题记：珊瑚的荧光色是为了吸引猎物。在深海中，光是危险的信号，预示着杀机。陆地上植物得向光性能促进生长，而深海生物的向光性则是在为自己寻找坟墓。珊瑚的光是美丽的，也是危险的。

A Mystery Solved: Why Does Coral Glow?

解开一个谜：为什么珊瑚会发光？

Corals display glowing colors (fluorescence). Credit: Tel Aviv University
珊瑚显示出发光的颜色（荧光）。 图片来源：特拉维夫大学
Researchers have proved for the first time that corals’ fluorescent colors are intended to attract prey.
研究人员首次证明珊瑚的荧光色是为了吸引猎物。
For the first time, a recent study from Tel Aviv University, in association with the Steinhardt Museum of Natural History and the Interuniversity Institute for Marine Sciences in Eilat, has established that the magical phenomenon in deep reefs where corals exhibit glowing colors (fluorescence) is intended to serve as a mechanism for luring prey. The research demonstrates that the marine creatures that corals feed on are drawn to fluorescent colors.
特拉维夫大学最近与斯坦哈特自然历史博物馆和埃拉特大学海洋科学研究所联合开展的一项研究首次确定，珊瑚在深礁中呈现出发光颜色（荧光）的神奇现象是旨在作为引诱猎物的机制。 研究表明，珊瑚以某些海洋生物为食，而这些海洋生物会被荧光色所吸引。
Professor Yossi Loya from the School of Zoology and the Steinhardt Museum of Natural History at Tel Aviv University supervised the research, which was led by Dr. Or Ben-Zvi, Yoav Lindemann, and Dr. Gal Eyal.
特拉维夫大学动物学院和斯坦哈特自然历史博物馆的 Yossi Loya 教授监督了这项由 Or Ben-Zvi 博士、Yoav Lindemann 和 Gal Eyal 博士领导的研究。
According to the researchers, the ability of aquatic organisms to glow has long attracted both scientists and those who love nature. The biological role of the phenomena, which occurs often in corals that produce reefs, has been fiercely disputed.
据研究人员称，水生生物发光的能力长期以来一直吸引着科学家和热爱大自然的人。 这种现象经常发生在产生珊瑚礁的珊瑚中，其生物学作用一直受到激烈争论。
A variety of possibilities have been explored over the years, including: Does this phenomenon defend against radiation? improve photosynthesis? an antioxidant activity? ? According to the most recent research, coral fluorescence actually serves as a lure for prey.
多年来已经探索了各种可能性，包括：这种现象是否可以抵御辐射？ 提高光合作用？ 抗氧化活性？ 根据最近的研究，珊瑚荧光实际上可以作为猎物的诱饵。
In the study, the researchers put their hypothesis to the test; to this end, they first sought to determine whether plankton (small organisms that drift in the sea along with the current) are attracted to fluorescence, both in the laboratory and at sea. Then, in the lab, the researchers quantified the predatory capabilities of mesophotic corals (corals that live between the shallow coral reef area and the deep, completely dark zone of the ocean), which exhibit different fluorescent appearances.
在这项研究中，研究人员对他们的假设进行了检验； 为此，他们首先试图在实验室和海上确定浮游生物（随水流在海中漂流的小生物）是否被荧光吸引。 然后，在实验室中，研究人员量化了介生珊瑚（生活在浅珊瑚礁区域和海洋深处、完全黑暗区域之间的珊瑚）的捕食能力，这些珊瑚表现出不同的荧光外观。
In order to test the planktons’ potential attraction to fluorescence, the researchers used, inter alia, the crustacean Artemia salina, which is used in many experiments as well as for food for corals. The researchers noted that when the crustaceans were given a choice between a green or orange fluorescent target versus a clear “control” target, they showed a significant preference for the fluorescent target.
为了测试荧光对浮游生物的潜在吸引力，研究人员特别使用了甲壳动物卤虫，它被用于许多实验以及珊瑚的食物。 研究人员指出，当甲壳类动物在绿色或橙色荧光目标与明确的“控制”目标之间进行选择时，他们表现出对荧光目标的显著偏好。
Moreover, when the crustaceans were given a choice between two clear targets, their choices were observed to be randomly distributed in the experimental setup. In all of the laboratory experiments, the crustaceans vastly exhibited a preferred attraction toward a fluorescent signal. 
此外，当甲壳类动物在两个明确的目标之间进行选择时，观察到它们的选择在实验设置中是随机分布的。 在所有的实验室实验中，甲壳类动物都对荧光信号表现出极大的吸引力。
Similar results were presented when using a native crustacean from the Red Sea. However, unlike the crustaceans, fish that are not considered coral prey did not exhibit these trends, and rather avoided the fluorescent targets in general and the orange targets in particular.
当使用来自红海的本地甲壳类动物时，也出现了类似的结果。然而，与甲壳类动物不同，不被认为是珊瑚猎物的鱼没有表现出这些趋势，而是通常避开荧光目标，特别是橙色目标。

