Dakshina Kannada-Udupi coast witness bioluminescence

Context: Bioluminescence being witnessed along the Dakshina Kannada-Udupi coast during the past few days due to the bloom of dinoflagellates, scientifically called Noctiluca scintillans and commonly known as sea sparkle.

• High temperature, high quantity of organic material such as sewage and effluents and increased turbulence/wave action of the water could be the cause for the sudden bloom.
• Apart from human causes, the adverse impact of global warming leading to increased sea water temperature could be playing a major role in such phenomenon.
• The college would track the bloom and find out if there were any fish kill or obnoxious smell from the area.

Bioluminescence

• It is light emitted by living organisms or algae through chemical reactions in their bodies, could also be the ghostly glow of bacteria on decaying organic matter or in the sediment/sand.
• Bioluminescence by Noctiluca, genus of marine dinoflagellate in the family of Noctilucaceae, was the most commonly occurring event across the world.
• Such blooms, which form a thick scum across the sea surface, visibly red or pink in daylight, are known to be hazardous to fish and certain other marine species.

https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Mangalore/high-temperature-may-have-caused-sea-sparkle-in-city/article33164973.ece?homepage=true