19 Amazing Facts
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An Australian lake glowed bright blue in the summers of 2008 and 2009!

A bioluminescent microorganism that is called Noctiluca scintillans caused an amazing, seemingly unnatural color blue to glow in the waters of an Australian Lake. This lake is called Gippsland Lake. It created an alien, mystical sort of glow in the waters, a glow that was an amazing sight to see and photograph. 

The breed Noctiluca scintillans also go by the names sea sparkle, sea fire, and sea ghost. They are dinoflagellates, which is a type of marine plankton that usually have two flagella. They feed on algae, plankton and bacteria. It was an increase in algae that led to the explosion of the Noctiluca scintillans population. 

The amazing blue glow actually serves a practical purpose for the little microorganism. It uses its glow as a defense mechanism. When it senses a predator nearby, it glows to attract an even larger predator to kill the predator that might eat it. Clearly, there is always a bigger fish, and the Noctiluca scintillans frequently uses that fact to its advantage. 

The defense mechanism becomes a wonder of nature, capable of being drawn out by the wake of a boat or splashing water. For more amazing pictures, check out the source


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