Alexandrium catenella (group IV) and Alexandrium tamarense (group III) (Dinophyceae) are two cryptic invasive phytoplankton species belonging to the A. tamarense species complex. Their worldwide spread is favored by the human activities, transportation and climate change. In order to describe their diversity in the Mediterranean Sea and understand their settlements and maintenances in this area, new microsatellite markers were developed based on Thau lagoon (France) samples of A. catenella and A. tamarense strains. In this study twelve new microsatellite markers are proposed. Five of these microsatellite markers show amplifications on A. tamarense and ten on A. catenella. Three of these 12 microsatellite markers allowed amplifications on both cryptic species. Finally, the haplotypic diversity ranged from 0.000 to 0.791 and 0.000 to 0.942 for A. catenella and A. tamarense respectively.

Dinoflagellate proliferation is common in coastal waters, and trophic strategies are often advanced to explain the success of these organisms. The Biguglia lagoon is a Mediterranean brackish ecosystem where eutrophication has long been an issue, and where dominance of dinoflagellates has persisted for several years. Monthly monitoring of fluorescence-based properties of phytoplankton communities carried out in 2010 suggested that photosynthesis alone could not support the observed situation all year round. Contrasting food webs developed depending on the hydrological season, with a gradual shift from autotrophy to heterotrophy. Progressively, microphytoplankton assemblages became unequivocally dominated by a Prorocentrum minimum bloom, which exhibited very weak effective photosynthetic performance, whereas paradoxically its theoretical capacities remained fully operational. Different environmental hypotheses explaining this discrepancy were examined, but rejected. We conclude that P. minimum bloom persistence is sustained by mixotrophic strategies, with complex compromises between phototrophy and phagotrophy, as evidenced by fluorescence-based observations.

Alexandrium catenella (group IV) and Alexandrium tamarense (group III) (Dinophyceae) are two cryptic invasive phytoplankton species belonging to the A. tamarense species complex. Their worldwide spread is favored by the human activities, transportation and climate change. In order to describe their diversity in the Mediterranean Sea and understand their settlements and maintenances in this area, new microsatellite markers were developed based on Thau lagoon (France) samples of A. catenella and A. tamarense strains. In this study twelve new microsatellite markers are proposed. Five of these microsatellite markers show amplifications on A. tamarense and ten on A. catenella. Three of these 12 microsatellite markers allowed amplifications on both cryptic species. Finally, the haplotypic diversity ranged from 0.000 to 0.791 and 0.000 to 0.942 for A. catenella and A. tamarense respectively.

The most important oyster farming area in Europe is in a close proximity of two medium size merchant ports. Cargo ships deballast in this area before loading, releasing unwanted or noxious marine species. During a sampling campaign aboard these arriving ships, we found in some ballast water samples a huge number of potentially toxic dinoflagellates and some potentially pathogenic bacteria. A model was applied to find the potential geographical spread of the discharged ballast water. This model predicts the water to reach highly vulnerable shellfish farmed areas in six to eight days.

Coolia are marine benthic dinoflagellates which are globally distributed and potentially toxic. This study provides the first investigation of species diversity and toxicity assessment of Coolia in Hong Kong waters. Fifty-one strains of four Coolia species, including C. malayensis, C. canariensis, C. tropicalis, and C. palmyrensis, were isolated from twelve sub-tidal habitats, and identified phylogenetically using 28S rDNA sequences. Exposure experiments (48-hour) demonstrated that the algal lysates extracted from the four Coolia species exhibited different toxic effects on the lethality and abnormality of two invertebrate larvae, i.e., brine shrimp Artemia franciscana and sea urchin Heliocidaris crassispina. Heliocidaris crassispina was more sensitive to the toxic effects of Coolia species than A. franciscana. Toxicity tests from both larvae revealed that C. malayensis was generally more toxic, and caused higher mortality rates when compared with the other three species. The emerging threat of harmful benthic dinoflagellates to marine environments and sensitive biota is discussed.

