A New Heterotrophic Dinoflagellate from the North‐eastern Pacific,Protoperidinium fukuyoi: Cyst–Theca Relationship,Phylogeny, Distribution and Ecology

The cyst–theca relationship of Protoperidinium fukuyoi n. sp. (Dinoflagellata, Protoperidiniaceae) is established by incubating resting cysts from estuarine sediments off southern Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada, and San Pedro Harbor, California, USA. The cysts have a brown‐coloured wall, and are characterized by a saphopylic archeopyle comprising three apical plates, the apical pore plate and canal plate; and acuminate processes typically arranged in linear clusters. We elucidate the phylogenetic relationship of P. fukuyoi through large and small subunit (LSU and SSU) rDNA sequences, and also report the SSU of the cyst‐defined species Islandinium minutum (Harland & Reid) Head et al. 2001. Molecular phylogenetic analysis by SSU rDNA shows that both species are closely related to Protoperidinium americanum (Gran & Braarud 1935) Balech 1974. Large subunit rDNA phylogeny also supports a close relationship between P. fukuyoi and P. americanum. Three subgroups in total are further characterized within the Monovela group. The cyst of P. fukuyoi shows a wide geographical range along the coastal tropical to temperate areas of the North‐east Pacific, its distribution reflecting optimal summer sea‐surface temperatures of ~14–18 °C and salinities of 22–34 psu.     

A further phylogenetic study of the heterotrophic dinoflagellate genus, Protoperidinium (Dinophyceae) based on small and large subunit ribosomal RNA gene sequences

The heterotrophic marine dinoflagellate genus Protoperidinium is the largest genus in the Dinophyceae. Previously, we reported on the intrageneric and intergeneric phylogenetic relationships of 10 species of Protoperidinium, from four sections, based on small subunit (SSU) rDNA sequences. The present paper reports on the impact of data from an additional 5 species and, therefore, an additional two sections, using the SSU rDNA data, but now also incorporating sequence data from the large subunit (LSU) rDNA. These sequences, in isolation and in combination, were used to reconstruct the evolutionary history of the genus. The LSU rDNA trees support a monophyletic genus, but the phylogenetic position within the Dinophyceae remains ambiguous. The SSU, LSU and SSU + LSU rDNA phylogenies support monophyly in the sections Avellana, Divergentia, Oceanica and Protoperidinium, but the section Conica is paraphyletic. Therefore, the concept of discrete taxonomic sections based on the shape of 1′ plate and 2a plate is upheld by molecular phylogeny. Furthermore, the section Oceanica is indicated as having an early divergence from other groups within the genus. The sections Avellana and Excentrica and a clade combining the sections Divergentia/Protoperidinium derived from Conica‐type dinoflagellates independently. Analysis of the LSU rDNA data resulted in the same phylogeny as that obtained using SSU rDNA data and, with increased taxon sampling, including members of new sections, a clearer idea of the evolution of morphological features within the genus Protoperidinium was obtained. Intraspecific variation was found in Protoperidinium conicum (Gran) Balech, Protoperidinium excentricum (Paulsen) Balech and Protoperidinium pellucidum Bergh based on SSU rDNA data and also in Protoperidinium claudicans (Paulsen) Balech, P. conicum and Protoperidinium denticulatum (Gran et Braarud) Balech based on LSU rDNA sequences. The common occurrence of base pair substitutions in P. conicum is indicative of the presence of cryptic species.     

