NOCTILUCA SCINTILLANS - SEA SPARKLE

Noctiluca scintillans is a marine dinoflagellate that is responsible for bioluminescence in coastal regions of the world. They are bouyant and balloon shaped single cell. It has an oral pouch, a short flagellum and tentacle.



The scintillating effect of Noctiluca’s bioluminescence, which is most conspicuous at night during a bloom this phenomenon is called “burning of the sea” or “sea sparkle” . Noctiluca reproduce through binary fission (separation of the cell into two bodies) or multiple fission (separation of the cell into more than two bodies). The latter, which involves the cell-division processes of meiosis and mitosis, results in the production of numerous motile swarmers that bud off from the parent cell.







 



Location: Thrissur, Kerala, India

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