Bloom of Noctiluca scintillans (Macartney) Kofoid & Swezy (Dinophyceae) in southern Brazil

The dinoflagellate Noctiluca scintillans (Macartney) Kofoid & Swezy, commonly called sea sparkle, can aggregate into a bloom, and sometimes produces substances that are potentially toxic to marine life. Noctiluca scintillans is a large (up to 1200 mu m), oblong, luminescent heterotrophic dinoflagellate, and is frequently associated with bloom events (ELBRACHTER; QI, 1998). The species is considered non-toxic, but is sometimes responsible for the mortality of fish and benthic fauna, associated with anoxia. More recently, it has been reported that N. scintillans may act as a vector of phycotoxins to higher trophic levels, by feeding on toxigenic microalgae (ESCALERA et al., 2007).