Definition
Dinoflagellates (Greek, δινη, dino, “whirl” and Latin flagellum, “whip, scourge”) are unicellular protists that have two distinctive flagella during at least part of their life cycle.
Introduction
Dinoflagellates are a biologically complex group of protists that comprise planktonic, meroplanktonic, and benthic species. They have different modes of nutrition making it difficult to attribute the group as a whole to animals or plants. Some species produce toxins that impact human health through consumption of contaminated seafood or water or aerosol exposure (Hackett et al., 2004). Toxic algae blooms are increasingly documented over the past decades (http://oceanservice.noaa.gov/hazards/hab) and may have a considerable economic impact. Extensive blooms of dinoflagellates may cause a coloration of water known as red tide. Some species are an important source of bioluminescence (Hackett et al., 2004). Since it has been finally accepted more than 50 years ago that the fossil...
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Matthiessen, J., Schreck, M. (2016). Dinoflagellates. In: Harff, J., Meschede, M., Petersen, S., Thiede, J. (eds) Encyclopedia of Marine Geosciences. Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-6238-1_55
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-6238-1_55
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