Abstract
The dinoflagellate Dinophysis is responsible for causing diarrhetic shellfish poisoning impacting shellfish aquaculture globally. Dinophysis species are invariably plastidic specialist non-constitutive mixoplankton (pSNCM), combining phagotrophy with acquired phototrophy. Dinophysis acquires phototrophy from another pSNCM, the ciliate Mesodinium, which in turn acquires phototrophy from cryptophytes within the Teleaulax-Plagioselmis-Geminigera clade. Despite this trophic linkage, the temporal dynamics of cryptophyte-Mesodinium-Dinophysis remain poorly understood. In this study, we present the first Teleaulax-Mesodinium-Dinophysis (TMD)-complex system dynamics model. Using this, we explored the dynamics of TMD interactions under different ecological settings. Temperature, nutrient load, mixed layer depth, and irradiance all greatly influenced the timing and magnitude of the TMD-complex interactions and, as a result, Dinophysis bloom duration and peak. Availability of Mesodinium and temporal matching of its growth to that of Dinophysis are also key biotic factors; the timing of Mesodinium availability impacts the potential of Dinophysis growth for up to 3 months. Integrating our TMD-complex model with a suitable hydrodynamic model could greatly improve our understanding of bloom formation and aid in forecasting harmful algal bloom (HAB) events. Future monitoring of Dinophysis would also be enhanced by the monitoring of the precursor prey species, Teleaulax and Mesodinium, which are rarely accorded the same effort as the HAB forming dinoflagellate.
Introduction
Dinophysis is a harmful dinoflagellate of global distribution (Figure 1) that is the causative agent for diarrhetic shellfish poisoning (DSP) events leading to the closure of aquaculture facilities (review by , ). Significant effort has been expended on understanding the dynamics behind the occurrence of these, and other harmful algal bloom (HAB), events to find ways to forecast them (; Velo-Suárez et al., 2010; ; ; ); many monitoring programs target toxigenic Dinophysis species (). Traditional methods of monitoring Dinophysis by counting cells and using satellite chlorophyll concentrations are not robust for forecasting blooms of these species (). This is because the cell concentration threshold for Dinophysis, at which this organism can pose a threat, is only 200 cells L–1 (Yasumoto et al., 1985), a cell abundance level that can be very difficult to detect (). Satellite imagery is inappropriate because blooms often occur in subsurface water layers and are, therefore, not detectable with this method (e.g., Dinophysis acuta; ).
FIGURE 1
Modeling offers tools to forecast blooms and also to aid understanding of the dynamics behind their occurrences (
TABLE 1
| Region | Role | Model description | Target species | References |
| Irish, Swedish, Dutch coastal waters | Fuzzy logic | Fuzzy logic modeling of HABs | Dinophysis spp. | |
| Western Andalucía (Spain) | Forecasting | Artificial neural network approach | D. acuminata | Velo-Suárez and Gutiérrez-Estrada, 2007 |
| Bantry Bay (Ireland) | Hindcasting and forecasting | 3D Physical model (wind); no explicit mixoplankton | D. acuminata | |
| Bay of Biscay (France) | Forecasting | 3D Lagrangian Particle-Tracking Model + IBM; no explicit mixoplankton | D. acuminata | Velo-Suárez et al., 2010 |
| Thermaikos Gulf (NW Aegean Sea) | Forecasting | 2D hydrodynamic model coupled with transport model simulating HAB dispersion including some biological processes with temperature, light and nutrients | Dinophysis spp. | Savvidis et al., 2011 |
| Galician Rías Baixas (NW Spain) | Conceptual | 2D Physics (wind, up, and downwelling); mismatch of D. acuminata and M. rubrum | D. acuminata | Velo-Suárez et al., 2014 |
| Arabian Sea (India) | Statistical | Generalized linear model | Dinophysis sp. | Singh et al., 2014 |
| Bantry Bay (Ireland) | Forecasting | 3D physical model: BANTRY model (200–250 m horizontal resolution with 20 vertical levels; no explicit mixoplankton | Dinophysis spp. | |
| Iberian coast (Europe) | Forecasting | 3D Lagrangian particle-tracking model | D. acuminata | |
| NW Iberia (Europe) | Forecasting | 3D Lagrangian offline model + IBM; no explicit mixoplankton | D. acuminata, D. acuta | |
| SE Australia | Physico-chemical | Generalized additive models | D. acuminata, D. caudata, Mesodinium rubrum | |
| Generic | Conceptual exploration | Biological simulation comparing phototroph and heterotroph with acquired phototroph | M. rubrum | |
| Generic | System dynamics | Biological simulation of the TMD-complex | Teleaulax spp., Mesodinium spp., Dinophysis spp. | This paper |
Examples of modeling studies reporting facets of growth dynamics and ecology of Dinophysis and Mesodinium.
