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Abstract

BIODIVERSITY OF DINOFLAGELLATE MICROALGAE IN CORAL-REEF MANGROVE ECOSYSTEMS

Maria A. Faust¹, Patricia Tester² and Wayne Litaker^2
1National Museum of Natural History
²National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration Service
Bio

Mangrove swamp communities dominate the world’s tropical and subtropical coasts, paralleling the geographical distribution of coral reefs. Long-term field studies conducted in coral-reef mangroves at Mesoamerican Barrier Reef in Belize, Indian River lagoon and the Gulf Stream in Florida, and Atlantic coast of the Isthmus of Panama. Despite the coral-reef mangrove ubiquity and prominent position between land and sea, still hold countless surprises for researchers. These intertidal islands, because of their isolation from the mainland, provide us an ideal location to study pure coral-reef mangrove microbial flora. Comparatively most assemblage of dinoflagellates was virtually unknown in all above study sites. We have been investigating dinoflagellate assemblages and have studied their abundance, biodiversity and distribution in sheltered mangrove cays <10 m deep. High nutrient concentrations within the mangrove embayment’s promote the dominance of toxic and non-toxic dinoflagellate species. Twenty nine bloom-forming species were identified, half of which are known to produce toxins or anoxic conditions and discoloration of water. Data will be presented on the abundance, biodiversity and distribution of dinoflagellate species at six ecological different coral-reef mangrove localities in Belize, The Gulf Stream, Florida, and Bocas del Toro, Panama. Data on the abundance of dinoflagellate bloom-forming events as well as the occurrence of toxins and anoxia events in the Belizean Central Lagoon from 1991 to 2005 will be presented. A concurrent goal of our research is to recognize the fundamental role of dinoflagellates in ecosystem functioning. Biodiversity is recognized on three levels, ecosystems, species and morphological diversity of dinoflagellates in coral-reef mangrove habitats but, as yet, remain relatively unknown. Deposit these preserved specimens in the Dinoflagellate Collection at the United States National Herbarium, Smithsonian Institution. Currently, little is know on a global scale of the extent of all types of biodiversity and specifically microbial diversity in our ocean word.