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Sea sparkle

  • Posted By
    10Pointer
  • Categories
    Environment
  • Published
    1st Dec, 2020

The “sea sparkle” has been witnessing Karnataka coast since about a month.

Context

  • The “sea sparkle” has been witnessing Karnataka coast since about a month.

What is sea sparkle?

  • The bloom of NoctilucaScintillans, commonly known as “sea sparkle”.
  • The bioluminescent Noctiluca Scintillansalso brightened the sea water during night.
  • The toxic blooms of  Scintillanswere linked to massive fish and marine invertebrate kills.

What is the concern?

  • It has displaced microscopic algae called diatoms, which form the basis of the marine food chain.
  • This has deprived food for the planktivorous fish.

How it kills the organisms?

  • 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.
  • The ammonia makes  Scintillansunpalatable for most creatures.

Plankton bloom

  • Plankton bloom was reported when the density of plankton would be more than 1,00,000 cells per m3.

What is Bioluminescence?

  • It is the production and emission of light by a living organism and occurs due to a chemical reaction, involving a light-emitting molecule and an enzyme, called luciferin and luciferase.

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