gymnodinium nagasakiense is the species of organisms that is most commonly responsible for red tides.
which species of organisms is most commonly responsible for red tides?
gymnodinium nagasakiense
Na
Na
many mixotrophic and some heterotrophic dinoflagellates are known to cause red tides or harmful blooms that result in large-scale mortality of fish and shellfish. studies on red tides have been conducted to determine the mechanism of outbreak and the persistence of red tides caused by mixotrophic dinoflagellates such as "karenia brevis", "prorocentrum donghaiense" and "prorocentrum minimum" in low nutrient concentration waters. in the case of serial red tides, one mixotrophic dinoflagellate species is dominated by another mixotrophic species in rapid succession over a short span of days. a possible explanation for the occurrence of different dominant mixotrophic dinoflagellates during serial red tides is the ability of mixotrophic dinoflagellates to feed on both heterotrophic bacteria and cyanobacteria (such as "synecchococcus") spp., which provide limiting nutrients such as phosphorus, and nitrogen simultaneously. it is proposed that during serial red tides, feeding by larger mixotrophic dinoflagellates on smaller species may be a driving force for the succession of dominant species. nitrogen and phosphorus is taken up by direct transfer of the materials and energy between the mixotrophic dinoflagellates; therefore, nutrient supply does not rely on the release of nitrogen and phosphorus by other organisms. hence, mixotrophy can cause uncoupling between nutrient concentrations and the abundance of mixotrophic dinoflagellates in natural environments.
mixotrophic dinoflagellate