Dinoflagellates Nutrition
- Dinoflagellates are mostly photosynthetic autotrophs.
- Heterotrophic dinoflagellates ingest other microorganisms and protozoans to get nutrients
- They are also present as endosymbionts in marine invertebrates such as corals, jellyfishes, etc.
- The photosynthetic endosymbionts are called Zooxanthellae, they provide carbohydrate to their hosts
What do dinoflagellates eat?
Non-photosynthetic species of dinoflagellates feed on diatoms or other protists (including other dinoflagellates); Noctiluca is large enough to eat zooplankton and fish eggs. Some species are parasites on algae, zooplankton, fish or other organisms.
How many types of dinoflagellates are there?
There are approximately 4,500 species of dinoflagellates. Here are the three main types of dinoflagellates: Non-photosynthetic species of dinoflagellates feed on diatoms or other protists (including other dinoflagellates); Noctiluca is large enough to eat zooplankton and fish eggs.
What is the best way to maintain dinoflagellate cultures?
We recommend: We maintain dinoflagellate cultures using 12-hour cycles of light and dark. The light cycle occurs from 8 pm to 8 am (EST), and the dark cycle from 8 am to 8 pm (EST). This allows for convenient study of the bioluminescent trait within a traditional classroom schedule.
Do dinoflagellates need a balanced media to maintain health?
Though dinoflagellates do not consume other organisms, they do need a balanced media to maintain health. We recommend: We maintain dinoflagellate cultures using 12-hour cycles of light and dark. The light cycle occurs from 8 pm to 8 am (EST), and the dark cycle from 8 am to 8 pm (EST).
What nutrients do dinoflagellates need?
Dinoflagellates require nitrate, phosphate, trace metals, and vitamins. These nutrients are prepared under sterile conditions, so if you don't have an autoclave available, it is easier to buy already prepared media than to make your own.
How often do you feed dinoflagellates?
Maintenance feedings keep a culture healthy while expansion feedings are for people wanting to rapidly produce more dinoflagellates. Maintenance feeding: Wait for one to two week after arrival until feeding. Add small amounts (5%-10% of total culture volume) once every week or once every 2 weeks.
Can you raise dinoflagellates?
You will need to provide them with an appropriate amount of light on a regular basis because the only way they can grow is by producing their own food using a process called photosynthesis, just like plants do. So, make sure you grow them in a container that is clear so they can get light.
How do you feed bioluminescent algae?
Feed them purchased nutrient solution, fresh saltwater from sea salt and give them light, and they will multiply and grow. Can I dump bioluminescent algae into my swimming pool to make the water and sides glow at night?
Do you have to feed dinoflagellates?
Though dinoflagellates do not consume other organisms, they do need a balanced media to maintain health. We recommend: Bioluminescent Dinoflagellate Medium.
Do dinoflagellates need silica?
Pyrrhophyta - The DINOFLAGELLATES or the sea whirlers. These single cell marine and fresh water organisms have a silica shell and two flagella which they use to whirl about with.
How do you maintain dinoflagellates?
Maintenance feedings keep a culture healthy while expansion feedings are for people wanting to produce more dinoflagellates.Maintenance feeding: Add small amounts (5%-10% of total culture volume) once every week or once every 2 weeks. ... Expansion feeding: Add 30-50% total culture volume once every 7 to 10 days.
How long does a dinoflagellate live?
They are miniature time capsules When their environmental conditions get too tough, they can form tough little cysts that can survive in the sediment of their water as fossils for as long as 100 years. Once conditions improve, the dinoflagellates can reanimate.
How do dinoflagellates eat?
Many dinoflagellates are photosynthetic, manufacturing their own food using the energy from sunlight, and providing a food source for other organisms. The photosynthetic dinoflagellates are important primary producers in coastal waters.
How do you keep bioluminescent bacteria alive?
Don't let the temperature rise above ~80F (30C)! Keep at room temperature for best results, 65F-75F! If your house is warm, a good way to prevent your bacteria from experience temperature fluctuations is to store the culture in a styrofoam container.
What eats bioluminescent plankton?
As the plankton's predators (fish) approach the plankton, however, their glowing alerts the whale. The whale eats the fish. The plankton then turn out their lights. Some insect larvae (nicknamed "glow worms") light up to warn predators that they are toxic.
How do you make bioluminescence water?
DirectionsFill the container with the water.Pop off the back of the highlighter and pull out the ink soaked felt that is inside.Put the highlighter felt under the water and squeeze it until the water is stained with the highlighter ink.Turn off the lights, place a flashlight under the jar, and watch the water glow!
What is a dinoflagellate?
Neither plant nor animal, dinoflagellates are unicellular protists; most exhibit the following characteristics:
Red tides
Red tides are conditions when a dinoflagellate population increases to such huge numbers that it discolors the water. This “bloom” may be caused by nutrient and hydrographic conditions, although the environmental conditions which result in red tides are not completely understood.
