by Edith Widder
It was December 2011 when literary agent Farley Chase, having seen an article about my research in The New York Times, tracked me down to ask if I had ever considered writing a memoir. My answer, at the time, was a firm no.
A year and a half later, after the giant squid documentary aired, he contacted me again. He made a compelling case for the things I had seen and the stories I could tell. This time I sent him my Light Soup manuscript. He managed to be laudatory while at the same time saying what I had already heard: “You need to make it more personal.” My answer was still “No. I don’t know how to do that.”
His gentle persistence is evident in the more than forty emails that followed, in which he provided encouragement and reading recommendations until mid-2015, when he finally convinced me to give it a try. “Trying” involved two years of sending him outlines and sample chapters, until early 2017, when I finally had something that he thought was good enough to put into a book proposal.
In other words, there is no way this book would have happened without Farley Chase, so he gets top billing.
It was Farley and especially my phenomenal editor at Random House, Annie Chagnot, who patiently guided me through the writing process with lots and lots of admonitions to “show, don’t tell!” She managed to provide just the right mix of critique and encouragement. Annie deserves my heartfelt gratitude and admiration for helping me to rethink the first draft and for working so hard on knocking off the revised second draft chapters in heroic fashion during the pandemic and her pregnancy, practically editing on her way to the delivery room—where she delivered a healthy baby girl.
My wonderful husband, David, read every draft and provided lots of helpful feedback, bestowed plenty of encouragement when required, and helped me carve out the extra time I needed for writing by taking over my household chores, including all the cooking. That was his idea, not mine, and although I was initially hesitant, because his cooking had previously been pretty hit-or-miss (one might say overly optimistic), he has evolved into an excellent chef. When I was asked in an interview recently what my smartest career decision was, I said without hesitation, “Marrying my husband.” He is the wind beneath my wings and the water beneath my fins.
Other book-related help along the way came from Julie Grau, who imparted valuable advice on the early chapters; associate editor Rose Fox, who ably filled in while Annie Chagnot was on maternity leave; copy editor Will Palmer, who clearly put a lot of thought into getting the wording just right; Tammy Frank, who provided valuable science feedback; and Richard Dawkins, who contributed insightful comments on the first four chapters.
For helping to hone my literary chops as well as providing encouragement related to an early draft, when I’m not at all sure it was warranted, I thank the wonderful gals of my book club, Robin Dannahower, PJ Dempsey, Jan Fehrman (who is deeply missed), Michelle Lineal, Leigh Hoppe, Sue Van Dyke, and Wendy Williams.
Special thanks to U.S. Navy Rear Admiral Thomas Q. Donaldson V, who provided the quote from German U-boat commander Captain Reinhard Hardegen.
Most of the stories told here were about large collaborative ventures, which means many, many names were left out. To all those collaborators, sub crew, ship’s crew, colleagues, and friends who played a vital role, thank you. There are too many names to list here, but please allow me to share just a few that got left out of these pages but made a critical difference at key times. If I haven’t said thank you before, I’m saying it now: Mel Briscoe, Mary Chapman, Tony Cimaglia, Andrew Clark, Larry Clark, Dave Cook, Jerry Corsaut, Jim Eckman, Warren Falls, Marjorie Findlay, Herb Fitz Gibbon, Geoffrey Freeman, Steve Haddock, John Hanke, Peter Herring, Page Hiller-Adams, George Jones, Patrick Lahey, Janeen Mason, Edwin Massey, Gene Massion, Harry Meserve, Milbry Polk, Eric Reese, Vin Ryan, Mark Schrope, Chris Tietze, D. R. Widder, and Charlie Yentsch.
FURTHER READING
Introduction: A Different Light
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Danovaro, Roberto, Cinzia Corinaldesi, Antonio Dell’Anno, and Paul V. R. Snelgrove. “The Deep-Sea Under Global Change.” Current Biology 27, no. 11 (June 2017): R461–65. www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0960982217302178.
Drazen, Jeffrey C., et al. “Opinion: Midwater Ecosystems Must Be Considered When Evaluating Environmental Risks of Deep-Sea Mining.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 117, no. 30 (July 2020): 17455–60.
Nouvian, Claire. The Deep: The Extraordinary Creatures of the Abyss. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2007.
Ramirez-Llodra, Eva, et al. “Deep, Diverse and Definitely Different: Unique Attributes of the World’s Largest Ecosystem.” Biogeosciences 7 (2010): 2851–99.
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Chapter 1: Seeing
Cronin, Thomas W., Sönke Johnsen, N. Justin Marshall, and Eric J. Warrant. Visual Ecology. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 2014.
