ORCID
0000-0001-7473-4873 (Clayton)
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2024
DOI
10.3389/fmicb.2024.1378552
Publication Title
Frontiers in Microbiology
Volume
15
Pages
1378552
Abstract
Margalefidinium polykrikoides is a mixotrophic dinoflagellate harmful algal bloom (HAB) species that blooms annually in the lower Chesapeake Bay. M. polykrikoides undertakes a diel vertical migration (DVM) which may give it a competitive advantage over purely phototrophic organisms who cannot access deeper nutrient pools and allow it to form large toxic blooms. Laboratory-based estimates of M. polykrikoides’ DVM rates suggest that it is one of the fastest known dinoflagellate swimmers and understanding this behavior is likely important for modeling and predicting M. polykrikoides blooms. However, to date, no field-derived estimates of M. polykrikoides’ DVM rates have been made in the Chesapeake Bay. In this study, we conducted four targeted field experiments to investigate the DVM of M. polykrikoides in the Lafayette River, a sub-tributary of the Chesapeake Bay. Vertical profiles of chlorophyll a fluorescence collected at least every 2h over diel periods were used to track the DVM of M. polykrikoides during blooms. The maximum observed DVM rate for M. polykrikoides was 2.5 m h−1, with mean DVM rates around 1.3 m h−1 for both ascents and descents. As in studies from other regions, our results show that M. polykrikoides’ ascent to/descent from the surface initiates before sunrise/sunset, suggesting phototaxis is not the primary trigger of their DVM. However, unlike in other studies where M. polykrikoides was observed to modulate its DVM to avoid excessively warm temperatures (≥30°C), we do not observe active thermotaxic avoidance, despite ambient temperatures exceeding their optimal threshold.
Rights
© 2024 Clayton, Chrabot, Echevarria, Gibala-Smith, Mogatas, Bernhardt and Mulholland.
This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
Data Availability
Article states: "The data used in this study have been deposited in the Zenodo data repository and can be freely accessed from the following link: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.13986851."
Original Publication Citation
Clayton, S., Chrabot, J. B., Echeverria, M., Gibala-Smith, L., Mogatas, K., Bernhardt, P. W., & Mulholland, M. R. (2024). Diel vertical migration rates of the dinoflagellate species Margalefidinium polykrikoides in a lower Chesapeake Bay tributary. Frontiers in Microbiology, 15, Article 1378552. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2024.1378552
Repository Citation
Clayton, S.; Chrabot, Jacqueline B.; Echevarria, Michael; Gibala-Smith, Leah; Mogatas, Kathryn; Bernhardt, Peter; and Mulholland, Margaret R., "Diel Vertical Migration Rates of the Dinoflagellate Species Margalefidinium polykrikoides in a lower Chesapeake Bay Tributary" (2024). OES Faculty Publications. 524.
https://digitalcommons.odu.edu/oeas_fac_pubs/524
Supplemental Information
Included in
Algae Commons, Aquaculture and Fisheries Commons, Marine Biology Commons, Oceanography Commons