Listening:
Question:
Using the examples given in the lecture, explain two ways that animals survive in environments with low levels of light.
Sample Answer:
The lecturer explains how two animals survive in environments without much light. To begin with, she describes how the spookfish uses tube-shaped eyes to hunt its prey. She notes that it lives in almost total darkness. However, its eyes always point upwards, so it can spot the faint outlines of fish swimming above it. When this happens, it quickly swims upwards to catch and eat the fish. Its eyes are quite large, so it is able to notice even very small prey. Second, she describes how the lanternfish is able to produce its own light to both catch prey and escape from predators. She says that it has tiny organs throughout its body that produce light through a chemical reaction called bio-luminescence. As a result, it can attract the attention of other fish, which it eats. In addition, it uses the light for protection. By matching the intensity of light sources above it, it can disguise itself from potential predators.