Johnsen, Sönke. The Optics of Life: A Biologist’s Guide to Light in Nature. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 2012.
Purves, Dale, R. Beau Lotto, and Surajit Nundy. “Why We See What We Do.” American Scientist 90, no. 3 (January 2002): 236–43. www.americanscientist.org/sites/americanscientist.org/files/20051220143043_306.pdf.
Chapter 2: Fiat Lux
Fleiss, A., and K. S. Sarkisyan. “A Brief Review of Bioluminescent Systems.” Current Genetics 65, no. 4 (August 2019): 877–82.
Haddock, S. H. D., M. A. Moline, and J. F. Case. “Bioluminescence in the Sea.” Annual Review of Marine Science 2 (January 2010): 443–93.
Shimomura, O., and I. Yampolsky. Bioluminescence: Chemical Principles and Methods. 3rd ed. Hackensack, N.J.: World Scientific, 2019.
Wilson, Therese, and J. Woodward Hastings. Bioluminescence: Living Lights, Lights for Living. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 2013.
Chapter 3: First Flash
Cusick, K. D., and E. A. Widder. “Bioluminescence and Toxicity as Driving Factors in Harmful Algal Blooms: Ecological Functions and Genetic Variability.” Harmful Algae 98 (September 2020): 101850. www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1568988320301293.
———. “Intensity Differences in Bioluminescent Dinoflagellates Impact Foraging Efficiency in a Nocturnal Predator.” Bulletin of Marine Science 90, no. 3 (July 2014): 797–811.
Eckert, Roger, and Takao Sibaoka. “The Flash-Triggering Action Potential of the Luminescent Dinoflagellate Noctiluca.” Journal of General Physiology 52, no. 2 (1968): 258–82.
Hanley, K. A., and E. A. Widder. “Evidence That the Adaptive Value of Bioluminescence in Dinoflagellates Is Concentration Dependent.” Photochemistry and Photobiology 93, no. 2 (March/April 2017): 519–30.
Harvey, E. Newton. A History of Luminescence: From the Earliest Times Until 1900. Mineola, N.Y.: Dover, 2005.
Hoppenrath, Mona, and Juan F. Saldarriaga. “Dinoflagellates.” Tree of Life Web Project. Version 15, December 2012. tolweb.org/Dinoflagellates/2445/2012.12.15 [inactive].
Widder, E. A., and J. F. Case. “Bioluminescence Excitation in a Dinoflagellate.” In Bioluminescence: Current Perspectives, edited by K. H. Nealson, 125–32. Minneapolis: Burgess, 1980.
———. “Distribution of Subcellular Bioluminescent Sources in a Dinoflagellate, Pyrocystis fusiformis.” Biological Bulletin 162, no. 3 (June 1982): 423–48.
———. “Luminescent Microsource Activity in Bioluminescence of the Dinoflagellate, Pyrocystis fusiformis.” Journal of Comparative Physiology 145, no. 4 (1982): 517–27.
———. “Two Flash Forms in the Bioluminescent Dinoflagellate, Pyrocystis fusiformis.” Journal of Comparative Physiology 143, no. 1 (1981): 43–52.
Chapter 4: The Stars Below
Beebe, William
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Herring, Peter. The Biology of the Deep Ocean. New York: Oxford University Press, 2002.
Rossotti, Hazel. Colour: Why the World Isn’t Grey. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1985.
Widder, E. A. “Bioluminescence.” In Adaptive Mechanisms in the Ecology of Vision, edited by S. N. Archer, M. B. A. Djamgoz, E. Loew, J. C. Partridge, and S. Vallerga, 555–81. Dordrecht, Netherlands: Kluwer Academic, 1999.
———. “Bioluminescence in the Ocean: Origins of Biological, Chemical, and Ecological Diversity.” Science 328, no. 5979 (2010): 704–8.
———. “Marine Bioluminescence.” Bioscience Explained 1, no. 1 (2001). www.medarbetarportalen.gu.se/digitalAssets/1566/1566428_biolumen.pdf.
Widder, E. A., M. I. Latz, and J. F. Case. “Marine Bioluminescence Spectra Measured with an Optical Multichannel Detection System.” Biological Bulletin 165, no. 3 (December 1983): 791–810.
Chapter 5: Strange Illumination
Frank, T. M., and E. A. Widder. “The Correlation of Downwelling Irradiance and Staggered Vertical Migration Patterns of Zooplankton in Wilkinson Basin, Gulf of Maine.” Journal of Plankton Research 19, no. 12 (December 1997): 1975–91.
