Diel vertical migrations of the marine dinoflagellate A excavatum were followed in a laboratory water column, and the effects of temperature stratification and nitrogen depletion on patterns of migration were examined. It was found that A. excavatum is a vertical migrator aggregating at surface during daylight, and descending at night. A six-degree thermocline did not restrict its migration but delayed the vertical movements. Nitrogen depletion in the culture was correlated with earlier downward migration in the day, and nitrate assimilation in the dark was confirmed. In another essay, with a nitrogen deficient culture, nocturnal nitrate uptake per cell was measured. It is suggested that the ability of A. excavatum to take up nitrate in the dark working together with diurnal vertical migration could be important mechanisms regulating bloom developments.
Vertical migrations; Bioassays; Phytoplankton culture; Nyctimeral rhythms; Light effects; Temperature effects; Nutrients (mineral); Dinoflagellata; Alexandrium excavatum