Every organism has its own way to emit light. It is a type of chemical that makes the plankton glow. The light inside the plankton or the firefly is caused by luciferin. By emitting the light it can disorientate the predators.
The light emitted is known as their defence mechanism. They will move around when they are distressed and this beautifully glows up. There are actually thousands of species of fireflies/plankton that emit light when they are distressed and glow in the dark. Mudhdhoo or Vaadhoo Island in the Maldives has a beach which is well for the bioluminescent phenomenon. There are only a few places on earth where you get to witness this phenomenon, the one which we are focusing here is in the Maldives and other ones are in Jamaica, San Diego, Australia, Thailand and Vietnam. Numerous travellers around the world visit this place to experience this impressive phenomenon. This process in whole personifies the beauty of the beach and creates an incredible scenario to the visitors. The beach in the Vaadhoo is filled with this light emitted microorganisms and microbes which have the natural capacity to produce a lively blue glow. The creatures emit light which is only seen in the dark at the night time. These are considered to be the major responsible creatures for this bioluminescent phenomenon. The reason behind this glowing beach in the Maldives is because of the sea planktons present in it. The glow or the light you see is emitted by the living creature. Okay, let me break down this for you guys when you see the beach lit in a blue glow at the dark, it is called the bioluminescent. The blue light water you see on the beach is not but a Bioluminescent Beach Phenomenon. Here a small piece of information from Sushant Travels on Glowing Beach in the Maldives that might help you. The blue water of the beach waves splashing with tiny blue lights is not less than a magical fairy tale scene. The views at the beach just won't be magical or mesmerising, it will be a lifetime memorable moment with your special one. Visit the beach that glows in the night time, which is covered with fireflies that glow at night and make the whole beach a dream scene of a fairy tale. Scuba divers can wave their arms or run their fingers on the sand while under the sea to cause a reaction on the glowing planktons.Remember when we were kids we were so fascinated about the fireflies? Are you one of those kids who still gets fascinated by them secretly? Well, you could now witness thousands of them on the beach. The marine phenomenon can be best seen during moonless nights.
Within Maldives, you can also visit the islands of Mudhdhoo and Rangali for this spectacular event. The Sea of Stars in Vaadhoo, Maldives is just only one of those great sites where you can see this happening but it can happen anywhere. Other marine animals like krill, deep-sea squids, and anglerfish also have their own ways and reasons for producing their own lights. Predators which eat the glowing dinoflagellates may attract bigger predators because the phytoplankton can still glow even when inside another creature.ĭinoflagellates aren’t the only ones that produce bioluminescence. The blue light is believed to be some sort of a defense for these marine organisms. Some dinoflagellates produce toxins harmful to fish, humans, and other creatures. Luciferase together with luciferin are combined in scintillons and when oxygen joins them, the neon blue light is created.Īlthough dinoflagellates have this blue glow, it doesn’t mean that they’re friendly at all.
#SEA OF STARS MALDIVES SERIES#
Proteins that flow into the scintillon, while the pH in the cytoplasm changes, creates a series of chemical reactions which activate a protein called luciferase. The electrical pulses open the voltage-sensitive proton ion channels into scintillons(the flashing unit inside dinoflagellates). As dinoflagellates float, movement in the surrounding water sends electrical impulses around a proton-filled compartment inside them. One of the most common phytoplankton that cause marine bioluminescence are known as dinoflagellates.