Johnsen, S., E. A. Widder, and C. D. Mobley. “Propagation and Perception of Bioluminescence: Factors Affecting Counterillumination as a Cryptic Strategy.” Biological Bulletin 207, no. 1 (August 2004): 1–16.
Marshall, N. B. Developments in Deep-Sea Biology. Poole, Dorset: Blandford, 1979.
Robison, B. H. “Midwater Biological Research with the WASP ADS.” Marine Technology Society Journal 17, no. 3 (Fall 1983): 21–27.
———. “Running the Gauntlet: Assessing the Threats of Vertical Migrators.” Frontiers in Marine Science 7 (February 2020): 1–10. www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2020.00064/full.
Tinbergen, Niko. The Animal in Its World. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1972.
Widder, E. A. “Bioluminescence and the Pelagic Visual Environment.” Marine and Freshwater Behaviour and Physiology 35, no. 1–2 (2002): 1–26.
Widder, E. A., and T. M. Frank. “The Speed of an Isolume: A Shrimp’s Eye View.” Marine Biology 138, no. 4 (April 2001): 669–77.
Chapter 6: A Bioluminescent Minefield
Widder, E. A. “SPLAT Cam: Mapping Plankton Distributions with Bioluminescent Road-Kill.” In vol. 3 of Oceans 2002 MTS/IEEE, 1711–15. Piscataway, N.J.: Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, 2002.
Widder, E. A., S. A. Bernstein, D. F. Bracher, J. F. Case, K. R. Reisenbichler, J. J. Torres, and B. H. Robison. “Bioluminescence in Monterey Submarine Canyon: Image Analysis of Video Recordings from a Midwater Submersible.” Marine Biology 100, no. 4 (1989): 541–51.
Widder, E. A., and S. Johnsen. “3D Spatial Point Patterns of Bioluminescent Plankton: A Map of the ‘Minefield.’ ” Journal of Plankton Research 22, no. 3 (2000): 409–20.
Chapter 7: Seas Sowed with Fire
Case, J. F., E. A. Widder, S. A. Bernstein, K. Ferer, D. Young, M. Latz, M. Geiger, and D. Lapota. “Assessment of Marine Bioluminescence.” Naval Research Reviews 45, no. 2 (1993): 31–41.
Lewis, David. We, the Navigators: The Ancient Art of Landfinding in the Pacific. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 1972.
Rohr, J., M. I. Latz, S. Fallon, J. C. Nauen, and E. Hendricks. “Experimental Approaches Towards Interpreting Dolphin-Stimulated Bioluminescence.” Journal of Experimental Biology 201, no. 9 (1998): 1447–60.
Sontag, Sherry, Christopher Drew, and Annette Lawrence Drew. Blind Man’s Bluff: The Untold Story of American Submarine Espionage. New York: PublicAffairs, 1998.
Vacquié-Garcia, J., F. Royer, A. C. Dragon, M. Viviant, F. Bailleul, and C. Guinet. “Foraging in the Darkness of the Southern Ocean: Influence of Bioluminescence on a Deep Diving Predator.” PLOS One 7 no. 8 (2012): e43565. doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0043565.
Widder, E. A. “Bioluminescence—Shedding Some Light on Plankton Distribution Patterns.” Sea Technology, March 1997: 33–39.
———. “A Look Back at Quantifying Oceanic Bioluminescence: Seeing the Light, Flashes of Insight and Other Bad Puns.” Marine Technology Society Journal 40, no. 2 (2006): 136–37.
Widder, E. A., J. F. Case, S. A. Bernstein, S. MacIntyre, M. R. Lowenstine, M. R. Bowlby, and D. P. Cook. “A New Large Volume Bioluminescence Bathyphotometer with Defined Turbulence Excitation.” Deep-Sea Research 40, no. 3 (1993): 607–27.
Widder, E. A., C. L. Frey, and J. R. Bowers. “Improved Bioluminescence Measurement Instrument.” Sea Technology, February 2005, 10–16.
Widder, E. A., S. Johnsen, S. A. Bernstein, J. F. Case, and D. J. Neilson. “Thin Layers of Bioluminescent Copepods Found at Density Discontinuities in the Water Column.” Marine Biology 134, no. 3 (August 1999): 429–37.
Wikipedia. S.v. “Dolphins (M. C. Escher).” Last modified June 19, 2020. en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Dolphins_(M._C._Escher).
