Growth and grazing rates of the tintinnid ciliate Favella taraikaensis on the toxic dinoflagellate Alexandrium tamarense

Lack of accumulation of paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP) toxins in the tintinnid ciliate Favella taraikaensis feeding on the toxic dinoflagellate Alexandrium tamarense

“…-1 h -1 ), which was calculated assuming that the cell carbon content of A. tamarense is 1.7 ng C cell -1 (Kamiyama et al 2005) in the present study, were both comparable to data in previous studies of Favella spp. feeding on dinoflagellates (0.4 to 1.2 d -1 and 0.9 to 17.6 ng C ind.…”

“…-1 h -1 , respectively) ( Table 3 in Kamiyama et al 2005). These results suggested that the toxins of A. tamarense did not cause adverse effects on feeding and growth responses of F. taraikaensis.…”

“…These results suggested that the toxins of A. tamarense did not cause adverse effects on feeding and growth responses of F. taraikaensis. Also, Kamiyama et al (2005) reported active feeding and growth of F. taraikaensis feeding on A. tamarense, and that the grazing impact of this ciliate possibly influences the dynamics of A. tamarense blooms.…”

“…The values were calculated from the toxin contents and cell volume of individual organisms; the former was analyzed based on a sample consisting of 165 to 200 individuals of F. taraikaensis collected directly from the suspension at the end of the incubation; the latter was assumed to be 3.26 × 10 3 µm 3 for A. tamarense and 1.27 × 10 4 µm 3 for F. taraikaensis (Kamiyama et al 2005). Other details as in Fig.…”

“…), and in the majority of cases the protozoan grazers can grow very well on a mono-diet of these algae at low prey densities, irrespective of their cellular PSP content (Hansen 1989, Hansen et al 1992, Kamiyama et al 2005. At high cell densities of Alexandrium spp., the predators are killed by toxic exudates released into the medium by the algae (Hansen 1989, Hansen et al 1992.…”