Diatoms and Dinoflagellates
Lecture 11
Fan-Shaped Phylogenetic Tree
“Phytoplankton”
• Unicells
• Filamentous
• Colonies – chains, or spheres
Algal pigments
Cocco, Dino, Diatom Overview
• “Shell”, “Wood”, or “Glass” Houses armor
the cell and protect from predation/environ
• Coccos are small open ocean
• Dinos are warmer waters/summer
• Diatoms are cooler waters/winter
• Diatoms are the “grass of the sea and the
estuary”
Coccolithophores
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Division Haptophyta = Prymnesiophyta
500 spp extant, many more fossil spp
0.2 – 2 mm diameter (pico – nanno)
Biflagellate or coccoid unicells
Cell wall of calcareous scales
Chl a + c; carotenoids
Warm and tropical
Emiliania huxleyi
B.
= coccolithophores
“shell” house
• Very small cells (2-20um)
• Calcified scales armor cell
Major group of open ocean phytoplankton
http://oceanography.tamu.edu/Quarterdeck/QD5.2/qdhome-5.2.html
Some Coccolithophores
Isochrysidales
Coccosphaerales
Prymnesiales
Pavlovales
Calcidiscus
Emiliania huxleyi
Pontosphaera
Diatoms
• Division Heterokontophyta, Class
Bacillariophyceae
• 1400-1800 spp marine, >100’000 spp total
• 2um-2mm (nanno - netplankton)
• Unicellular, often in colonies
• Cell wall siliceous
• Chl a, c, B-carotene, fucoxanthin, diatoxanthin,
diadinoxanthin
• Centric (plankton) vs Pennate (benthic,
epiphytic)
• Temperate and cold waters
Ecological roles
• Marine phytoplankton
• Periphyton (aufwuchs)
• Grow on plants (epiphytes), rocks (epilithic),
sand grains (epipelic), or on sediments
(epipsammic)
• “grass of the sea” – 20-25% of global primary
production.
• REQUIRE SILICON
• Well represented in fossil record –
“diatomaceous earth”
Falkowski & Raven 2007
Cell wall & reproduction
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Frustule – upper epitheca, lower hypotheca
Girdle divides the two thecae
Bilateral, radial, or irregular symmetry
Asex cell division: parental theca is new
epitheca, results in succesive size
reduction of 1 of the 2 daughter lines.
• Size increase by swelling after sex. gamete
production -> auxospore (resting cyst).
Happens when cell <1/3 of original size.
Pleurosigma
BENTHIC CELLS – NEAR SHORE
OCEANIC CELLS – OFF SHORE
Diatoms are extremely important primary producers:
“grass of the sea”!
Or Centrales (=Biddulphiales)
• Centric diatoms – “planktonic”
• 3 suborders:
– Coscinodiscineae (8 families): Thalassiosira,
Skeletonema, Melosira, Coscinodiscus
– Rhizosoleniineae (1 family): Rhizosolenia,
Pseudosolenia
– Biddulphiineae (5 families): Chaetoceras,
Lithodesmium, Odontella
Melosira
Thalassiosira
Skeletonema
Cyclotella
Chaetoceras
Actinoptychus
Or Pennales (=Bacillariales)
• Pennate diatoms – “benthic”
• Raphe = fissure along apical axis. Used
for locomotion; cytoplasm acts as a belt
moving cell forward.
• 2 suborders:
– Fragilariineae – araphid (4 families): Striatella,
Fragilaria, Thalassionema, Thalassiothrix
– Bacillarineae – raphid (4 families): Navicula,
Bacillaria, Nitzschia, Pseudo-nitzschia
http://www.dnr.state.md.us/bay/cblife/algae/diatom/index.html
Pseudo-nitzschia
Raphoneis
Asterionellopsis
Cylindrotheca
Thalassionema
Epiphytic
Pennate
Diatoms
• Sullivan, MJ, CA Montcreiff, AE
Daehnick 1991. Primary Production
Dynamics of Epiphytic Algae in
Mississippi Seagrass Beds. MASGC91-009
• Sullivan, MJ, CA Montcreiff 1993.
Trophic Importance of Epiphytic Algae
in Mississippi Seagrass Beds.
