star lights in the water

[lucky]

ha lads can anybody tell me what i saw last night,, i waas out fishing last night in connamara and i notice little lights in the water loads of them.. they were light little green star light floating on top of the water never seen this before..

[alby]

probably bioluminescence -

http://animals.howstuffworks.com/animal ... scence.htm

[The Austrian]

I am certain what you have witnessed last night Alan was bioluminescence from phytoplankton or other marine organisms.

This is light that is biologically produced and is caused when a light-emitting molecule, called luciferin, is mixed with an enzyme, luciferase, in the presence of oxygen. (The light produced in bioluminescence looks very similar to the light produced when phosphorous is exposed to oxygen. Thus the common, but incorrect, term phosphorescence).

Bioluminescence is actually quite common and almost all taxonomic groups of animals, and many plants, have some members that bioluminesce.
Planktonic dinoflagellates and bacteria are some of the most abundant creators of this biological light and are what is usually responsible for the green glow in a boat's wake or when waves break on a beach.

Other animals, including fish and squid, create light by keeping small cultures of luminescent bacteria in specialized organs distributed over their body. Since the bacteria bioluminesce continuously, their hosts have developed mechanical means, such as flaps of skin that resemble window shades, to control luminescence.

So why do these individuals create light?
Reasons for bioluminescence vary depending on the organism, but they generally fall into one of four categories: escaping predators, obtaining prey, attraction, and advertising.
Some organisms use the "quick flash" technique to temporarily blind a predator"a familiar sensation as when faced with an inexperienced photographer let loose with a flash.
Many bacteria actually luminesce because they want to be eaten. They advertise to potential prey hoping to find a comfy home inside a fish's gut.

more here: http://www.oceanlink.info/biodiversity/ ... nchor63181

hope this helps and Happy Easter!

[lucky]

thanks for that lads.. never thought i would learn so many new big words today... thanks ....

[saving private brian]

hey lucky

The glitters that u seen is called frosphur{not sure about spelling}.you get it at different stages of the year.a lot of commerical fishermen wud see it more at nite in the water..u get it mainly on drizzly nites and from harvest to spring in season timing .

[doggie3131]

thanks for that lads.. never thought i would learn so many new big words today... thanks ....

nice one alan!

[hugo]

Back in my fitter days when I was pulling pots from a curragh off Clare, we often had cascades of the stuff in the bow wave when we headed out before dawn. The fishing was always better when there was a lot of it around, but I've no idea what the connection is, or if there is one at all.