Spatial-temporal distributions of the newly described mixotrophic dinoflagellate Gymnodinium smaydae in Korean coastal waters

Abstract

Gymnodinium smaydae is a newly described mixotrophic dinoflagellate that feeds on only Heterocapsa spp. and Scrippsiella acuminata among 19 tested algal prey. It is one of the fastest growing dinoflagellates when feeding, but does not grow well without prey. To investigate its spatial-temporal distributions in Korean waters, we quantified its abundance in water samples that were seasonally collected from 28 stations along the Korean Peninsula from April 2015 to October 2018, using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reactions. This dinoflagellate had a wide distribution, as reflected by the detection of G. smaydae cells at 23 of the sampling stations. However, this distribution had a strong seasonality; it was detected at 21 stations in the summer and only one station in winter. The abundance of G. smaydae was significantly and positively correlated with chlorophyll a concentration as well as with water temperature. However, there were no significant correlations between the abundance of G. smaydae and salinity, concentrations of nutrients, or dissolved oxygen concentration. During the study period, G. smaydae was present when water temperatures were 7.6–28.0°C, salinities were 9.6–34.1, concentrations of NO3 were not detectable-106.0 μM, and concentrations of PO4 were not detectable-3.4 μM. The highest abundance of G. smaydae was 18.5 cells mL−1 in the coastal waters of Jinhae in July 2017 when the chlorophyll a concentration was 127 mg m−3 and water temperature was 23.8°C. Therefore, the spatial-temporal distribution of G. smaydae in Korean coastal waters may be affected by chlorophyll a concentration and water temperature. Key words: Gymnodiniaceae; harmful algal bloom; mixotrophy; protist; qPCR; red tide; specific primer; temperature