MASGP-92-018
• Sullivan, MJ, DJ Wear 1996. Effects of
Water-Column Enrichment on the
Production Dynamics of 3 Seagrass
Species and their Epiphytic Algae.
MASGP-93-023
Sawgrass Diatoms
Mangrove Diatoms
http://serc.fiu.edu/periphyton/
Dinoflagellates
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Division Pyrrhophyta = Dinophyta
2000 spp
Sizes: 10um-1mm
Biflagellate unicellular, some filaments
Cell has thecal plates (upper & lower)
Chl a, c; B-carotene, peridinin, diadinoxanthin,
fucoxanthin, diatoxanthin
Red tides (HABs); ciguatera
Pfisteria hysteria…
Zooxanthellae in Corals/Anemones
Warmer seas and/or summer blooms
Ecological roles
• Oceanic and estuarine phytoplankton
• Protists that “captured” brown algal symbionts
• Autotrophs, auxotrophs (req vitamins),
heterotrophs (>50% spp)! -> phageotrophic
(ingest organisms) and parasitic (feed off
host)
• Produce potent neurotoxins: Red tides,
ciguatera, paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP)
• Zooxanthellae symbiotic in corals, jellyfish,
protists (forams, ciliates, radiolarians)
Flagellae and Cell walls
• Desmokont = 2 anterior flagellae
• Dinokont = 2 flagellae in grooves – transverse tinsel
flagellum in cingulum, posterior flagellum in sulcus.
• Move in forward corkscrew motion at 1-2m hr-1
• Upper epitheca, lower hypotheca. Shedding of theca
= ecdysis. Regrows second half of same size (no
decreasing size series).
• Theca of polysaccharide plates (cellulose, mannose,
galactose) and membranes.
C.
Prorocentrum minimum
Desmokont cell
Dinokont cell
Taxonomy of Dinos
• Steidinger (1997)
• 13 orders:
• Van den Hoek (1995)
• 12 orders:
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Prorocentrales
Dinophysiales
Gymnodiniales
Suessiales
Ptychodiscales
Noctilucales
Lophodiniales
Brachydiniales
Gonyaulacales
Peridiniales
Blastodiniales
Syndiniales
Phytodiniales
Gymnodiniales
Gloeodiniales
Thoracosphaerales
Phytodiniales
Dinotrichales
Dinameobidales
Noctilucales
Blastodiniales
Syndiniales
Peridiniales
Dinophysiales
Prorocentrales
8 of 12/13 orders are same
Order Gymnodiniales
• Unarmored dinokont cell
with distinct cingulum
and sulcus.
• 3 families:
– Gymnodinium (200+spp),
Polykrikos (5spp),
Warnowia (25 spp)
Order Suessiales (Gymnodiniales)
• Coccoid cells living as
symbionts. Thinly
armored, transitional
between “naked” and
armoured cells
• 1 fossil + 1 extant family:
– Symbiodinium (25spp)
– S. microadriaticum
Order Dinamoebidales
• Free-living amoeboid
stage alternates with
non-motile coccoid
stage.
• Dinamoebidium
• Pfisteria
Order Noctilucales
• Large free-living
unarmored cells, many
vacuoles, flagella
reduced or absent
• 3 families:
– Kofoidinium (5 spp),
Leptodiscus (5 spp),
Noctiluca (1 sp)
http://dinos.anesc.u-tokyo.ac.jp/plankton/list.htm
Order Peridiniales
• Armored dinokonts or
varied form. Plate
tabulation is diagnostic.
• May include Or
Gonyaulacales
• Protoperidinium (250
spp), Ceratium (125
spp), Gonyaulax (100
spp), Gambierdiscus
toxicus
Order Dinophysales
• Laterally flattened cells
with dinokont flagellar
orientation and
premedian cingulum.