GYMNODINIUM COROLLARIUM SP. NOV. (DINOPHYCEAE)—A NEW COLD‐WATER DINOFLAGELLATE RESPONSIBLE FOR CYST SEDIMENTATION EVENTS IN THE BALTIC SEA1

A naked dinoflagellate with a unique arrangement of chloroplasts in the center of the cell was isolated from the northern Baltic proper during a spring dinoflagellate bloom (March 2005). Morphological, ultrastructural, and molecular analyses revealed this dinoflagellate to be undescribed and belonging to the genus Gymnodinium F. Stein. Gymnodinium corollarium A. M. Sundström, Kremp et Daugbjerg sp. nov. possesses features typical of Gymnodinium sensu stricto, such as nuclear chambers and an apical groove running in a counterclockwise direction around the apex. Phylogenetic analyses based on partial nuclear‐encoded LSU rDNA sequences place the species in close proximity to G. aureolum, but significant genetic distance, together with distinct morphological features, such as the position of chloroplasts, clearly justifies separation from this species. Temperature and salinity experiments revealed a preference of G. corollarium for low salinities and temperatures, confirming it to be a cold‐water species well adapted to the brackish water conditions in the Baltic Sea. At nitrogen‐deplete conditions, G. corollarium cultures produced small, slightly oval cysts resembling a previously unidentified cyst type commonly found in sediment trap samples collected from the northern and central open Baltic Sea. Based on LSU rDNA comparison, these cysts were assigned to G. corollarium. The cysts have been observed in many parts of the Baltic Sea, indicating the ecologic versatility of the species and its importance for the Baltic ecosystem.     

Protoperidinium tricingulatum sp. nov. (Dinophyceae), a new motile form of a round,brown, and spiny dinoflagellate cyst

A small, broadly ovoidal and heterotrophic dinoflagellate containing round, brownish, and spiny cyst was found in the water column of Huibertsplaat in the Wadden Sea off the coast of the Netherlands. This dinoflagellate had these conspicuous morphological characters: a five‐sided first apical plate (1′), only three cingular plates, and an extremely small first antapical plate. Based on these morphological features, Protoperidinium tricingulatum Kawami, vanWezel, Koeman et Matsuoka is described as a new species. The flagellar pore of P. tricingulatum is covered with a small fin, which rises from the left side of the right sulcal plate to the large V‐shaped posterior sulcal plate. This feature suggests that P. tricingulatum is assigned to the Abé's Monovela Group. The cyst stage of P. tricingulatum was positively linked to the vegetative stage by comparison of the ribosomal 5.8S rDNA, internal transcribed spacers (ITS1 and ITS2). Living cysts of P. tricingulatum are round, brownish, and covered with many slender spines bearing capitate or cauliforate distal ends. The cyst also possesses a theropylic archeopyle formed by a slit corresponding to parasutures between three apical and two apical intercaraly plates. These morphological characters indicate that this species is morphologically related to two dinoflagellate cyst‐genera Islandinium and Echinidinium.     

Huia caspica gen. & comb. nov., a dinoflagellate species that recently crossed the marine‐freshwater boundary

The dinoflagellate subfamily Diplopsalidoideae encompasses 11 genera whose plate patterns show a large diversity. In a recently published molecular phylogeny (Liu et al. 2015) some of these genera (e.g. Diplopsalis, Diplopelta) are polyphyletic, suggesting that further subdivision of these genera is needed. Here we established the cyst‐theca relationship of Diplopsalis caspica by incubating cysts collected from the East China Sea. Cells of D. caspica display a plate formula of Po, X, 3′, 1a, 6″, 3c+t, ?4s, 5″′, 1″″, characterized by a small, parallelogrammic anterior intercalary plate (1a) located in the middle of the dorsal part of the epitheca. The cysts are spherical and smooth‐walled with a theropylic archeopyle. In addition, we obtained four large subunit ribosomal DNA (LSU rDNA) sequences from the germinated motile cells by single‐cell polymerase chain reaction. Strains of D. caspica from the marine environment of the East China Sea differ at 0–2 positions of LSU rDNA sequences from that of lacustrine strains from NE China. In the molecular phylogeny, D. caspica was close to Lebouraia pusilla but distant from D. lenticula, the type species of Diplopsalis. Our results support the systematic importance of plate 1a, and therefore D. caspica was transferred to a new genus, Huia. The conservative LSU rDNA sequences in H. caspica suggest that the marine‐freshwater transition occurred recently.     

