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Dieren en planten

Dinoflagellates   Sea sparkle   Micro-organisms   Protists   

Water en land

Mens en Milieu

Water   Seawater   
  • Dut: Zeevonk
  • Lat: Noctiluca scintillans
  • Eng: Sea sparkle, Noctiluca
  • Ger: Meeresleuchttierchen
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Noctiluca Scintillans and Red Tide, NIOZ (www.nioz.nl)
© Ecomare

Sea sparkle

It is a mysterious experience when you walk along the beach on a warm summery evening, when sea sparkle is in the water. You can see it as your foot presses down on the wet sand. And you can see it in the breaking waves. Sparks of light! When millions of sea sparkle are bounced around by the water or your feet, a chemical reaction takes places which produces a greenish light. This light is meant to scare off predators. When this dinoflagellate flowers, it can turn the seawater pink. Unlike Alexandrium, it is not harmful. Sea sparkle is found is relatively quiet waters. Should the sea get too rough, it moves to deeper depths.

  • Fluorescense
    Lichtend zeewater in de haven van Zeebrugge, Hans Hillewaert

    Sea sparkle blossoms are best known in the tranquil waters in the German Bight. However, this algae is not the only North Sea organism which fluoresces. There are two other species of dinoflagellates (living further away from the coast) as well as the jellyfish Pelagia perla. Various species of bacteria also radiate light. Even herring can emit light, although in a rotting stage. The fluorescens comes from the bacteria Pseudomonae leucifera. When sea gooseberries or moon jellies eat sea sparkle or other fluorescent bacteria, they can also fluoresces.