While swimming at west bay public beach last night I noticed that the water was glowing/luminous everytime I pulled or splashed through it... I've tried to find out more about this amazing phenomenon, and would like to know if anyone else has experienced this?
I saw it at Inland Sea a few times! That's past Sealine at what is also called Khor Al Udied - http://www.qatarliving.com/sightseeing-tourist-attractions/posts/glowing-plankton-inland-sea
try to check it out when you go back there...shrimps is just like a diamond at the sea in night time,when the the beam of the moon go through to school of fish/shrimps...
Bioluminescence acts as a type of burglar alarm defense mechanism in dinoflagellates. Dinoflagelletes produce light when the deformation of the cell by minute forces triggers its luminescence. When the cell is disturbed by a predator, it will give a light flash lasting 0.1 to 0.5 seconds. The flash is meant to attract a secondary predator that will be more likely to attack the predator that is trying to consume the dinoflagellate. The light flash also makes the predator jump and worry about other predators attacking it, making the predator less likely to prey on the dinoflagellate.
In most dinoflagellates, bioluminescence is controlled by an internal biological rhythm. Dinoflagellates are on a circadian rhythm. Towards the end of daylight, luminous chemicals are packaged in vesicles called scintillons. The scintillons then migrate to the cytoplasm from the area around the nucleus. It is not currently known how the scintillons are moved to the cytoplasm. At night, light is triggered by mechanical stimulation. When action potential generates in the vacuole, the action potential propagates throughout the
rest of the cell. This allows protons to pass from the vacuole to the cytoplasm (where they were kept). The cytoplasm becomes acidified, normally by hydrogen ions, and the process is activated in the scintillons.
In dinoflagellates, the luciferin is usually bound to a protein called a Luciferin Binding Protein or LBP. At a neutral pH, LBP stabilizes the luciferin from being spontaneously oxidized. When it is activated by a drop in pH, the luciferin dissociates from the LBP and associates with the luciferase. At a pH of 8, the molecule is stable. When the Ph drops to around 6, the luciferin and the LBP dissociate. In the process of being oxidized, luciferin briefly exists in an excited state, after which it decays to the ground state- releasing energy in the form of light. Most dinoflagellates produce much less
bioluminescence during the day because there are fewer scintillons. Bioluminescence in dinoflagellates reaches its maximum levels two hours into darkness.
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I saw it at Inland Sea a few times! That's past Sealine at what is also called Khor Al Udied - http://www.qatarliving.com/sightseeing-tourist-attractions/posts/glowing-plankton-inland-sea
Cheers for that- I always wondered:)
that's interesting...free science lesson.
try to check it out when you go back there...shrimps is just like a diamond at the sea in night time,when the the beam of the moon go through to school of fish/shrimps...
or just google Bioluminescent Dinoflagellates for simple info :P
More info on: Bioluminescent Dinoflagellates
Bioluminescence acts as a type of burglar alarm defense mechanism in dinoflagellates. Dinoflagelletes produce light when the deformation of the cell by minute forces triggers its luminescence. When the cell is disturbed by a predator, it will give a light flash lasting 0.1 to 0.5 seconds. The flash is meant to attract a secondary predator that will be more likely to attack the predator that is trying to consume the dinoflagellate. The light flash also makes the predator jump and worry about other predators attacking it, making the predator less likely to prey on the dinoflagellate.
In most dinoflagellates, bioluminescence is controlled by an internal biological rhythm. Dinoflagellates are on a circadian rhythm. Towards the end of daylight, luminous chemicals are packaged in vesicles called scintillons. The scintillons then migrate to the cytoplasm from the area around the nucleus. It is not currently known how the scintillons are moved to the cytoplasm. At night, light is triggered by mechanical stimulation. When action potential generates in the vacuole, the action potential propagates throughout the
rest of the cell. This allows protons to pass from the vacuole to the cytoplasm (where they were kept). The cytoplasm becomes acidified, normally by hydrogen ions, and the process is activated in the scintillons.
In dinoflagellates, the luciferin is usually bound to a protein called a Luciferin Binding Protein or LBP. At a neutral pH, LBP stabilizes the luciferin from being spontaneously oxidized. When it is activated by a drop in pH, the luciferin dissociates from the LBP and associates with the luciferase. At a pH of 8, the molecule is stable. When the Ph drops to around 6, the luciferin and the LBP dissociate. In the process of being oxidized, luciferin briefly exists in an excited state, after which it decays to the ground state- releasing energy in the form of light. Most dinoflagellates produce much less
bioluminescence during the day because there are fewer scintillons. Bioluminescence in dinoflagellates reaches its maximum levels two hours into darkness.
Source: http://jrscience.wcp.muohio.edu/FieldCourses00/PapersMarineEcologyArticles/WhatsGlowingintheWaterBio.html
Also if you would like more info, adams.apple is an exxxxpert on this subject.
surely a beautiful scene
It is a form of plankton, luminous bays aka phospherent bays are famous world wide.
The microorganism responsible for the glowing light is
Pyrodimium bahamense
Graduated from Xavier Institute for Higher learning.
I guess humour, just like beauty is in the eye of the beholder...or understanding, in this case. By Alexa ( as I do not plagiarize)