Bioluminescence in the Gippsland Lakes Noctiluca scintillans
doing what it does best in the Gippsland Lakes, a small chain of
inland lakes in Victoria, Australia. The events that transpired
to make this happen are quite miraculous; firstly there was
widespread fires in Victoria that burned pretty intensely for
quite some time. Then, they were followed by intense flooding
that inundated many areas of Gippsland amongst others. The basic
effect was that floodwaters carried nutrient-rich soil and ash
from the higher reaches into the Gippsland basin, leading to a
eutrophic condition in which algae and bacteria can thrive. This
gave rise to a particularly prolific cyanobacteria getting a
foothold, Synechococcus. Essentiallysmothering the lake in
cellular life, it gave an opportunity for some pretty special
creatures to breed prolifically given an abundant food source -
Noctiluca scintillans, a bioluminescent Dinoflagellate. And so,
you end up with photographs like this. A once-in-a-lifetime
occurrence, captured for