The blooms of Noctiluca Scintillans, commonly known as “sea sparkle or bioluminescence” are being witnessed along the coasts of Visakhapatnam, AP.
Noctiluca Scintillans
- Scintillans is a bioluminescent specie that brightens the seawater during the night.
- It grazes on other micro-organisms such as larvae, fish eggs, and diatoms. But the unicellular phytoplankton that lives inside it can photosynthesize, turning sunlight into energy.
- They help their host cell survive even when food was scarce.
- Thus, N. Scintillans acts as both a plant and an animal
Threats posed
- According to marine experts, the phenomenon is an indicator of climate change.
- While smaller blooms may be harmless, slow-moving larger blooms may have an impact on deep-sea fishes.
- The toxic blooms of N. Scintillans were linked to massive fish and marine invertebrate kills.
- Though the species does not produce a toxin, it was found to accumulate toxic levels of ammonia, which is then excreted into the surrounding waters, possibly acting as the killing agent in blooms.
- They have displaced microscopic algae called diatoms, which form the basis of the marine food chain. This has deprived food for the planktivorous fish.
Back2Basics: Bioluminescence
- It is the property of a living organism to produce and emit light.
- Animals, plants, fungi and bacteria show bioluminescence. A remarkable diversity of marine animals and microbes are able to produce their own light.
- It is found in many marine organisms such as bacteria, algae, jellyfish, worms, crustaceans, sea stars, fish and sharks.
- Luminescence is generally higher in deep-living and planktonic organisms than in shallow species.
