| Major Taxonomic
Group:Dinoflagellates
Size and Shape:
14-50 µm long;
11-45 µm wide. Flattened dosroventrally with a genally
concave,
leaf-like appearance.
Plastids and
Pigments: Numerous
brown-green or leaf-green discoid plastids, believed to be of
chysophyte
origin. Fucoxanthin pigments.
Distinguishing
features: Shaped
like a Pringle's® potato crisp, with a large
brick-red
stigma in the center of the epitheca.
Distribution:
Widely distributed
in brackish waters throughout the world. Known as the "South
Carolina
red tide", due to its prevalence in S. Carolina's tidal creeks and
estuarine
waters.
Impact: Once
thought to be a nuisance
bloom, K. foliaceum has been shown to cause metabolic stress in
oysters.
References:
Lewitus,
A.J., Schmidt,
L.B., Mason, L.J., Kempton, J.W., Wilde, S.B., Wolny, J.L., Williams,
B.J.,
Hayes, K.C., Hymel, S.N., Keppler, C.J., and Ringwood, A.H. (2003)
Harmful
algal blooms in South Carolina residential and golf course ponds. Population
and Environment. 24: 387-413.
Lewitus,
A.J., and Holland,
A.F. (2003) Initial results from a multi-institutional collaboration to
monitor harmful algal blooms in South Carolina. Environmental
Monitoring
and Assessment. 81: 361-371.
Kempton,
J.W., Wolny, J.,
Tengs, T., Rizzo, P., Morris, R., Tunnell, J., Scott, P., Steidenger,
K.,
Hymel, S.N., and Lewitus, A.J. (2002) Kryptoperidinium foliaceum
blooms in South Carolina: a multi-analytical approach to
identification. Harmful Algae. 1: 383-392
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