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Other dinoflagellates are unpigmented predators on other protozoa, and a few forms are parasitic (for example, Oodinium and Pfiesteria). Some dinoflagellates produce resting stages, called dinoflagellate cysts or dinocysts , as part of their lifecycles; this occurs in 84 of the 350 described freshwater species and a little more than 10% of the ...
Top row: unaffected fish; bottom row: fish preyed upon by the carnivorous alga Pfiesteria shumwayae. Predatory dinoflagellates are predatory heterotrophic or mixotrophic alveolates that derive some or most of their nutrients from digesting other organisms. About one half of dinoflagellates lack photosynthetic pigments and specialize in ...
Some dinoflagellates are known to be photosynthetic, but a large fraction of these are in fact mixotrophic, combining photosynthesis with ingestion of prey (phagotrophy). [76] Some species are endosymbionts of marine animals and other protists, and play an important part in the biology of coral reefs .
For example, mixotrophic and heterotrophic dinoflagellates may act as predators on a wide range of prey types due to their diverse feeding mechanisms. [12] Including mixotrophic dinoflagellates would better explain the control of prey population and cycling of limited materials as well as competition between other organisms for larger prey. [12]
Zooxanthellae (/ ˌ z oʊ ə z æ n ˈ θ ɛ l iː /; sg. zooxanthella) is a colloquial term for single-celled dinoflagellates that are able to live in symbiosis with diverse marine invertebrates including demosponges, corals, jellyfish, and nudibranchs.
These blooms also deplete the dissolved oxygen in the water, which is known to cause fish kills. [15] Fish kills result from depleting oxygen levels caused by Ceratium blooms. These dinoflagellates play important roles at the base of the food web. They are sources of nutrients for larger organisms and also prey on smaller organisms [14] such as ...
Some dinoflagellates are bioluminescent. At night, ocean water can light up internally and sparkle with blue light because of these dinoflagellates. [210] [211] Bioluminescent dinoflagellates possess scintillons, individual cytoplasmic bodies which contain dinoflagellate luciferase, the main enzyme involved in
Some examples of ciliate diversity. ... (a term which can also refer to a genus of fish). ... Apicomplexa, and dinoflagellates.