Electric Blue Seas
This effect is produced by a
protozoza named Noctiluca scintillans. Although a rare sight on a
shoreline, the phenomenon is more commonly seen at sea in the wake of ships
that stir up the oxygen in the sea, which causes the bioluminescent bacteria to
glow.
Noctiluca
scintillans
Also known as sea sparkle, Noctiluca
scintillans is a large dinoflagellate that lives near the surface of the
ocean, where it feeds on other planktonic organisms. It has a flattened
spherical body but no protective test. It is colorless, although the presence
of photosynthetic organisms within the Noctiluca scintillans may give
it a pink or greenish tinge. Usually only one of the two flagella is visible.
The flagellum is not used in locomotion but instead sweeps food into the oral
cavity and removes waste matter.
To control its buoyancy, Noctiluca
scintillans can adjust the concentration of its cell contents. This
species, which is bioluminescent in some areas (noctiluca means “shining
lantern”), may also form red tides and has been linked to fish and invertebrate
deaths. Little is known of its complex life cycle. Reproduction can be either
sexual or asexual by simple division.
Bioluminescence in Noctiluca
scintillans
Floating just below the surface of
the water at night, dinoflagellates, and in particular Noctiluca
scintillans, are the most common cause of bioluminescence in the open ocean.
Millions of Noctiluca scintillanscells twinkle in the waves, hence the
common name sea sparkle. The blue-green light is emitted from small organelles
within the cells and is generated by a chemical reaction. Unlike many bioluminescent
fish,Noctiluca scintillans does not depend on light-emitting bacteria.
Many undersea organisms ‘glow’,
especially creatures that live at depths where light from the surface is less
likely to penetrate.
The night-time glow is a side-effect
of blooming red algae, known as red tide, which can turn entire beaches scarlet
and murky during the day. The smell of decay, caused by rotting kelp, plankton
and fish often accompanies the event as the red algae starves the water of
oxygen and light.
By night, there is an increase in
microscopic plankton called dynoflagellates, which glow in the dark when
disturbed by currents or waves.
Sources :
http://beybieluhb20.blogspot.com/2012/02/noctiluca-scintillans-sea-sparklesea.htmlhttp://amazing-albums.blogspot.ca/2012/09/natural-phenomenon-electric-neon-blue.html
http://oceana.org/es/explore/marine-wildlife/noctiluca-scintillans