Dinoflagellate

{
  "id": "MLC-T-ENV-007994",
  "term": "Dinoflagellate",
  "field": "Environment",
  "definition": "1. A type of algae with long, whip-like structures called flagellates.\n\n2. Single-celled planktonic organisms, chiefly marine, characterized by twirling motion and whip-like flagella with affinities to both plants and animals.\n\n3. Flagellated phytoplankton that have some motility and can control their position in the water column to a degree, diurnally migrating from surface to bottom to maximize conditions for growth. This group has both photosynthetic and heterotrophic species, which play a large role in coastal and estuarine trophic dynamics. These phytoplankton also can form noxious and harmful blooms, including red tides that may be toxic to higher consumers and to humans. Their complex life cycle goes through many stages, which can include resting cysts that spend prolonged periods in the benthic sediments.\n\n4. Type of algae with long, whip-like structures called flagellates.",
  "subject": "Biological substances",
  "references": [
    "Chesapeake Bay Glossary",
    "USGS Science for a Changing World at http://www.usgs.gov/science/science",
    "Federal Geographic Data Committee Coastal and Marine Ecological Classification Standard, June 2012 FGDC-STD-018-2012"
  ],
  "url": "https://mlchart.com/terminology/environment/dinoflagellate/"
}