Source: TH
Context: Recently, Visakhapatnam beaches started glowing due to a phenomenon called bioluminescence
| About Bioluminescence | Description |
| Definition | Production and emission of light by living organisms. |
| Mechanism | The chemical reaction between luciferin (a molecule that, when it reacts with oxygen, produces light.) and oxygen, is catalyzed by the luciferase enzyme.
Bioluminescence is chemiluminescence that takes place inside a living organism |
| Prevalence | Found in many marine organisms, including bacteria, algae, jellyfish, fish, and sharks |
| Functions | Used for warning or evading predators, luring or detecting prey, and communicating within a species |
| Examples | Fireflies, anglerfish, jellyfish, bioluminescent plankton |
| Visakhapatnam | Here the phenomenon is most likely the result of an algal bloom (significant accumulation) of the dinoflagellate species of noctiluca and ceratium. These emit light when disturbed by breaking waves |