ALEXANDRIUM TAMUTUM SP. NOV. (DINOPHYCEAE): A NEW NONTOXIC SPECIES IN THE GENUS ALEXANDRIUM1

A new species of the dinoflagellate genus Alexandrium, A. tamutum sp. nov., is described based on the results of morphological and phylogenetic studies carried out on strains isolated from two sites in the Mediterranean Sea: the Gulf of Trieste (northern Adriatic Sea) and the Gulf of Naples (central Tyrrhenian Sea). Vegetative cells were examined in LM and SEM, and resting cysts were obtained by crossing strains of opposite mating type. Alexandrium tamutum is a small‐sized species, resembling A. minutum in its small size, the rounded‐elliptical shape and the morphology of its cyst. The main diagnostic character of the new species is a relatively wide and large sixth precingular plate (6″), whereas that of A. minutum is much narrower and smaller. Contrary to A. minutum, A. tamutum strains did not produce paralytic shellfish poisoning toxins. Phylogenies inferred from the nuclear small subunit rDNA and the D1/D2 domains of the large subunit nuclear rDNA of five strains of A. tamutum and numerous strains of other Alexandrium species showed that A. tamutum strains clustered in a well‐supported clade, distinct from A. minutum.     

Morpho-molecular diversity and phylogeny of Bysmatrum (Dinophyceae) from the South China Sea and France

The dinoflagellate genus Bysmatrum encompasses five epibenthic or tide-pool species and has been characterized by separated anterior intercalary plates. In the present study, we obtained six strains of Bysmatrum from the South China Sea and French Atlantic coast by isolating single cells/cysts from plankton and sediment samples. All strains were examined with light microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. Based on morphological observations, three strains were identified as Bysmatrum subsalsum, characterized by the elongated and rectangular first and a hexagonal second anterior intercalary plate. They differ from each other in the number of sulcal lists and the configuration of the first anterior intercalary plate. One strain was identified as Bysmatrum gregarium and the other two as Bysmatrum granulosum. The cyst-theca relationship of B. subsalsum from the French Atlantic was established by incubation of the cyst, and the geochemical composition of the cyst wall was measured through micro-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Bysmatrum subsalsum from Malaysia shows a bright red stigma in the sulcal area under light microscopy, which was confirmed with transmission electron microscopy: it was identified as a type B eyespot. Small subunit ribosomal DNA (SSU rDNA), partial large subunit ribosomal DNA (LSU rDNA) and internal transcribed spacer (ITS) sequences were obtained from all six strains. The maximum likelihood and Bayesian inference analysis based on concatenated SSU, ITS and LSU sequences revealed that Bysmatrum is monophyletic and nested within Peridiniales. Our strains of B. subsalsum form a new ribotype in the molecular phylogeny (designated as ribotype B). The genetic distance based on ITS sequences among Bysmatrum species ranged from 0.34 to 0.47 and those genetic distances at the intraspecific level of B. subsalsum could reach 0.41, supporting the possibility of hidden crypticity within B. subsalsum.     

Characterization of Gambierdiscus and Coolia (Dinophyceae) isolates from Thailand based on morphology and phylogeny

The benthic dinoflagellates in the genus Gambierdiscus produce toxins that bioaccumulate in tropical and sub‐tropical fish causing ciguatera fish poisoning (CFP). Other co‐occurring genera such as Coolia have also been implicated in causing CFP. Little is known about the diversity of the two genera Gambierdiscus and Coolia along the Thai coasts. The results of morphological analyses based on observation under light microscopy and scanning electron microcopy showed that strains of Gambierdiscus from Thailand displayed the typical Gambierdiscus plate formula: Po, 4′, 0a, 6″, 6c,?s, 5′′′, 0p and 2′′′′. Morphological examination of Thai Gambierdiscus enabled it to be identified as Gambierdiscus caribaeus: round and anterior‐posteriorly compressed cell shape, broad 2′′′′ plate, rectangular 2′ plate, and symmetrical 3″ plate. The phylogenetic analyses based on the large subunit (LSU) rDNA D8/D10 sequences of Gambierdiscus from Thailand confirmed the morphological identification. The thecal plate formula for all of the Coolia isolates from Thailand was Po, 4′, 0a, 6″,?c,?s, 5′′′, 0p and 2′′′′. Most, but not all, of these isolates could be identified morphologically as Coolia malayensis. An LSU rDNA D1/D2 phylogenetic analysis confirmed identity of C. malayensis isolates identified morphologically. The remaining unidentified isolates fell in the C. tropicalis clade.     

