Dinoflagellate
Harmful algal blooms

Dinoflagellates sometimes bloom in concentrations of more than a million cells per millilitre. Under such circumstances, they can produce toxins (generally called dinotoxins) in quantities capable of killing fish and accumulating in filter feeders such as shellfish, which in turn may be passed on to people who eat them. This phenomenon is called a red tide, from the color the bloom imparts to the water. Some colorless dinoflagellates may also form toxic blooms, such as Pfiesteria. Some dinoflagellate blooms are not dangerous. Bluish flickers visible in ocean water at night often come from blooms of bioluminescent dinoflagellates, which emit short flashes of light when disturbed.

A red tide occurs because dinoflagellates are able to reproduce rapidly and copiously as a result of the abundant nutrients in the water. Although the resulting red waves are an interesting visual phenomenon, they contain toxins that not only affect all marine life in the ocean, but the people who consume them as well. A specific carrier is shellfish. This can introduce both nonfatal and fatal illnesses. One such poison is saxitoxin, a powerful paralytic neurotoxin.

Human inputs of phosphate further encourage these red tides, so strong interest exists in learning more about dinoflagellates, from both medical and economic perspectives. Dinoflagellates are known to be particularly capable of scavenging dissolved organic phosphorus for P-nutrient, several HAS species have been found to be highly versatile and mechanistically diversified in utilizing different types of DOPs. The ecology of harmful algal blooms is extensively studied.
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