Chapter 8: Glorious Puzzles
Claes, J. M., D.-E. Nilsson, J. Mallefet, and N. Straube. “The Presence of Lateral Photophores Correlates with Increased Speciation in Deep-Sea Bioluminescent Sharks.” Royal Society Open Science 2, no. 7 (2015): 150219.
Davis, M. P., N. I. Holcroft, E. O. Wiley, et al. “Species-Specific Bioluminescence Facilitates Speciation in the Deep Sea.” Marine Biology 161 (2014): 1139–48.
Ellis, E. A., and T. H. Oakley. “High Rates of Species Accumulation in Animals with Bioluminescent Courtship Displays.” Current Biology 26, no. 14 (2016): 1916–21.
Haddock, S. H. D., M. A. Moline, and J. F. Case. “Bioluminescence in the Sea.” Annual Review of Marine Science 2, no. 1 (2010): 443–93.
Herring, Peter J., ed. Bioluminescence in Action. London: Academic Press, 1978.
Herring, P. J. “Sex with the Lights On? A Review of Bioluminescent Sexual Dimorphism in the Sea.” Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 87, no. 4 (2007): 829–42.
Johnsen, S., E. J. Balser, and E. A. Widder. “Modified Suckers as Light Organs in a Deep-Sea Octopod.” Nature 398, no. 6723 (March 1999): 113–14.
Widder, E. A. “A Predatory Use of Counterillumination by the Squaloid Shark, Isistius brasiliensis.” Environmental Biology of Fishes 53, no. 3 (1998): 267–73.
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Chapter 9: Stories in the Dark
Link, Marion Clayton. Windows in the Sea. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1973.
Olson, Randy. Don’t Be Such a Scientist: Talking Substance in an Age of Style. Washington, D.C.: Island Press, 2010.
Thaler, Andrew David. “The Politics of Fake Documentaries.” Slate, August 31, 2016. slate.com/technology/2016/08/the-lasting-damage-of-fake-documentaries-like-mermaids-the-body-found.html.
Chapter 10: Plan B
Kaharl, Victoria A. Water Baby: The Story of Alvin. New York: Oxford University Press, 1990.
Kunzig, Robert. Mapping the Deep: The Extraordinary Story of Ocean Science. London: W. W. Norton, 2000.
Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute. “History.” Accessed October 28, 2020. www.mbari.org/about/history/.
Raymond, E. H., and E. A. Widder. “Behavioral Responses of Two Deep-Sea Fishes to Red, Far-Red and White Light.” Marine Ecology Progress Series 350 (2007): 291–98.
Widder, E. A., B. H. Robison, K. R. Reisenbichler, and S. H. D. Haddock. “Using Red Light for In Situ Observations of Deep-Sea Fishes.” Deep-Sea Research 52, no. 11 (November 2005): 2077–85.
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Chapter 11: The Language of Light
Herring, P. J., and E. A. Widder. “Bioluminescence of Coronate Medusae.” Marine Biology 146, no. 1 (December 2004): 39–51.
“A More Candid Underwater Camera.” Popular Mechanics, October 1, 2009. www.popularmechanics.com/science/environment/a3336/2628296/.
NOAA Ocean Explorer. “Operation Deep Scope 2004.” Accessed October 28, 2020. oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/explorations/04deepscope/background/plan/plan.html.
———. “Operation Deep Scope 2005.” Accessed October 28, 2020. oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/explorations/05deepscope/background/eyeinsea/eyeinsea.html.
Widder, Edith. “Glowing Life in an Underwater World.” Filmed April 2010 on Mission Blue Voyage, Galápagos Islands, Ecuador. TED video, 17:05. www.ted.com/talks/edith_widder_glowing_life_in_an_underwater_world?language=en#t-695871.
———. “The Weird, Wonderful World of Bioluminescence.” Filmed March 2011 at TED2011, Long Beach, California. TED video, 12:30. www.ted.com/talks/edith_widder_the_weird_wonderful_world_of_bioluminescence?language=en#t-645745.
Widder, E. A., M. I. Latz, P. J. Herring, and J. F. Case. “Far Red Bioluminescence from Two Deep-Sea Fishes.” Science 225, no. 4661 (September 1984): 512–14.
Chapter 12: The Edge of the Map
Bassler, Bonnie L. “How Bacteria Talk to Each Other: Regulation of Gene Expression by Quorum Sensing.” Current Opinion in Microbiology 2, no. 6 (1999): 582–87.
Bracken-Grissom, H. D., E. Widder, S. Johnsen, C. Messing, and T. Frank. “Decapod Diversity Associated with Deep-Sea Octocorals in the Gulf of Mexico.” Crustaceana 91, no. 10 (2018): 1267–75.
