Abstract
The effects of two paralytic shellfish toxin (PST) producing dinoflagellates, Alexandrium minutum Halim (high and low toxin strains) and Gymnodinium catenatum Graham, on the pelagic harpacticoid copepod Euterpina acutifrons Dana were tested in a series of experiments run from October 1994 to May 1995. In small volumes (350 ml), both strains of A. minutum (300 to 350 cells ml-1), and G. catenatum (175 cells ml-1), strongly reduced naupliar activity (about 30 and 17% were inactive after 24 h, respectively). Activity is here defined as movement. In medium volumes (6 litre), 40% of nauplii incubated with the high toxin strain of A. minutum (1000 cells ml-1) and 8% of nauplii incubated with cell-free filtrate of the same culture were inactive after 24 h; these values increased to 50 and 30% respectively after 3 d. In large volumes (20 litre), adult copepods incubated with A. minutum (1000 and 10000 cells ml-1) for 5 d revealed only trace levels of PSP-toxins (paralytic shellfish poisoning) in the extracts analysed by HPLC. With both strains of A. minutum (1000 and 10000 cells ml-1), 10 to 15% of the copepods were inactive after 1 to 2 d. It is suggested that E. acutifrons avoids feeding on the dinoflagellates after tasting a few cells, but that the dinoflagellates may exude toxins or other substances that affect the copepods. The inactivating effect of the toxic dinoflagellates on the nauplii was more rapid and stronger than on adult copepods, although strong inactivation and death were also observed in adults with time (up to 80% were inactive after 5 d of incubation with A. minutum). Still, in our experiments a considerable proportion of adult females incubated with the toxic dinoflagellates remained active and were able to produce viable eggs for several days.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Anderson DM, Sullivan JJ, Reguera B (1989) Paralytic shellfish poisoning in NW Spain: the toxicity of the dinoflagellate Gymnodinium catenatum. Toxicon 27(6): 665–674
Blanco J, Campos MJ (1988) The effect of water conditioned by a PSP-producing dinoflagellate on the growth of four algal species used as food for invertebrates. Aquaculture, Amsterdam 68: 289–298
Blanco J, Mariño J, Campos MJ (1985) The first toxic bloom of Gonyaulax tamarensis detected in Spain. In: Anderson DM, White AW, Baden DG (eds) Toxic dinoflagellates. Elsevier, New York, pp 8–12
Boyer GL, Sullivan JJ, LeBlanc M, Andersen RJ (1985) The assimilation of PSP toxins by the copepod Tigriopus californicus from dietary Protogonyaulax catenella. In: Anderson DM, White AW, Baden DG (eds) Toxic dinoflagellates. Elsevier, New York, pp 407–412
Demaret A, Sohet K, Houvenaghel G (1995) Effects of toxic dinoflagellates on the feeding and mortality of Artemia franciscana larvae. In: Lassus P, Arzul G, Erard-Le Denn E, Gentien P, Marcaillou-Le Baut C (eds) Harmful marine algal blooms. Lavoisier, Paris, pp 427–432
Estep KW, Nejstgaard JC, Skjoldal HR, Rey F (1990) Predation by copepods upon natural populations of Phaeocystis pouchetii as a function of the physiological state of the prey. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 67: 235–249
Fiedler PC (1982) Zooplankton avoidance and reduced grazing responses to Gymnodinium splendens (Dinophyceae). Limnol Oceanogr 27: 961–965
Franco JM, Fernández P (1993) Separation of PSP toxins by reversed phase high performance liquid chromatography, with postcolumn reaction and fluorimetric detection. Chromotographia 35: 613–620
Franco JM, Fernández P, Reguera B (1994) Toxin profiles of natural populations and cultures of Alexandrium minutum Halim from Galician (Spain) coastal waters. J appl Phycol 6: 275–279
Franco JM, Fraga S, Zapata M, Bravo I, Fernandez P, Ramilo I (1995) Comparison between different strains of genus Alexandrium of the minutum group. In: Lassus P, Arzul G, Erard-Le Denn E, Gentien P, Marcaillou-Le Baut C (eds) Harmful marine algal blooms. Lavoisier, Paris, pp 53–58
Hansen PJ, Cembella AD, Moestrup Ø (1992) The marine dinoflagellate Alexandrium ostenfeldii: paralytic shellfish toxin concentration, composition, and toxicity to a tintinnid ciliate. J Phycol 28: 597–603
