Phytoplankton!

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Phytoplankton!
Pfisteria, their blooms can cause red tides

• Ayesha, Toyosi, Chase

Diatoms have many different shapes
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Phytoplankton

• Autotrophic/ photosynthetic
• plant wanderer
• Basis of most marine and freshwater food webs
• Account for half of photosynthetic production of
  organic material

• Diatoms, cyanobacteria, dinoflagellates

Phytoplankton Bloom in the North Sea
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Dinoflagellates (basics)

• Eukaryotic and unicellular
• Photosynthetic and heterotrophic
• Dinokaryon (unique)
• Motile (marine)
• Asexual (can have motile sperm)
• Lifecycle with many stages
• Some are sybionts
• Amphiesma
• Armored have cellulose plates
• Two flagella
• Longitudinal (rudder)
• Transverse (spinning/propulsion)

Dinoflagellate structure
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Red Tides and Pfisteria
Fish affected by Pfisteria

• Excessive dinoflagellate reproduction and growth
  cause red tides and algal blooms
• Are related to harmful fish kills
• Some produce toxins and feed on prey
  (heterotrophic)
• Pfisteria is very dangerous

A Red Tide
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Diatom Structure

• Cell wall made of silica called a frustule
• Two parts of a frustule epitheca and hypotheca
• Symmetry centric and pennate

On left, pennate diatom. On right, centric diatom
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Diatoms and Photosynthesis

• Producers
• Cells contain yellow-brown chloroplasts
• Essential to carbon fixation on earth

A centric diatom with yellow-brown chloroplasts
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Youtube on Diatoms
http//www.youtube.com/watch?vJETH0_-0v6kfeature
player_detailpage