DINOPHYSIS - A PLANKTONIC DINOFLAGELLATE GENUS WHICH CAN ACT BOTH AS A PREY AND A PREDATOR OF A CILIATE

Heterotrophic members of the marine plankton dinoflagellate genus Dinophysis are specialized predators, whose food includes the prostomatid ciliate Tiarina fusus. This ciliate differs from most planktonic ciliates in its ability to ingest prey of its own size including autotropic Dinophysis spp. However, when trying to catch a heterotrophic Dinophysis sp., the ciliate is trapped instead by the dinoflagellate and emptied via a feeding tube (peduncle), which originates from the flagellar pore of the dinoflagellate. The specific predation on a ciliate by a heterotrophic dinoflagellate represents a new trophic link in the marine planktonic food web.