast in search of the Vernal Lantern fish. |
Update: This was broadcast on AprilÌý1stÌýand was an April Fool!
Global warming and rising sea temperatures have resulted in the appearance of a number of formerly rare species around our coast, including the Vernal Lantern Fish which historically was restricted to the deep offshore oceanic waters but in recent years, sightings of these fish have become more common in the shallow seas, harbours, and rock pools around our southern and western shores, as Lionel Kelleway discovers when he joins fisherman and retried biologist Mike Ladle in Swannage on the Dorset coast in search of this luminescent and unusual fish.
More than sixty percent of our planet is covered by water over a mile deep. A number of deep-sea animals, including prawns, squids and fish undergo astonishing daily vertical migrations, rising into the warmer surface waters after dark in order to feed. Lantern fish are incredibly abundant members of this community.
The Vernal Lantern fish (Ludolampanyctus primavrilus) is about thirty centimetres long – by far the largest fish of its kind in existence. The scales have a pearly silver sheen overlain by a constantly changing pattern of colours like the effect of a thin layer of oil on water. There is a broad band of blue iridescence along the fish’s back. Like other related species this fish has its mirror sides studded by prominent luminous organs or photophores. These are like tiny lamps resembling a row of portholes with red and green lights shining from within, and give rise to the name Lantern. Vernal means Spring and refers to the breeding season of this fish, and the most likely time to see the fish.
For centuries there has been debate about the function of luminous organs in the deep sea. For sure they provide a means of recognition between shoal members, they may also be a form of camouflage against predators, such as black gulper eels and angler fish, looking upwards from beneath – like the white bellies of fish living in the well lit surface waters.
As dusk approaches, Lionel and his companion venture out amongst the rock pools to search for this fish, which is easier to find in the dark owing to its luminous appearance. Luminescence is also the key to how these fish find their food – luring prey with bright lights in the dark, similar to deep sea Angler fish. They also play an important role when it comes to attracting a mate, and recognising members of their own species. Lionel also discovers how a parasite which effectively masks the photophores aids its own journey into a secondary host, discovers how jelly fish are used as nurseries to help rear the young fry, and how the Vernal Lantern fish could soon be replacing cod or haddock at the local chippy if global warming continues, and its numbers increase in our local waters. |
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RELATED LINKS
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