Do animals glow with invisible light?

Marine worms of the family Alciopidae have huge bulbous eyes that are highly sensitive but only to UV-light. Since they are night active, there is no celestial UV-light and accordingly the project will test the hypothesis that the alciopid worms use ultraviolet bioluminescence (UV-BL) for visual communication with conspecifics. This will be the first time UV-BL is found in any animal but also show that putatively there is a completely new unexplored world of BL invisible to the human eye and to most cameras. The hypothesis will be tested in the wild and under lab conditions using specialized UV-ultrasensitive cameras. The biochemistry behind the UV-BL will also be examined with a range of molecular tools. Biochemistry producing such high energy light is currently unknown from biological systems and its discovery will help answer questions on how specific chemical interactions influence the colour of BL.