Akashiwo sanguinea

Akashiwo sanguinea at low magnification

Akashiwo sanguinea (synonym: Gymnodinium sanguineum ) is a marine dinoflagellate, which regularly causes algal blooms. He is unarmored ( athekat ), the alveoli are therefore not reinforced with cellulose. Propagation is by division.

A. sanguinea captured different organisms, although it has chloroplasts, and is therefore regarded as mixotrophically. For example, eats A. sanguinea cyanobacterium Synechococcus sp .. the

Features

Cells of A. sanguinea are flattened dorso-ventrally, approximately pentagonal and 40-75 microns in size. Thecal the plates, which are often used in thekaten types for determining missing. A. sanguinea is comparatively large, floating slowly and is easy to observe. As with all typical dinoflagellates suggests a scourge in the equatorial groove, the cingulum. A second scourge strikes perpendicular offset along the sulcus and extends over the cell out to move the scourge through the water. The type lacks the nuclear membrane, and together with rDNA sequencing gave rise to the creation of these features of the new genus Akashiwo.

Etymology

The genus name comes from Japanese Akashiwo赤潮" Red Dawn " (in the modern Japanese Akashio ).

Behavior and physiology

A. sanguinea takes a daily vertical migration, in which the cells up before sunrise toward the sun and actively swim in the evening back to the depth. This behavior is an example of chronobiology. Experiments have shown that this behavior can not be explained simply by phototaxis. Under certain conditions, A. sanguinea form a measurable chlorophyll maximum in the deeper water layers. Observations off the coast of Southern California showed that A. sanguinea forms such deep accumulations when the nutrient nitrate is not available. These deep accumulations are important for the growth of anchovy larvae preferred A. sanguinea eat.

Algal blooms

Akashiwo sanguinea is associated with harmful algal blooms ( red tides ), and is still the subject of research. A toxin has not been identified, however, the type is associated with toxicity. A. sanguinea can produce mycosporine -like amino acids as water-soluble, surface-active substance ( surfactant) reduces the surface tension of the water. An algal bloom of A. sanguinea occurred simultaneously with a mass extinction of 14 bird species in the November-December 2007 in the Monterey Bay ( California). The birds were affected proteinaceous accumulations in plumage, making the springs lost their water-repellent protection.

Single Documents

• Dinoflagellates
• Dinoflagellata