Noctiluca scintillans

Ecology and Pathology

N. scintillans are found mostly in coastal areas, in both temperate and tropical waters. Their population density has been found to be dependent on food availability, which is why they tend to stay in shallow, coastal areas, where phytoplankton thrive. They are also a major factor on the population density of zooplankton.

N. scintillans are sometimes known to have a large population boom known as red or green tides (depending on what color endosymbionts are present in their vacuoles.) These tides cause the death of many marine animals. N. scintillans does not, however, release exotoxins like many other dinoflagellates do. Instead, it is believed that they kill these animals by suffocation due to the release of ammonia and carbon dioxide, causing anoxic water conditions.