Quick Start Information
As soon as your dinoflagellate culture arrives, open the shipping container, remove the jar, and inspect for damage that may have occurred during the shipping process.
About the Organism
Our dinoflagellates are members of the genus Pyrocystis. Pyrocystis is derived from two Latin roots— pyro, meaning fire, and cystis, meaning hollow sac or cavity.
Preparation
As soon as your culture arrives, open the shipping container, remove the jar, and inspect the culture for damage that may have occurred during the shipping process. Maintain at normal room temperature (65 to 75° F, 18 to 24° C). Avoid rapid temperature fluctuations.
Housing
To induce and observe bioluminescence, you will need a space devoid of ambient light and equipped with a cool white fluorescent bulb and a lamp timer. Choose a bulb with a luminous intensity of 200-400 foot candles. We use 75 watt equivalent CFL bulbs in our dinoflagellate lab. Suspend the lamp approximately 14" from the culture.
Feeding
Though dinoflagellates do not consume other organisms, they do need a balanced media to maintain health. We recommend:
Maintaining and culturing
We maintain dinoflagellate cultures using 12-hour cycles of light and dark. The light cycle occurs from 8 pm to 8 am (EST), and the dark cycle from 8 am to 8 pm (EST). This allows for convenient study of the bioluminescent trait within a traditional classroom schedule.
Disposal
Carolina provides living organisms for educational purposes only. As a general policy, we do not advocate the release of organisms into the environment. In some states, it is illegal to release organisms, even indigenous species, without a permit. The intention of these laws is to protect native wildlife and the environment.
How much light do dinos need?
Ideally, they should get 12 hours of light and 12 hours of darkness every 24 hours and at the same time every day. If you can do this, the dinos will be brightly luminescent whenever they are in their "night phase" and they will be pretty much non-luminescent when they are in their "day phase".
Why do dinos flash?
In a similar fashion to the way we perceive being touched, this is the type of stimulation that causes a dinoflagellate to produce a flash of light. Dinos are highly sensitive to anything that pushes on their cell wall, even the seawater they live in can cause them to flash if it becomes very rough and stirred up.
How long does it take for Dinos to get used to the new light cycle?
Changing their light cycles is an interesting study, but remember that it takes the dinos about a week to get used to the new light cycle (just like humans who travel to places that are in extremely different time zones, it takes a few days to get used to that time zone, because your circadian rhythms are confused).
Do dinoflagellates produce blue light?
Dinoflagellates are relatively easy to maintain at home, requiring as little care as a houseplant, except that these "plants" produce bright blue light when shaken at night. Also see our page documenting a red tide of dinoflagellates.
Do dinoflagellates have a circadian rhythm?
These dinoflagellates have a circadian rhythm which controls their bioluminescence and photosynthesis on a 24-hour basis, i.e. they only photosynthesize when they “think” it's day and they only produce bioluminescence or flash when they “think” it's night .
What are the nuclei of a dinoflagellate?
'Core dinoflagellates' ( dinokaryotes) have a peculiar form of nucleus, called a dinokaryon, in which the chromosomes are attached to the nuclear membrane. These carry reduced number of histones. In place of histones, dinoflagellate nuclei contain a novel, dominant family of nuclear proteins that appear to be of viral origin, thus are called Dinoflagellate viral nucleoproteins (DVNPs) which are highly basic, bind DNA with similar affinity to histones, and occur in multiple posttranslationally modified forms. Dinoflagellate nuclei remain condensed throughout interphase rather than just during mitosis, which is closed and involves a uniquely extranuclear mitotic spindle. This sort of nucleus was once considered to be an intermediate between the nucleoid region of prokaryotes and the true nuclei of eukaryotes, so were termed mesokaryotic, but now are considered derived rather than primitive traits (i.e. ancestors of dinoflagellates had typical eukaryotic nuclei). In addition to dinokaryotes, DVNPs can be found in a group of basal dinoflagellates (known as Marine Alveolates, "MALVs") that branch as sister to dinokaryotes ( Syndiniales ).
How much DNA does a dinoflagellate have?
Most eukaryotic algae contain on average about 0.54 pg DNA/cell, whereas estimates of dinoflagellate DNA content range from 3–250 pg/cell, corresponding to roughly 3000–215 000 Mb (in comparison, the haploid human genome is 3180 Mb and hexaploid Triticum wheat is 16 000 Mb). Polyploidy or polyteny may account for this large cellular DNA content, but earlier studies of DNA reassociation kinetics and recent genome analyses do not support this hypothesis. Rather, this has been attributed, hypothetically, to the rampant retroposition found in dinoflagellate genomes.
How do dinoflagellates reproduce?