A scientist obtaining data for the study. Credit: Tel Aviv University
为研究获取数据的科学家。 图片来源：特拉维夫大学
In the second phase of the study, the experiment was carried out in the corals’ natural habitat, about 40 meters deep in the sea, where the fluorescent traps (both green and orange) attracted twice as many plankton as the clear trap.
在研究的第二阶段，实验在珊瑚的自然栖息地进行，深海约 40 米，荧光诱捕器（绿色和橙色）吸引的浮游生物数量是透明诱捕器的两倍。
Dr. Or Ben-Zvi says, “We conducted an experiment in the depths of the sea in order to examine the possible attraction of diverse and natural collections of plankton to fluorescence, under the natural currents and light conditions that exist in deep water. Since fluorescence is ‘activated’ principally by blue light (the light of the depths of the sea), at these depths the fluorescence is naturally illuminated, and the data that emerged from the experiment were unequivocal, similar to the laboratory experiment.”
Or Ben-Zvi 博士说：“我们在深海进行了一项实验，以检查在深水中存在的自然水流和光照条件下，各种自然的浮游生物集合对荧光的可能吸引力。 由于荧光主要由蓝光（深海的光）“激活”，因此在这些深度处，荧光自然会被照亮，并且从实验中得出的数据是明确的，类似于实验室实验。”
In the last part of the study, the researchers examined the predation rates of mesophotic corals that were collected at 45-meter depth in the Gulf of Eilat and found that corals that displayed green fluorescence enjoyed predation rates that were 25 percent higher than corals exhibiting yellow fluorescence.
在研究的最后一部分，研究人员检查了在埃拉特湾 45 米深处采集的介生珊瑚的捕食率，发现显示绿色荧光的珊瑚的捕食率比显示黄色的珊瑚高 25% 荧光。
Professor Loya: “Many corals display a fluorescent color pattern that highlights their mouths or tentacle tips, a fact that supports the idea that fluorescence, like bioluminescence (the production of light by a chemical reaction), acts as a mechanism to attract prey. The study proves that the glowing and colorful appearance of corals can act as a lure to attract swimming plankton to ground-dwelling predators, such as corals, and especially in habitats where corals require other energy sources in addition or as a substitute for photosynthesis (sugar production by symbiotic algae inside the coral tissue using light energy).”
Loya 教授：“许多珊瑚显示出荧光色图案，突出它们的嘴巴或触手尖端，这一事实支持了这样一种观点，即荧光就像生物发光（通过化学反应产生光）一样，是一种吸引猎物的机制。 该研究证明，珊瑚发光和色彩缤纷的外观可以作为诱饵，将游泳的浮游生物吸引到陆生捕食者，如珊瑚，尤其是在珊瑚需要其他能源补充或替代光合作用（珊瑚组织内的共生藻类利用光能生产糖）。
Dr. Ben-Zvi concludes: “Despite the gaps in the existing knowledge regarding the visual perception of fluorescence signals by plankton, the current study presents experimental evidence for the prey-luring role of fluorescence in corals. We suggest that this hypothesis, which we term the ‘light trap hypothesis’, may also apply to other fluorescent organisms in the sea, and that this phenomenon may play a greater role in marine ecosystems than previously thought.”
Ben-Zvi 博士总结道：“尽管关于浮游生物对荧光信号视觉感知的现有知识存在差距，但目前的研究为荧光在珊瑚中的诱捕作用提供了实验证据。我们认为，这个我们称之为‘光阱假说’的假设也可能适用于海洋中的其他荧光生物，并且这种现象在海洋生态系统中的作用可能比以前想象的要大。”