THE CALCAREOUS RESTING CYST OF PENTAPHARSODINIUM TYRRHENICUM COMB. NOV. (DINOPHYCEAE)1

While investigating dinoflagellate cyst assemblages in surface sediments of the Gulfs of Naples and Salerno (Mediterranean Sea), we found a new calcareous resting cyst. This cyst has a round to oval body surrounded by a thick mineral layer, which gives it the shape of a Napoleon hat, with a flat, oval face bearing the archeopyle and a convex keel on the opposite side. The cyst shape is variable in both natural samples and clonal cultures. The organic membrane underlying the calcareous covering is resistant to acetolysis, thus demonstrating the presence of sporopolleninlike material. The cyst germinated into a motile stage having the same morphological features and thecal plate pattern as Peridinium tyrrhenicum Balech. We believe the validity of the genus Pentapharsodinium Indelicato & Loeblich should be accepted. Based on the comparative examination of the species we collected and of a similar species, Pentapharsodinium trachodium Indelicato & Loeblich, we propose Pentapharsodinium tyrrhenicum as a new combination for Peridinium tyrrhenicum. The genus Pentapharsodinium also includes P. dalei Indelicato & Loeblich (= Peridinium faeroense Dale), which produces spiny, organic-walled cysts. The presence of species forming calcareous cysts and species producing noncalcareous cysts in the same genus raises questions about maintaining the family Calciodinellaceae. This family should only include calcareous cyst-forming peridinioids, in order to maintain a unified system of classification of fossil and recent dinoflagellates.     

Dinoflagellate cyst records in recent sediments from Daya Bay, South China Sea

Nine sediment cores of 8–26 cm in length were collected from two basins of Daya Bay, the South China Sea, by Tokyo University Fisheries Oceanography Laboratory core sampler in August 2001 to investigate the distribution of dinoflagellate resting cysts. In the present study, 51 different cyst morphotypes representing 22 genera were identified from 65 sediment samples. Among them, there were 21 autotrophic species and 30 heterotrophic ones. Cyst species richness in each sample varied from 12 to 29, while the values of Shannon‐Weaver diversity index (H′) were between 0.15 and 4.13. There were an obvious increase in both species richness and values of H′in 2–6 cm sediments. Cyst concentrations varied from 154 to 113 483 cysts per gram dry weight sediment, and were much higher in upper sediments. Scrippsiella trochoidea was the most dominant cyst type, which took up over 90% of cyst assemblages in the upper sediments. The abrupt increase of S. trochoidea cysts in the surface sediments reflected the bloom of this species in Daya Bay in 2000. The results from cyst assemblages showed some trend of changes in water quality in this area, and indicated a typical type of pollution caused by cultural eutrophication, which started in the 1980s and greatly accelerated in the middle of 1990s. Cysts of Alexandrium, mainly those of Alexandrium catenella and Alexandrium tamarense complex, occurred frequently and abundantly in this area, with the highest concentration and relative frequency of 503 cysts per gram dry weight sediment and 22.3%, respectively. The high abundance of Alexandrium cysts provided rich ‘seed bed’ for Alexandrium blooms and was also an important source of paralytic shellfish poisoning toxins, especially in winter.     

