I See the Light! …Or Maybe Not. Evaluating the Effects of Oxygen and Light on Highly Visual Marine Organisms

Visual systems have a high metabolic oxygen demand, and in marine organisms with complex eyes, sensitivity to light may be reduced in areas of hypoxia. Oxygen stress may effectively increase the light required for full visual function, therefore limiting organisms that rely on vision to certain areas of the water column where the demands for both oxygen and light are met. This presentation will provide a framework for determining vision-induced effects of hypoxia by discussing the interaction of oxygen, light, and vision in marine organisms with complex eyes. The idea of a “lumoxy scape” will be presented to illustrate temporal and spatial combinations of light and oxygen using long-term field measurements. Organisms will utilize this lumoxy scape based on limits of metabolism and visual sensitivity, and avoid areas where visual function is impaired. As a result, discussion of potential changes in behavior and distribution in visual marine organisms is important during increased deoxygenation and/or hypoxic events.