In Blue Light, Most Amphibians Have a Neon-Green Glow
By Theresa Machemer/Smithsonianmag.com
Common newts, frogs, and salamanders may look muddy brown or leafy green, but that’s just what they want you to think. Their camouflage helps them blend into their natural environment to hide from danger. But in the right light, these well-hidden critters start to glow.
Researchers were already aware of fluorescence in a handful of amphibians, the damp-skinned animals that can split their time between land and water. But St. Cloud State University herpetologist Jennifer Lamb and her colleague, ichthyologist Matthew Davis, began to wonder if more common species had been checked carefully for the same characteristics. Their results, published in Scientific Reports on Thursday, shows that 32 diverse amphibian species can all glow.
“We forget to ask the same things about species that are common that we’d ask about rarer species,” Lamb tells Discover magazine’s, Leslie Nemo.
Fluorescent animals don’t glow all on their own, and researchers need special filtered lenses to see them shine. The creatures rely on specific molecules that absorb surrounding light, and then re-emit that energy as a specific color of light, like neon green.
Carol graduated from Riverside White Cross School of Nursing in Columbus, Ohio and received her diploma as a registered nurse. She attended Bowling Green State University where she received a Bachelor of Arts Degree in History and Literature. She attended the University of Toledo, College of Nursing, and received a Master’s of Nursing Science Degree as an Educator.
She has traveled extensively, is a photographer, and writes on medical issues. Carol has three children RJ, Katherine, and Stephen – one daughter-in-law; Katie – two granddaughters; Isabella Marianna and Zoe Olivia – and one grandson, Alexander Paul. She also shares her life with her husband Gordon Duff, many cats, and two rescues.
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