Vocabulary
Alexandrium tamarense - species of dinoflagellate that produce toxins known as saxitoxins
Algae - very simple chlorophyll-containing organisms composed of one cell, or grouped together in colonies, or as organisms with many cells, sometimes collaborating together as simple tissues; chiefly aquatic plants (e.g., seaweed, pond scum, stonewort) that contain chlorophyll but lack roots, stems, leaves, and vascular tissues, and may passively drift, weakly swim, grow on a substrate, or take root in a water body.
Anoxic - devoid of dissolved oxygen.
Aquaculture - the cultivation of sea animals and plants.
Ballast - heavy material transported in a ship to provide stability.
Benthic - pertaining to organisms living in or on the bottom of aquatic environments (e.g., polychaetes, clams, snails).
Biodiversity - the variety of species found in a particular habitat.
Brevetoxins - toxin produced by Gymnodinium breve, now known as Karenia brevis
Ciguatera - unique type of food poisoning caused by the consumption of marine species that harbor natural toxins originating in certain tropical waters. It originates from a dinoflagellate name Gambierdiscus toxicus which colonizes coral beds. The toxin first affects the coral-grazing fish and is then passed up and through the food chain to the piscivorous fish.
Cyanobacteria - bacteria that contain chlorophyll a (a pigment used for photosynthesis) and are able to photosynthesize.
Diatom - any of numerous microscopic, one-celled, marine and freshwater algae having cell walls that contain silica; diatoms are a food source for all kinds of marine life.
Dinoflagellates - unicellular protists which exhibit a great diversity of form. Many are photosynthetic, manufacturing their own food using the energy from sunlight, and providing a food source for other organisms
Domoic acid - a natural toxin found in the mussels that causes amnesic shellfish poisoning (ASP), the human illness resulting from eating fish, shellfish or crab containing the toxin.
dormant cysts - encased embryos that are metabolically inactive for many years as long as they are kept dry. When the cysts are placed in salt water, they are re-hydrated and resume their development.
El Niño - a disruption of the ocean-atmosphere system in the tropical Pacific characterized by unusually warm ocean temperatures in the Equatorial Pacific.
Genus - one of the major taxonomic groups used to scientifically classify plants and animals. Several closely related species make up a genus; several genera make up a family.
Grazer - organisms that eat primary producers (e.g., phytoplankton).
Gymnodinium breve - Now known as Karenia brevis is a toxic dinoflagellate that produces brevetoxins. It is found in the Gulf of Mexico along the Texas and Louisiana coasts, the east coast of Florida, and as far north as North Carolina.
HAB's - microscopic, single-celled plants that live in the sea. ??????
Habitat - the living place or "home" of a particular organism or biological community.
Heterotrophic - an organism capable of sustained growth on an organic substrate in the dark.
Hypoxia - low concentrations of dissolved oxygen in the water, usually ranging between 0 and 2 milligrams per liter.
Invertebrates - animals lacking a spinal column (e.g., crabs, lobsters, shrimp).
La Niña - a disruption of the ocean-atmosphere system characterized by unusually cold ocean temperatures in the Equatorial Pacific.
Loop current - the dominant circulating water mass in the Gulf of Mexico, which enters through the Yucatan Strait (between the Yucatan Peninsula and Cuba) and extends northward, eastward, and then southward, where it exits through the Straits of Florida (between the Dry Tortugas and Cuba, where it is known as the Florida current). The loop current is known to extend far to the north and occasionally to intrude on the continental shelf of the north-central Gulf, at speeds of 127 to 177 centimeters per second. Large, clockwise-rotating portions of the loop current, called "eddies," occasionally break off from the main current. These eddies spin westward toward the Texas coast, carrying vast amounts of water and marine life into the western Gulf.
Neurotoxins -classic venom components, particularly those affecting the neuromuscular system and causing paralysis.
Nutrients - inorganic chemicals (particularly nitrogen, phosphorus and silicon) required for the growth of phytoplankton.
Pfiesteria - Pfiesteria is a genus of single-celled organisms called dinoflagellates. Pfiesteria piscicida (fee-STEER-ee-uh pis-kuh-SEED-uh) is a toxic dinoflagellate that has been associated with fish lesions and fish kills in coastal waters from Delaware to North Carolina. Pfiesteria, are more animal-like and acquire some or all of their energy by eating other organisms.
Photosynthesis - the transformation of carbon dioxide and water to organic compounds (e.g., sugars) using sunlight as energy.
Phytoplankton - single-cell plants considered the 'vegetation' of the ocean. Their cells contain chlorophyll, and through photosynthesis, the sun's energy is harnessed to enable them to change inorganic carbon into organic carbon. Although zooplankton and other filter feeders eat phytoplankton, huge populations, called blooms, sometimes build up and can damage marine life and the environment.
Planktonic - pertaining to plankton, minute aquatic plants and animals (e.g., algae) that passively drift or weakly swim in a water body.
Predation- feeding upon other organisms.
Protists - many widely ranging microbes, including slime molds, protozoa and primitive algae. Protists are single and multicellular organisms that are plant-like, animal-like and fungi-like. They evolved from bacteria and represent the intermediate step in the evolution of the other three kingdoms
Red Tide - common name for such a phenomenon where certain phytoplankton species contain reddish pigments and "bloom" such that the water appears to be colored red. Occasionally, the algae grow very fast or "bloom" and accumulate into dense, visible patches near the surface of the water.
Sediment - particulate material lying on the sea floor (e.g., sand, gravel, silt, mud).
Toxin - a poisonous substance that is specifically produced by the metabolic activities of a living organism.
Zooplankton - animals, whose swimming appendages are too small to enable them to swim effectively against the currents. They are typically microscopic, ranging in size up to a few centimeters long
