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Updated: Aug 14, 2026

In Situ Measurement and Correlation of Cell Density and Light Emission of Bioluminescent Bacteria
Published on: June 28, 2018
Distribution of the Luminous Bacterium Beneckea harveyi in a Semitropical Estuarine Environment
1Marine Science Program, Department of Biology, University of Houston, Houston, Texas 77004.
Abstract:
Bioluminescent bacteria were found in the water column, sediment, shrimp, and gastrointestinal tract of marine fishes from the semitropical estuarine environment of the East Lagoon, Galveston Island, Tex. Populations in the water column decreased during cold weather while sedimentary populations persisted. The highest percentages of luminous organisms were isolated from the gastrointestinal tract of marine fishes, where they persisted during 5 days of starvation. The presence of chitin temporarily increased intestinal populations. All isolates were Beneckea harveyi, whose natural habitat appears to be the gut of fishes and whose free-living reservoir appears to be marine sediments.
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