| Major Taxonomic
Group:Dinoflagellates
Size and Shape:
In its most common,
flagellated form 5-18µm with a generally spherical Peridinoid
shape.
Plastids and
Pigments: None of its
own, may have chleptochloroplasts in food vesicles.
Distinguishing
features: None at
the microscopic level, PCR probes are needed to determine presence of
either
species.
Distribution:
Probably world wide
in non-toxic forms. Toxic forms have been reported in the
Southeastern
US, Scandanavia, and Australia.
Impact: Known
to cause lesioning
and ulcers on fish resulting in sometimes massive fish kills.
There
are cases of human respiritory distress, and memory loss associated
with Pfiesteria.
References:
Burkholder,
J.M., Noga,
E.J., Glasgow, H.B. (1992) New 'phantom' dinoflagellate is the
causative
agent of major estuarine fish kills. Nature 358: 407-410
Steidinger,
K.A., J.M. Burkholder,
H.B. Glasgow Jr., C.W. Hobbs, J.K. Garrett, E.W. Truby, E.J. Noga and
S.A.
Smith. (1996) Pfiesteria piscicida gen. et sp. nov. (Pfiesteriaceae
fam.
nov.), a new toxic dinoflagellate with a complex life cycle and
behavior. Journal
of Phycology. 32:157–164.
Burkholder,
J.M., H.B. Glasgow,
Jr. and A.J. Lewitus. 1998. Physiological ecology of Pfiesteria
piscicida,
with general comments on "ambush-predator" dinoflagellates. In:
Physiological
Ecology of Harmful Algal Blooms (D.M. Anderson et al., editors).
Springer-Verlag,
Berlin.
Glasgow,
H.B., Burklholder,
J.M., Morton, S.L., and Springer J. (2001) A second species of
ichthyotoxic Pfiesteria
(Dinamoebales, Pyrrophyta). Phycologia 40: 234-?
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