Cyst‐motile stage relationship and molecular phylogeny of a new freshwater dinoflagellate Gymnodinium plasticum from Plastic Lake,Canada

The dinophyceaen genus Gymnodinium was established with the freshwater species G. fuscum as type. According to Thessen et al. (2012), there are 268 species, with the majority marine species. In recently published molecular phylogenies based on ribosomal DNA sequences, Gymnodinium is polyphyletic. Here, a new freshwater Gymnodinium species, G. plasticum, is described from Plastic Lake, Ontario, Canada. Two strains were established by incubating single cysts, and their morphology was examined with light microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. The cyst had a rounded epicyst and hypocyst with a wide cingulum and smooth surface. Vegetative cells were characterized by an elongated nucleus running vertically and a deep sulcal intrusion. The apical structure complex was horseshoe‐shaped and consisted of two pronounced ridges with a deep internal groove, encircling 80% of the apex. Small subunit ribosomal DNA (SSU rDNA), large subunit ribosomal DNA (LSU rDNA) and internal transcribed spacer (ITS) sequences were obtained from cultured strains. Molecular phylogeny based on concatenated SSU, LSU and ITS sequences supports the monophyly of the Gymnodiniales sensu stricto clade but our results suggest that many Gymnodinium species might need reclassification. Gymnodinium plasticum is closest to Dissodinium pseudolunula in our phylogeny but distant from the type species G. fuscum, as are the other gymnodiniacean taxa.     

Relationship between the dinoflagellate cyst Spiniferites pachydermus and Gonyaulax ellegaardiae sp. nov. from Izmir Bay,Turkey, and molecular characterization

Here, we established the cyst‐motile stage relation‐ship for Spiniferites pachydermus through incubation of cysts with a characteristically microreticulate/perforate surface isolated from Izmir Bay in the eastern Aegean Sea of the eastern Mediterranean. The morphology of the motile stage was similar to Gonyaulax spinifera but had a different size, overhang, displacement and reticulations. Based on the distinct morphology of the cyst and morphological differences in motile cells, we assigned S. pachydermus from Izmir Bay to the new species Gonyaulax ellegaardiae. We elucidate the phylogenetic relationship of G. ellegaardiae through large and small subunit ribosomal DNA and show that it forms a clade with other species that belong to the G. spinifera complex.     

Molecular phylogenetic study of the heterotrophic dinoflagellate genus Protoperidinium (Dinophyceae) inferred from small subunit rRNA gene sequences

In the present study, we investigated the intrageneric and intergeneric phylogenetic relationships of the heterotrophic marine dinoflagellate genus Protoperidinium. Using single‐cell polymerase chain reaction methods, we determined small subunit ribosomal RNA gene sequences for 10 Protoperidinium species belonging to four sections and two subgenera. Phylogenetic trees were constructed using maximum parsimony, neighbor joining and maximum likelihood methods. We found intraspecific variability of small subunit rDNA sequences in Protoperidinium conicum (Gran) Balech, Protoperidinium crassipes (Kofoid) Balech and Protoperidinium denticulatum (Gran et Braarud) Balech, but not in other species. The small subunit rDNA phylogeny revealed that the genus is monophyletic, but its phylogenetic position within the Dinophyceae could not be determined because of ambiguous basal topologies. Within the genus Protoperidinium, species of the subgenus Archaeperidinium with two anterior intercalary plates (2a) were shown to be monophyletic, but species of the subgenus Protoperidinium with three anterior intercalary plates (3a) were resolved as paraphyletic. The sections Avellana, Divergentia and Protoperidinium were shown to be monophyletic, while the section Conica was paraphyletic. Based on the trees obtained in the present study, most of the traditionally defined sections are supported by molecular phylogeny. It was also indicated that the section Avellana evolved from one of the Conica‐type dinoflagellates.     