• 3 families:
– Amphisolenia (50spp),
Dinophysis (100spp),
Phalacroma (100 spp)
Order Prorocentrales
• Armored, biflagellate
cells with desmokont
(anterior) flagellar
insertion. No cingulum or
sulcus
• 1 family: Prorocentrum
(50spp), Mesoporos
(10spp)
Dino life cycles
Toxic Marine Dinos
• Only about 60 of 2000 species
• Most are photosynthetic estuarine/neritic
(near shore) forms
• Probably produce benthic, sexual resting
stages (cysts)
• Capable of producing blooms or single spp
– exclude other plankton
• Bioactive water- or lipid-soluble chemicals
that are cytolytic, hemolytic, hepatotoxic, or
neurotoxic
GoM K. brevis monitoring
September 12, 1995 at North Lido Beach
http://isurus.mote.org/~pederson/phyto_ecol.phtml
http://www.cop.noaa.gov/stressors/extremeevents/hab/welcome.html
http://www.ncddc.noaa.gov/habsos/Mapping/
Harmful Algal Blooms (HAB)
• Blooms of marine algae which produce:
– Toxic effects to organisms (and humans)
– Physical impairment of fish/shellfish
– Nuisance conditions from odor, discoloration
– Severe oxygen depletion or benthic
overgrowth
• GEOHAB and ECOHAB programs
http://www.cop.noaa.gov/stressors/
extremeevents/hab/current/factecohab.html
Phytoplankton Monitoring Network
• http://www.chbr.noaa.gov/PMN/index.htm
• Sample every 2 weeks using a 20um net
for 3 minutes.
• Identify cells at 100x under microscope
• Record number in approx 1ml sample on
gridded microscope slide.
• Enter data to online database.
Dinoflagellates
Diatoms
http://www.whoi.edu/page.do?pid=11913&tid=282&cid=40526
7.
23
10 .08
.2
1.
11 08
.1
9.
12 08
.1
7.
0
1. 8
07
.0
2. 9
04
.0
3. 9
05
.0
4. 9
01
.0
4. 9
29
5. .09
28
.0
6. 9in
10
.0
6. 9in
24
.0
7. 9in
08
.0
7. 9in
22
.0
8. 9in
06
.0
8. 9in
20
.0
9. 9in
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.0
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17
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10 9in
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.
10 09i
.1 n
5
11 .09i
.1 n
1.
11 09i
.2 n
4.
09
i
12 n
.8
.0
9
estimated # cells / ml
Diatoms and Dinos at GCRL
3000
2500
2000
1500
1000
500
0
Dinoflag Species
Diatom Species
TOTAL cells
Major HAB-related events in the
United States
Types of HAB events
• Neurotoxic Shellfish Poisoning (NSP)
caused by Gymnodinium breve = Karenia
brevis along GoM coasts
• Paralytic Shellfish Poisoning (PSP)
caused by Alexandrium spp in New
England, Pacific (northern CA – Canada,
Alaska)
• Amnesic shellfish poisoning (ASP) caused
by Pseudo-nitzschia (NW, Atl and GoM)
Ciguatera (fish poisoning)
• illness caused by eating tropical fish that contain
toxins bioaccumulated from benthic dino:
Gambierdiscus toxicus
• may experience nausea, vomiting, and
neurologic symptoms such as tingling fingers or
toes.
• may find that cold things feel hot and hot things
feel cold.
• Symptoms usually go away in days or weeks but
can last for years.
http://www.cdc.gov/nceh/ciguatera/default.htm
Pfisteria life-cycle – Litaker et al 2002
http://www.rsmas.miami.edu/groups/niehs/science/pfiesteriacontent.htm
http://www.vims.edu/pfiesteria/Biblio.html
http://www.cals.ncsu.edu/botany/Faculty/jburkholder/jburkholder.html
http://www.newsobserver.com/102/story/428625.html
Neuse River, NC
Assessing Eutrophication Dynamics: Neuse River
Modeling and Monitoring Program (ModMon)
www.marine.unc.edu/neuse/modmon
N loading and algal production in the Neuse R. Estuary
50
20
40
15
Floyd

dista nc e d o w ns trea m
fro m Streets Ferry B rid ge (km )
30
20
10
Salinity (psu)
10
5
0
0
0
NOx- (ug L-1)
50
200
40
400
30
600
20
800
10
>1000
0
50
>30
40
30
20
20
10
10
0
6/97
chl a (ug L -1)
12/97
6/98
0
12/98
6/99
12/99
6/00
Algal production: The “fuel” for Hypoxia in the
Neuse R. Estuary
Seasonal hypoxia, anoxia and fish kills in the Neuse R. Estuary
Pfisteria or low DO and fungi?
The NC Hog Industry: The Smell Of Money
10 Mio Hogs in 1998 in Neuse Basin!
You decide…