19 Edith Widder Quotes for You to Enjoy

Edith Widder

American Scientist

Born: Jun 11, 1951

Animals Down Light Made Ocean You

Related authors: Ben Carson Carl Sagan E. O. Wilson George Washington Carver Isaac Asimov Margaret Mead Neil deGrasse Tyson W. Edwards Deming

Exploration is the engine that drives innovation. Innovation drives economic growth. So let's all go exploring. Edith Widder

Innovation Economic Economic Growth Drives Go Exploration Engine Exploring Growth

Since my first dive in a deep-diving submersible, when I went down and turned out the lights and saw the fireworks displays, I've been a bioluminescence junky. But I would come back from those dives and try to share the experience with words, and they were totally inadequate to the task. I needed some way to share the experience directly. Edith Widder

Experience Words Try First Down Back Saw Way Those Out Would Some Totally Dive Directly Share Fireworks Since Lights Come Were Been Task Inadequate Turned Needed

I just was mesmerized by all of this life everywhere I looked. And so I wanted to be a marine biologist. Edith Widder

Life Everywhere Looked Mesmerized Just Wanted Biologist Marine

For my Ph.D. thesis, I was measuring the electrical activity that triggers light emission from a bioluminescent dinoflagellate. As I was nearing the completion of my degree, my major professor wrote a grant for an instrument for measuring the color of very dim light flashes from bioluminescent animals. Edith Widder

Light Degree Animals Completion Dim Triggers Emission Color Major Wrote Instrument Very Flashes Grant Electrical Measuring Thesis Activity Professor

It's a little-appreciated fact that most of the animals in our ocean make light. I've spent most of my career studying this phenomenon called bioluminescence. I study it because I think understanding it is critical to understanding life in the ocean where most bioluminescence occurs. Edith Widder

Life Light Animals Understanding Ocean Think Our Spent Critical Fact Study Studying Most Make Because Occurs Where Career Phenomenon

Squid don't eat jellyfish, but they eat the things that eat the jellyfish. Jellyfishes put on a lightshow to attract a larger predator. It's caught in the clutches of something like a fish and has no hope for escape unless its lightshow attracts something bigger that will attack their attacker. Edith Widder

Hope Will Unless Eat No Hope Something Attack Put Like Attract Attracts Caught Fish Escape Predator Bigger Clutch Larger Things

I think I have the best job in the world. Seventy-one percent of the planet is covered by water, we've explored less than five percent of the ocean, and there are so many fabulous discoveries that have yet to be made. Edith Widder

Best World Water Job Made Ocean Think Fabulous Percent Covered Discoveries Five Than Planet Explored Less Many

I have made hundreds of dives in submersibles, with each dive holding the promise of seeing an organism or a behavior that no one has ever seen before. But I have always wondered about the animals and behaviors that we're not seeing because our bright lights and loud thrusters scare them away. Edith Widder

Behavior Made Seen Animals Before Holding Our Hundreds Promise Scare Seeing About Dive No-One Lights Because Always Loud Wondered Behaviors Them Organism Each Bright Bright Lights Away Ever

There's a lot of animals in the open ocean - most of them that make light. And we have a pretty good idea, for most of them, why. They use it for finding food, for attracting mates, for defending against predators. But when you get down to the bottom of the ocean, that's where things get really strange. Edith Widder

Good Food You Strange Light Animals Ocean Down Finding Pretty Pretty Good Open Bottom Idea Most Attracting Make Mates Lot Get Predators Where Against Them Really Use Why Things Defending Good Idea

If I go out in the open ocean environment, virtually anywhere in the world, and I drag a net from 3,000 feet to the surface, most of the animals - in fact, in many places, 80 to 90 percent of the animals that I bring up in that net - make light. This makes for some pretty spectacular light shows. Edith Widder

World Light Animals Ocean Virtually Out Some Pretty Net Percent Fact Open Environment Feet Most Make Makes Surface Go Up In Fact Anywhere Places Many Shows Spectacular Bring Drag

The primary way that we know about what lives in the ocean is we go out and drag nets behind ships. And I defy you to name any other branch of science that still depends on hundreds-of-year-old technology. The other primary way is we go down with submersibles and remote- operated vehicles. I've made hundreds of dives in submersibles. Edith Widder

You Technology Science Made Ocean Down Other Hundreds Way Out Defy About Nets Vehicles Primary Name Remote Know Operated Still Go Ships Branch Any Behind Depends Lives Drag

When caught in the clutches of a predator, the jelly produces a light display that is a pinwheel of light that is basically a call for help. It serves to attract the attention of a larger predator that may attack their attacker, thereby affording them an opportunity for escape. Edith Widder

If we are to be good stewards of the ocean, we need to understand what lives there and how the animals interact with each other and with their environment, which means we need to be constantly seeking new and improved methods for exploration and observation. Edith Widder

The giant squid has the biggest eyes of any animal on the planet. It's a visual predator. Edith Widder

Eyes Animal Giant Visual Any Predator Biggest Planet

Exploration is the engine that drives innovation. Innovation drives economic growth. Edith Widder

Innovation Economic Economic Growth Drives Exploration Engine Growth

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