Noctiluca sp. bioluminescence in response to the mechanical stimuli of a screw propeller

Abstract

This work presents a new experiment method studying the Noctiluca sp. bioluminescence under the mechanical stimulation. It devoted to the study of the Noctiluca sp. bioluminescence triggered by the screw propeller’s mechanical stimuli in the tank. The size of the tank was 2*1*1m. The screw propeller is fixed on a shelf and the position relative to the tank was adjustable by moving the shelf. Two methods were carried out to control the running of the screw propeller. In the first scenario, the shelf was fixed in the center of the tank and the second scenario, the shelf moved from one side to the other in the tank. At the same time, the screw propeller was running with a certain velocity. The luminescent strength of Noctiluca sp. enhanced as the increase of the screw propeller’s running velocity. There were two obvious luminous areas nearby the screw propeller’s blades. The luminescent area was bigger in the second scenario. Thus, when navigational ship passing the sea area which filled with Noctiluca sp. or other luminescent halobios, it will stimulate the Noctiluca sp. or other luminescent halobios bioluminescence. The ship also can be detected using the bioluminescence.