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Bioluminescence Magic In The Ocean

07.09.2022

Excerpt: What is bioluminescence? Bioluminescence is light produced or emitted by organisms through biochemical reactions, which acts as an alarm system when the organism is excited, disturbed or stimulated, with other uses including communications to other members of the species, to evade or warn predators and lure in prey. Bioluminescence is usually a blue greenish cold light – most marine organism are sensitive to mainly or only to light near the blue spectrum. Around 80% of marine animals living in the deep waters of about 200m to 1000m possess a form of bioluminescence, with the most remarkable bioluminescent aquatic creature being jellyfish. About 50% of jellyfish are bioluminescent and there are over 80 different species of bioluminescent jellyfish in oceans aroundRead more

Dinoflagellate Bioluminescence Assessment in Oceanic Waters

Diversity of luciferase sequences and bioluminescence production in Baltic Sea Alexandrium ostenfeldii

09.03.2022

Excerpt: The toxic dinoflagellate Alexandrium ostenfeldii is the only bioluminescent bloom-forming phytoplankton in coastal waters of the Baltic Sea and can be detected with GlowTracka. The presence of the lcf gene, which is responsible for bioluminescence, was consistent in 61 Baltic Sea strains isolated from six separate bloom sites. All Baltic Sea strains except one produced bioluminescence. In contrast, the presence of the lcf gene and the ability to produce bioluminescence did vary among strains from other parts of Europe. In phylogenetic analyses, lcf gene sequences of Baltic Sea strains clustered separately from North Sea strains, but variation between Baltic Sea strains was not sufficient to distinguish between bloom populations. The lcf gene and internal transcribed spacer (ITS) sequences clustered similarly,Read more

In situ measurements of bioluminescence response of red tide Dinoflaggelate Gonyaulax spinifera

09.03.2022

Excerpt: On the 20th of March 2020, a phenomenon of bioluminescence was witnessed in the Cochin estuary. The cause of the event was an algal bloom of Gonyaulax spinifera, a species that is known for its bioluminescent capabilities. To measure the response of G. spinifera to the various mechanical stimuli in situ, the Glowtracka sensor was used. A single channel sensor attached to a Conductivity–Temperature–Depth Profiler, Glowtracka was able to measure the bioluminescence intensity (BI) in the area. In a steady environment, without any external stimuli, the bioluminescence was not detected by the Glowtracka sensor. However, when a hand splash, oar and swimming movements, and a mixer were applied, the BI was recorded to be as high as 1.6 × 1011 photons cm−2 s−1. TheRead more

Stimulated bioluminescence as an early indicator of bloom development of the toxic dinoflagellate Alexandrium ostenfeldii

09.03.2021

Excerpt: A GlowTracka was used to record daily patterns of stimulated bioluminescence at a remote shallow site in the Finnish Archipelago Sea during an Alexandrium ostenfeldii bloom. Transect measurements showed bioluminescence was highly localized prior to the peak of the bloom, which spanned 15 days in mid–August. Nightly intensities varied greatly throughout the duration of the event. Bioluminescence emitted from A. ostenfeldii cells intensified after sundown, reaching a peak around midnight and continuing into the wee hours. Chlorophyll–a fluorescence was found to be strongly correlated with bioluminescence intensity during the bloom, and infrequent cell counts confirmed the presence of the dinoflagellate species. Low concentrations of paralytic shellfish poisoning toxins were detected throughout the sampling period, while higher concentrations were limited toRead more

Real-time monitoring of nutrient concentrations and red-tide outbreaks in the southern sea of Korea

09.03.2019

Excerpt: This study, conducted during the summer of 2003 in the southern sea of Korea, used our novel real–time monitoring system to monitor physical and chemical factors that may control the occurrence of red tides. The system, GlowTracka, measured bioluminescence in real–time, to indicate the presence of bioluminescent dinoflagellate species. Unexpectedly, a sudden increase in the presence of dinoflagellates coincided with the lowest concentrations of dissolved inorganic nutrients. This data supports the hypothesis that the outbreak of dinoflagellate red tides is linked to the limited growth of diatoms under reduced levels of dissolved inorganic phosphorus and nitrogen. The study suggests that this real–time monitoring system can be used as an effective tool for both understanding and predicting dinoflagellate red tides in coastalRead more