Huntley M, Sykes P, Rohan S, Marin V (1986) Chemically mediated rejection of dinoflagellate prey by the copepods Calanus pacificus and Paracalanus parvus: mechanism, occurrence, and significance. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 28: 105–120
Ives JD (1985) The relationship between Gonyaulax tamarensis cell toxin levels and copepod ingestion rates. In: Anderson DM, White AW, Baden DG (eds) Toxic dinoflagellates, Elsevier, New York, pp 413–418
Keller MD, Selvin RD, Claus W, Guillard RRL (1987) Media for the culture of oceanic ultraphytoplankton. J Phycol 23: 633–638
Lush GJ, Hallegraeff GM (1996) High toxic potential of the dinoflagellate Alexandrium minutum to Artemia larvae. Proceedings of the VII International Conference on Toxic Phytoplankton, Sendai, Japan, 12–16 July 1995 (in press)
Nielsen TG, Kiørboe T, Bjørnsen PK (1990) Effects of a Chrysochromulina polylepis subsurface bloom on the planktonic community. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 62: 21–35
Oshima Y, Sugino K, Yasumoto T (1989) Latest advances in HPLC analysis of paralytic shellfish toxins. In: Natori S, Hashimoto K, Ueno Y (eds) Mycotoxins and phycotoxins. Elsevier, Amsterdam, pp 319–326
Poulet SA, Marsoi P (1978) Chemosensory grazing by marine calanoid copepods (Arthropoda: Crustacea). Science, NY 200: 1403–1405
Reguera B, Campos MJ, Fraga S, Mariño J, Bravo I (1991) The monitoring of harmful algal blooms in Galicia (NW Spain) In: Fremy J (ed) Colloque Internationale des Biotoxines Marines. Centre National d'Etudes Vétérinaires et Alimentaires, París, pp 217–223
Sellner K, Olson MM (1985) Copepod grazing in red tides of Cheaspeake Bay. In: Anderson DM, White AW, Baden DG (eds) Toxic dinoflagellates. Elsevier, New York, pp 245–250
Simonsen S, Møller BL, Larsen J, Ravn H (1995) Haemolytic activity of Alexandrium tamarense cells. In: Lassus P, Arzul G, Erard-Le Denn E, Gentien P, Marcaillou-Le Baut C (eds) Harmful marine algal blooms. Lavoisier, Paris, pp 513–517
Sokal RR, Rohlf FJ (1981) Biometry (2nd edn). WH Freeman and Company, New York
Strathmann RR (1967) Estimating the organic carbon content of phytoplankton from cell volume or plasma volume. Limnol Oceanogr 12: 411–418
Teegarden GJ, Cembella AD (1996) Grazing of toxic dinoflagellates, Alexandrium spp., by adult copepods of coastal Maine: implications for the fate of paralytic shellfish toxins in marine food webs. J exp mar Biol Ecol (in press)
Turriff N, Runge JA, Cembella AD (1995) Toxin accumulation and feeding behaviour of the planktonic copepod Calanus finmarchicus exposed to the red-tide dinoflagellate Alexandrium excavatum. Mar Biol 123: 55–64
Uye S, Takamatsu K (1990) Feeding interactions between planktonic copepods and red-tide dinoflagellates from Japanese coastal waters. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 59: 97–107
Valdé MR, Román MR, Alvarez-Ossorio MT, Gauzens AL, Miranda A (1990) Zooplankton composition and distribution off the coast of Galicia, Spain. J Plankton Res 12: 629–643
Watras CJ, Garcon VC, Olson RJ, Chisholm SW, Anderson DM (1985) The effect of zooplankton grazing on estuarine blooms of the toxic dinoflagellate Gonyaulax tamarensis. J Plankton Res 7: 891–908
White AW (1977) Dinoflagellate toxins as probable cause of an Atlantic herring (Clupea harengus harengus) kill, and pteropods as apparent vector. J Fish Res Bd Can 34: 2421–2424
White AW (1980) Recurrence of kills of Atlantic herring (Clupea harengus harengus) caused by dinoflagellate toxins transferred through herbivorous zooplankton. Can J Fish aquat Sciences 37: 2262–2265
White AW (1981) Marine zooplankton can accumulate and retain dinoflagellate toxins and cause fish kills. Limnol Oceanogr 26: 103–109
Zar JH (1984) Biostatistical analysis (2nd edn) Prentice Hall, Inc., Englewood Cliffs, N.J.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
Communicated by L. Hagerman, Helsingør
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Bagoien, E., Miranda, A., Reguera, B. et al. Effects of two paralytic shellfish toxin producing dinoflagellates on the pelagic harpacticoid copepod Euterpina acutifrons . Marine Biology 126, 361–369 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00354618
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00354618