Media Release

Mangaluru, Nov 25: Noctiluca Scintillans - the Sea Sparkle of the Mangalurean coast was identified and documented by Laboratory of Applied Biology, St Aloysius College, here.

Mangaluru has been buzzing with news of icy blue streaks across our coastal waters. From Udupi to Someshwar, our seas are lit by sparkly blue luminescent waves that are visible from sunset till daybreak. What causes this spectacular phenomenon and why?

Sulakshana Karkala and Sachin Patavardhan of the Laboratory of Applied Biology, St Aloysius College, here, under the guidance of Dr Leo D Souza SJ and Dr Shashi Kiran identified the causative organism as Noctiluca Scintillans. It is a small transparent balloon-shaped microscopic dinoflagellate that has two hair-like structures (flagella) for movement. Only one flagella is prominent and spoon-shaped and therefore helps to scoop up phytoplankton into its mouth. Noctiluca Scintillans itself is colorless; it looks green from all the green microscopic phytoplankton that it consumes.

So how does this tiny little fellow produce such brilliant shots of lights? Noctiluca Sintillans has numerous strands inside it which contain a chemical called luciferin and an enzyme called luciferase. Luciferin reacts with oxygen to give light flashes. This is called bioluminescence because it is light that is produced by a living organism. This light flash is triggered by mechanical motion such as waves crashing. Thus the strongest light sparkles are usually seen with the highest waves folding. The effect it produces appears like a sparkly shiny wave and that is why Noctiluca Scintillans is also called the Sea Sparkle.

While the icy blue light on the cool sea lit by the moonshine appears to be a picture straight out of a fantasy movie, it hides a scary secret. This overgrowth of the dinoflagellate could mean disaster for our marine fish industry. The sudden overgrowth throws off the balance of the sea and could cause a drastic decline in the marine fishing harvests. The overgrowth also leads to excessive production of ammonia in the seawater which is quite toxic to the other marine animals in the waters.