Patterns of vertical cyst distribution and survival in 100-year-old sediment archives of three spring dinoflagellate species from the Northern Baltic Sea

The history of expansion of bloom-forming cold water dinoflagellates in the Northern Baltic Sea was studied using 100-year-old sediment archives of their resting cysts. Vertical cyst distributions of Biecheleria baltica and Apocalathium malmogiense, two dinoflagellates indistinguishable by light microscopy and not recognized as distinct species in monitoring, and chain-forming Peridiniella catenata were analysed in Pb²¹⁰ and Cs¹³⁷ dated layers of a sediment core from deep, hypoxic accumulation bottoms of the Gulf of Finland. Cyst profiles showed that B. baltica and A. malmogiense were already present in the Baltic spring phytoplankton community at the beginning of the 20th century. This confirms that B. baltica, which was only recognized in the late 1980s, is a native species in the area. A drastic increase in B. baltica cyst concentrations in the 1930s to 1960s coincided with the acceleration of anthropogenic eutrophication. Large cyst deposits accumulated over several decades in the sediment which, by the 1980s, amounted to the seed stock necessary to inoculate dominant blooms. In the cyst records A. malmogiense always contributed a minor fraction of the two species. P. catenata had a relatively short cyst record in Gulf of Finland sediments despite demonstrated long-term presence in the plankton, which emphasizes that cyst-based historic surveys are not suitable for all cyst-forming dinoflagellates. This was corroborated by correspondence analyses of long-term plankton and cyst records which validated the trends from the sediment archive for B. baltica and A. malmogiense, but failed to do so for P. catenata. Germination experiments with 100-year-old cysts revealed a remarkable long-term survival capacity of A. malmogiense, making this species a suitable model for resurrection studies testing adaptation in heavily impacted systems such as the Baltic Sea.     

MOLECULAR PHYLOGENY OF THE HETEROTROPHIC DINOFLAGELLATES,PROTOPERIDINIUM, DIPLOPSALIS AND PREPERIDINIUM (DINOPHYCEAE), INFERRED FROM LARGE SUBUNIT rDNA1

The genera Protoperidinium Bergh, Diplopsalis Bergh, and Preperidinium Mangin, comprised of species of marine, thecate, heterotrophic dinoflagellates in the family Protoperidinaceae Balech, have had a confused taxonomic history. To elucidate the validity of morphological groupings within the Protoperidinium and diplopsalids, and to determine the evolutionary relationships between these and other dinoflagellates, we undertook a study of molecular phylogeny using the D1–D3 domains of the large subunit (LSU) of the rDNA. Based on morphology, the 10 Protoperidinium species examined belonged to three subgenera and five morphological sections. Two diplopsalid species were also included. Single‐cell PCR, cloning, and sequencing revealed a high degree of intraindividual sequence variability in the LSU rDNA. The genus Protoperidinium appeared to be recently divergent in all phylogenetic analyses. In maximum parsimony and neighbor joining analyses, Protoperidinium formed a monophyletic group, evolving from diplopsalid dinoflagellates. In maximum likelihood and Bayesian analyses, however, Protoperidinium was polyphyletic, as the lenticular, diplopsalid heterotroph, Diplopsalis lenticula Bergh, was inserted within the Protoperidinium clade as basal to Protoperidinium excentricum (Paulsen) Balech, and Preperidinium meunieri (Pavillard) Elbrächter fell within a separate clade as a sister to the Oceanica and Protoperidinium steidingerae Balech. In all analyses, the Protoperidinium were divided into two major clades, with members in the Oceanica group and subgenus Testeria in one clade, and the Excentrica, Conica, Pellucida, Pyriforme and Divergens sections in the other clade. The LSU rDNA molecular phylogeny supported the historical morphologically determined sections, but not a simple morphology based model of evolution based on thecal plate shape.     