More complex life cycles occur, more particularly with parasitic dinoflagellates. Sexual reproduction also occurs, though this mode of reproduction is only known in a small percentage of dinoflagellates. This takes place by fusion of two individuals to form a zygote, which may remain mobile in typical dinoflagellate fashion and is then called a planozygote. This zygote may later form a resting stage or hypnozygote, which is called a dinoflagellate cyst or dinocyst. After (or before) germination of the cyst, the hatchling undergoes meiosis to produce new haploid cells. Dinoflagellates appear to be capable of carrying out several DNA repair processes that can deal with different types of DNA damage
What is the complex cell covering of a dinoflagellate?
Dinoflagellates have a complex cell covering called an amphiesma or cortex, composed of a series of membranes, flattened vesicles called alveoli (= amphiesmal vesicles) and related structures. In thecate ("armoured") dinoflagellates, these support overlapping cellulose plates to create a sort of armor called the theca or lorica, ...
How many species of dinoflagellates are there?
The latest estimates suggest a total of 2,294 living dinoflagellate species, which includes marine, freshwater, and parasitic dinoflagellates.
What are the resting stages of dinoflagellates?
Some dinoflagellates produce resting stages, called dinoflagellate cysts or dinocysts, as part of their lifecycles, and is known from 84 of the 350 described freshwater species, and from a little more than 10% of the known marine species.
Why are dinoflagellate blooms unpredictable?
One way a lack of diversity may occur in a bloom is through a reduction in predation and a decreased competition. The first may be achieved by having predators reject the dinoflagellate, by, for example, decreasing the amount of food it can eat. This additionally helps prevent a future increase in predation pressure by cause predators that reject it to lack the energy to breed. A species can then inhibit the growth of its competitors, thus achieving dominance.
How to prevent dinoflagellates in fish tank?
How to prevent Dinoflagellates in Your Tank. The best way to avoid dinos in your home aquarium is to filter out water from your new fish or coral. Local aquariums can be an easy way for dinos to go from the ocean and into your tank.
How to filter out dinos?
To filter out dinos, simply clear out all the water from the aquarium bag or bottle which carried you fish or coral. Ensure that even a small amount of water from the external source is put into your tank as dinos can quickly multiply. How to put your new aquaria in your tank to avoid Dino’s:
How to get rid of a dino tank?
Reduce feeding of live foods. Reduce lighting for 3-4 days. Stop doing water changes. Stop any C02 you may have running. Siphon and sieve the water in your tank. Once the bulk of the dino’s are removed, place a sieve under the overflow from the main tank (keep an eye on this for the first 3-4 hours as it will clog up quickly.
How to treat a dino outbreak in an aquarium?
If you have a more serious Dinoflagellate issue, you can action the following methods: Reduce feeding of live foods.
Can dinoflagellates cause algae?
Through our recent water testing, we have noticed a major increase in dinoflagellates otherwise known as ‘dino’s’ in Australian waters. Dinoflagellates can be a nuisance and can quickly cause masses of ugly green masses of algae in your tank.
Dinoflagellates – Are You Tired Of Battling Altogether?
I don't know what percentage of folks had luck battling dinos with any of the methods in the old Dino thread but it's obviously a very low percentage, so I'd like refresh folks on the natural alternatives and lay out three areas of info: some of the factors that contribute to a dino outbreak...
Dinoflagellate Identification Guide
I've had this laying around for a while. Had some recent interest, so I tweaked it a bit and am posting it. Not really about cures just ID pictures, videos, and a few short facts. Hope it can be helpful.
Amphidinium Dinoflagellate Treatment Methods
This thread is a spin-off from the @mcarroll very successful Dino thread The purpose is to discuss methods for removal and fighting against a particular strain of dinoflagellate - Large Cell Amphidinium. It seems to make up about a third of the cases of dinos. The reason this strain gets its...
Dinoflagellates – Are You Tired Of Battling Altogether?
I don't know what percentage of folks had luck battling dinos with any of the methods in the old Dino thread but it's obviously a very low percentage, so I'd like refresh folks on the natural alternatives and lay out three areas of info: some of the factors that contribute to a dino outbreak...
Dinoflagellate Identification Guide
I've had this laying around for a while. Had some recent interest, so I tweaked it a bit and am posting it. Not really about cures just ID pictures, videos, and a few short facts. Hope it can be helpful.
Amphidinium Dinoflagellate Treatment Methods
This thread is a spin-off from the @mcarroll very successful Dino thread The purpose is to discuss methods for removal and fighting against a particular strain of dinoflagellate - Large Cell Amphidinium. It seems to make up about a third of the cases of dinos. The reason this strain gets its...
Can algae keep coming back?
If you fail to pinpoint the problem, then problematic algae will keep coming back. Ultimately, multiple options exist to prevent and fight nasty algae outbreaks, so it is very important for any reef keeper to be diligent, and not to despair when confronted with this type of problem. Odds are, it can be beaten.
Do pods help dinos?
The theory here is that pods will help to consume dinos while additional nutrients will spur on algae growth, supposedly a plus since the algae would outcompete the dinos by consuming nutrients previously taken in by the dinos. In theory it sounds good, but in my case it didn’t work.