We studied the distribution of planktonic and epiphytic ciliates coupled with environmental factors and microalgae abundance at five stations in Ghar El Melh Lagoon (Tunisia). Planktonic ciliates were monitored for a year and epiphytic ciliates were sampled during summer 2011 in concordance with the proliferation of the seagrass Ruppia cirrhosa. Ciliate assemblage was largely dominated by Spirotrichea followed respectively by Tintinnida of and Strombidiida. No significant difference was found in the distribution of ciliate species among the stations. Redundancy analysis indicates that abiotic factors (temperature and nutriments) have a significant effect on the dynamics of certain ciliates. For epiphytic ciliates, 4 species were identified: Tintinnopsis campanula, Aspidisca sp., Strombidium acutum and Amphorides amphora. Based on PERMANOVA analyses, ciliates exhibit significant correlations among months and stations. According to ACP, epiphyte distribution follows roughly those of R. cirrhosa and pH. Significant correlations were found between harmful dinoflagellates and both planktonic and epiphytic ciliates.

Phytoplankton monitoring has extended to practically all the regions of the European coast due to the implementation of the European Water Framework Directive. In this way, the study of phytoplankton taxonomic composition and dynamic is being performed in many areas poorly studied or not studied before. During the last years, a monitoring programme has been carried out at the coast of Cantabria region (SE Bay of Biscay); the presence of some potentially toxic and bloom forming species (>7.5×10⁵cells per litre) has been observed. Diatoms and cryptophytes are the main blooming taxa in this region in the majority of the estuaries and in some of the coastal sites. All estuaries and coastal stations showed at least one potentially toxic species, being the dinoflagellates the group with the highest number of taxa observed. The potentially toxic species found in highest concentrations were the genera Pseudo-nitzschia and Chrysochromulina.

Intense blooms of the benthic dinoflagellate Ostreopsis cf. ovata have occurred in the northern Adriatic Sea since 2006. These blooms are associated with noxious effects on human health and with the mortality of benthic organisms because of the production of palytoxin-like compounds. The O. cf. ovata bloom and its relationships with nutrient concentrations at two stations on the Conero Riviera (northern Adriatic Sea) were investigated in the summer of 2009. O. cf. ovata developed from August to November, with the highest abundances in September (1.3×10⁶cellsg⁻¹ fw corresponding to 63.8×10³cellscm⁻²). The presence of the single O. cf. ovata genotype was confirmed by a PCR assay. Bloom developed when the seawater temperature was decreasing. Nutrient concentrations did not seem to affect bloom dynamics. Toxin analysis performed by high resolution liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry revealed a high total toxin content (up to 75pgcell⁻¹), including putative palytoxin and all the ovatoxins known so far.

Tropical shrimp aquaculture systems in New Caledonia regularly face major crises resulting from outbreaks of Vibrio infections. Ponds are highly dynamic and challenging environments and display a wide range of trophic conditions. In farms affected by vibriosis, phytoplankton biomass and composition are highly variable. These conditions may promote the development of harmful algae increasing shrimp susceptibility to bacterial infections. Phytoplankton compartment before and during mortality outbreaks was monitored at a shrimp farm that has been regularly and highly impacted by these diseases. Combining information from flow cytometry, microscopy, pigment and phylogenetic analysis, the presence of Picocyanobacteria, Prasinophyceae and Diatomophyceae were detected as dominant phytoplankton groups and Cryptophyceae, Prymnesiophyceae and Dinophyceae as minor components. At the onset of the first shrimp mortalities, Bacillariophyceae increased while Cyanobacteria, Prymnesiophyceae and Dinophyceae decreased in the water column, followed by proliferation of Prasinophyceae. Several taxa were identified as potential harmful algae (Cyanobacteria, dinoflagellates and Phaeocystis).

A literature review on the effects of high ammonium concentrations on the growth of 6 classes of microalgae suggests the following rankings. Mean optimal ammonium concentrations were 7600, 2500, 1400, 340, 260, 100μM for Chlorophyceae, Cyanophyceae, Prymnesiophyceae, Diatomophyceae, Raphidophyceae, and Dinophyceae respectively and their tolerance to high toxic ammonium levels was 39,000, 13,000, 2300, 3600, 2500, 1200μM respectively. Field ammonium concentrations <100μM would not likely reduce the growth rate of most microalgae. Chlorophytes were significantly more tolerant to high ammonium than diatoms, prymnesiophytes, dinoflagellates, and raphidophytes. Cyanophytes were significantly more tolerant than dinoflagellates which were the least tolerant. A smaller but more complete data set was used to estimate ammonium EC50 values, and the ranking was: Chlorophyceae>Cyanophyceae, Dinophyceae, Diatomophyceae, and Raphidophyceae. Ammonia toxicity is mainly attributed to NH3 at pHs >9 and at pHs <8, toxicity is likely associated with the ammonium ion rather than ammonia.