Cyst‐motile stage relationship,morphology, ultrastructure,and molecular phylogeny of the gymnodinioid dinoflagellate Barrufeta resplendens comb. nov., formerly known as Gyrodinium resplendens,isolated from the Gulf of Mexico

In the present study, we redescribed Gyrodinium resplendens through incubation of process bearing cysts extracted from sediment collected in the northern Gulf of Mexico. The morphology and ultrastructure of the motile stage and cyst stage were examined using light microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and transmission electron microscopy and this revealed that the species should be transferred to the genus Barrufeta. This genus differs from other gymnodinioid genera in possessing a Smurf‐cap apical structure complex (ASC) and currently encompasses only one species, Barrufeta bravensis. B. resplendens shows a Smurf‐cap ASC that consists of three rows of elongated vesicles with small knobs in the middle one. B. resplendens is very similar to B. bravensis in cell morphology, but can be separated using the ultrastructure such as the shape and location of nucleus and pyrenoids, which highlights the importance of ultrastructure at inter‐specific level in the genus Barrufeta. The unique cysts of B. resplendens are brown and process bearing, and have a tremic archeopyle with a zigzag margin on the dorsal side of the epicyst, and not polar as in cysts of Polykrikos. The cysts do not survive the palynological treatment used here and probably have a wide distribution. Maximum‐likelihood and Bayesian inference were carried out based on partial large subunit ribosomal DNA (LSU rDNA) sequences. Molecular phylogeny supports that the genus Barrufeta is monophyletic, and that the genus Gymnodinium is polyphyletic. Our results suggest that details of the ASC together with ultrastructure are potential features to subdivide the genus Gymnodinium.     

Dinoflagellate resting cysts as factors in phytoplankton ecology of the North Sea

The occurrence and distribution of dinoflagellate resting cysts were investigated at 11 locations in the south-eastern part of the North Sea. Twenty-six known cyst species and 7 unknown cyst types, which may act as seed population for planktonic dinoflagellate blooms, have been recorded for the first time in the area. The most common cysts in recent sediments were those ofScrippsiella trochoidea, Zygabikodinium lenticulatum, Peridinium dalei, Scrippsiella lachrymosa, Protoceratium reticulatum, Protoperidinium denticulatum, andP. conicum. At all stations,S. trochoidea dominated the cyst assemblages with a maximal abundance of 1303 living cysts/cm³ in the uppermost half centimetre. Cysts of the potentially toxic dinoflagellatesAlexandrium cf.excavatum andA. cf.tamarense were scarce. In the upper 2-cm layer of sediment, dinoflagellate cysts were found in concentrations of 1.8 up to 682 living cysts/cm³. Empty cysts constituted 22–56% of total cyst abundance. The comparative distribution of the cysts showed a general increase in abundance from inshore sites to the offshore area, whereby sandy stations exhibited the lowest cyst abundance and diversity. The wide distribution of living and empty cysts ofScrippsiella lachrymosa suggests that its motile form, which has not been officially recorded in the area until now, is a common plankton organism in German coastal waters. The relatively high abundance of cysts in recent sediments demonstrates the potential importance of benthic resting stages for the initiation of dinoflagellate blooms in the study area.     

The chrysophycean paleocyst flora of the bottom sediments of Kortowskie Lake (Poland) and its ecological significance

The postglacial sediments of Kortowskie Lake contain well preserved chrysophycean cysts. Forty-six morphotypes were identified by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and light microscopy (LM). Ten new morphotypes of fossil chrysophycean cysts are described. Some of the most abundant taxa show clear trends associated with the increase in lake trophic status. The cyst flora is divided into four groups: eutrophic forms (Cysta globata, C. cortoviensis, C. vermicularis); oligotrophic forms (Cysta curvicollis); cool-water forms (Cysta carinifera, C. crassicollis, C. microspinosa, C. modica and Cysta stellata), and indifferent forms (all other morphotypes which did not show a clear tendency). The percentage abundance of chrysophycean cysts wa related to climate changes, showing a considerable increase during the Subboreal period. Two factors, lake fertility and water level changes affected the abundance of the fossil cyst flora in the sediments of Kortowskie Lake.