Dinoflagellates

While reading the articles, “New ‘phantom’ dinoflagellate is the causative agent of major estuarine fish kills” published in Nature in 1992, and “Killer Algae” published in Discover in 1993, the reader is able to perceive similarities and differences between the two articles. Both articles are about a mysterious species of dinoflagellate that kill large quantities of fish. “New ‘phantom’...” and “Killer Algae” both explain why the species of dinoflagellate is considered a ‘phantom’. The dinoflagellate receives the title ‘phantom’ due to it disappearing after a kill. The killer algae does not actually disappear, but instead changes form. The species of dinoflagellate releases a deadly neurotoxin that kills the fish due to asphyxiation during…

What are some common symptoms of food poisoning? Based on those symptoms, which dinoflagellate do you think is responsible for the outbreak? A bloom of dinoflagellates can change the water color colloquially known as red tide. Red tide can infect shellfish and cause shellfish poisoning if people eat the bad shellfish. Some symptoms of shellfish poisoning are nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea Explain how an HAB outbreak can have a devastating economic impact. There would be a bad impact on…

The different points of entry makes it sometimes difficult to determine and diagnose if an illness is caused by an HAB. 4. Summary of conditions in the Gulf of Mexico contributes to the overgrowth of phytoplankton. • Agricultural waste inadequately treated or untreated sewage and other urban pollution flows into the Gulf of Mexico along with runoff from hog and poultry farms containing nitrogen allow the takeover of surface water by phytoplankton or other plants. Hypoxia is observed as high…

Coral bleaching is put into different categories based on the loss of dinoflagellate symbionts. Large events affect coral reefs with a growing frequency. Recent bleaching has hamed corals throughout the world's oceans. When coral bleaching appears only in a scientific literature after warming of the ocean. In the next 30- to 50 years bleaching will rise rapidly because of the change in sea temperature. Changes in stress on coral communities worldwide. Lots of methods have been used to evaluate…

Marine toxins produce neurological, gastrointestinal, and cardiovascular syndromes, in which there are no antidotes except for histamine, and supportive care is the main form of treatment (Sobel and others 2005). Ciguatera and Scombroid fish poisoning are the two most common finfish poisoning worldwide and in the United States. Ciguatera fish poisoning (CFP) is a common case of finfish poisoning especially in Florida and Hawaii, caused by consuming tropical reef fish contaminated with…

Paramecium is a single-celled protist from the Alveolate clade. They live in wet environments like lakes, ponds, streams, rivers, and puddles. The wet environment can even be inside of animal bodies and in moist soil. Paramecium are heterotrophs, meaning they eat other living or non-living things. They eat by trapping food inside of their oral grooves, which are basically mouths. They use cilia on their body to not only move, but also help capture their prey. When the food gets into the oral…

my experiment there would be three experimental groups: the first would have both nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P), the second would only have N, and the third would only have P; all three groups can be tested in order between April and mid-June where the graph shows the lake had some of the highest biomass of Diatoms, Dinoflagellates, and Green algae. The independent variables would be the N and P in each experimental group and the amount added in each setting; other factors like light,…

Red Tide Even though red tide has been around for thousands of years it is yet still unaware to some common day people. Many people do not understand the effects of red tide to the environment around us and how it plays out; there is more to red tides than just discoloration of the ocean waters. Scientists and researchers are digging deeper into the reasons of why and how this phenomenon occurs. Red tide is often overlooked despite its harmful effects, but it can be as costly and damaging as…

In the Baja California coast of Mexico, shrimp ponds were reported to be affected by algal blooms and the responsible algae were the prasinophyte Nephroselmis sp., Cochlodinium polykrikoides, Prorocentrum rhathymum, P. minimum, and Heterocapsa triquetra (dinoflagellates) and Nitzschia sigma (diatom) (Gárate-Lizárraga et al., 1999; 2004; 2006; Sierra-Beltrán et al., 2005; Gárate- Lizárraga and Muñetón-Gómez, 2008). Severe losses in shrimp farming in Mexico caused by toxic dinoflagellates and…

Hi, today I am going to talk about Bioluminescent Plankton. What are they? Well they are small organisms that float in large numbers in either salt or fresh water. They belong to three groups called phytoplankton, zooplankton, and bacterioplankton. Plankton are a significant food source for blue whales, shrimp and jelly fish. Bioluminescent plankton belong to phytoplankton which use sunlight to make its own food, and zooplankton which feeds on phytoplankton and other small organisms.…