Bioluminescence draws huge crowd to the beaches of Karavali Karnataka

Mangalore Today News Network

Mangaluru, Nov 24, 2020:    Following reports of the sea emitting attractive colour at night, thousands of people are thronging to the beaches to witness the spectacular phenomenon. Bioluminescence is a natural phenomenon often witnessed on the beaches when the sea seems to emit light in attractive colours. It is caused due to the presence of certain types of microorganisms or algae in the sea water. The light, coming off as a ghostly glow, is emitted due to chemical reactions in their bodies or due to bacterial decay.

 

Most marine light-emission is in the blue and green light spectrum. Some fungi and bacteria as well as many aquatic species including fish, jellyfish, comb jellies, crustaceans, and cephalopod mollusks are known to emit light. Even land based animals and insects such as the firefly emit light.

Presently bioluminescence has been observed on the waves at different points all along the coast from Mangalore to Karwar. The College of Fisheries, Mangaluru has said that bioluminescence presently being witnessed in the district is due to the bloom of dinoflagellates, scientifically called Noctiluca scintillans and commonly known as sea sparkle.  

Dinoflagellates are single cell organisms and their populations are distributed depending on sea surface temperature, salinity, or depth. The luminosity of the plankton is high at 7:30 p.m., a media release from the college stated. The College Dean Dr. A. Senthil Vel has said the college has deputed a team of scientists to various beaches to collect water samples for plankton analysis as well as bacterial composition. Bioluminescence by Noctiluca is the most commonly occurring event across the world, Dr. Vel has said.