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Dieren en planten

Plants   Flagellates   Dinoflagellates   Sea sparkle   Marine flora   Harmful algae   Flora of the sea floor   Phytoplankton   

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Sea regions   North Sea (biotope)   

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Protoperidinium, a dinoflagellate, NIOZ, www.nioz.nl

Dinoflagellates

A whirling whip. That is the Greek and Latin translation of dino-flagellate. This microscopically small algae has a thin (cellulose) outer skeleton that can move around with the help of flagella (whirling whips). A plant that can move around?! As strange as it may sound, these one-celled plants have several traits that resemble animals. Dinoflagellates are very important because, together with the diatoms, they produce the majority of the oxygen on earth and form the base of the food pyramid. One species of dinoflagellates produces 'sparks' in the sea. Several other species produce problems when they blossom. They can turn the sea red or cause food poisoning (Alexandrium and Dinophysis).

  • Description and character
    , NIOZ

    Dinoflagellates are just about as large as diatoms, however instead of a skeleton from silicon they have an armor made up of cellulose plates. They also have very different forms: round, elongated, curved, often spiny. They move around with the help of sweeping hairs.
    Although most species live in seawater, dinoflagellates are also common in fresh water. Temperature, salinity and depth determine which species can be found.
    Some dinoflagellates, such as Noctiluca scintillans, act more like animals than plants. They lack the essential chlorophyll granules for photosynthesis, which means that they cannot produce sugars (energy) using sunlight. Instead, they catch food like other animals. But because their cell walls are built from cellulose, they are classified as plants.

  • Survivors

    During sexual reproduction, some species of dinoflagellates make cysts, a kind of survival capsule. They can also forms these cysts when the circumstances are not favorable. In that case, the cysts fall to the bottom and wait till the situation improves.