Dinoflagellates

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personnel are requires to accurately identify toxic dinoflagellate species. Many structures are only apparent using electron microscopy. The Alexandrium species possess an outer shell of polysaccharide plates, and is referred to as an "armored" dinoflagellate. Gymnodinium breve does not possess this polysaccharide shell and has been referred to as a "naked" organism. Differences in structure are relevant in the toxicity of dinoflagellates towards animals higher in the food chain. Gymnodinium breve is particularly toxic to fish because its toxin is absorbed via their gills. More detailed studies of the structure of dinoflagellates have also resulted in changes in their taxonomy over the last two decades.
Dinoflagellates spend the colder winter months as benthic resting cysts. Two processes are required to initiate a dinoflagellate bloom. The first is excystment, whereby the "hypnocysts" germinate. This is followed by conversion of the excysted protoplast into a thecate motile cell. ...

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bahamense is more frequently found in the Indo-Pacific region, especially South East Asia nearby Islands. Illness from Gymnodium breve occurs mainly along the coastline of Florida. Global spread of dinoflagellates may occur due to human factors. Dinoflagellate cysts have been identified in large numbers in ship ballast water, and may be transported to locations remote from the original "bloom". After excystment has occurred, many factors contribute to the viability of a dinoflagellate bloom; however, the precise water conditions are not known. "Red tides" are predominantly a coastal phenomenon, and it has been suggested that nutrients and dissolved organic matter from land runoff ...

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