An important aspect of Dinophysis is that most of the toxigenic species (
Blooms of Mesodinium and Dinophysis can occur a couple of weeks apart, assuming that sufficient prey in the form of a Mesodinium bloom is available to support the initial Dinophysis growth (
In this study, we present the first system dynamics model describing the functioning of the TMD-complex. For the in silico experiments, the Dinophysis component was configured as Dinophysis acuminata because it is a well-studied common toxigenic species. There are relatively more physiological data available for this particular species to aid model configuration. Teleaulax amphioxeia and Mesodinium rubrum were chosen as species representatives for the cryptophyte and Mesodinium components, respectively, as these are associated with acquired phototrophy of D. acuminata. However, it must be noted that the TMD-complex model is designed on the ecophysiological understanding of these organisms; being a system biology-based platform, the model can be configured for different TMD species. We conducted in silico experiments using this configuration to explore the dynamics of the TMD-complex in response to predator-prey ratios, under different environmental conditions, such as nutrient concentrations, irradiance, and temperature. This food-web simulator focuses on the effect of the unique biology and interactions between the different mixoplankton types of the complex. From a conceptual angle, the model thus also proves a platform for improving our understanding of any future new-found mixoplankton interactions involving the exchange of phototrophic potential. Furthermore, the relatively simple construct of the TMD-complex model offers the potential for future coupling of this to a hydrodynamic model.
Materials and Methods
What follows is a general description of the simulation model. The complete equation set of the model and additional information are provided in the Supplementary Material.
Model Structure
The TMD food-web simulator is a development of the N-based system dynamics model of mixoplankton functional types described by
The full construct is shown in Figure 2. The food-web comprised the CM Teleaulax feeding only on the cyanobacteria Synechococcus (Yoo et al., 2017), the pSNCM Mesodinium feeding on the CM Teleaulax, Synechococcus, and the generic phytoplankton Alga (
FIGURE 2

Schematic of the Teleaulax-Mesodinium-Dinophysis (TMD)-complex food-web simulator. The model comprises four state variables describing the nutrient sources nitrate (NO3), ammonium (NH4), and lDON and slDON. It also includes five state variable descriptions of plankton functional types (PFT)—a constitutive mixoplankton Teleaulax (Tele), two plastidic specialist non-constitutive mixoplankton Mesodinium (Meso) and Dinophysis (Dino), the cyanobacteria Synechococcus (Syn), and generic protist phytoplankton (Alga). All the five PFTs are mixotrophic by virtue of engaging in photosynthesis and heterotrophic use of DON; however, only Tele, Meso, and Dino can engage in phagotrophy and are thus mixoplanktonic. All organisms leak DON. Nitrate (NO3) is available for use by all PFTs except Dinophysis. Voided and dead organic material contributes to the DON pools; these degrade to ammonium (NH4) via an implicit microbial loop.
The operational maximum growth rate for each organism (UmT) was calculated with reference to the current temperature (T), the reference temperature (RT) at which the reference growth rate was declared (UmRT), and a Q10 factor.
A constant loss rate through mortality (0.05 day–1) was applied to all organisms. In the case of Mesodinium and Dinophysis, this constant mortality was in addition to the mortality rate, described in the original model, accounting for a failure in photosystem activity (
In addition to the two-state variables describing DIN (i.e., nitrate and ammonium), two additional state variables were added describing labile and semi-labile dissolved organic nitrogen (lDON and slDON; Figure 2). These accounted for outflows of voided material from predation, releasing organic nitrogen due to mortality and DON leakage concurrent with photosynthesis (
Model Parameterization
In this study, the model presented was configured specifically to represent D. acuminata, assuming a nitrogen content of 2,318 pg N cell–1 (cellular carbon content after
All constant parameters defining the activity of Synechococcus sp., T. amphioxeia, M. rubrum, and D. acuminata were accorded values consistent with literature data (Table 2). Cellular nitrogen to carbon ratios (N:C) vary among species, with the availability of external nutrients and (for predators) with prey quantity and quality. In this N-based model, the assumed N:C value was constant with the value based on literature data of organisms grown in balanced nutrient conditions. In
TABLE 2
| Parameter | Description | Unit | Species | Value | References |
| Alpha | Slope of Chl-specific photosynthetic efficiency curve | (m2 g–1 chl.a) × (gC μmol–1 photon) | Syn | 5.56E-06 | |
| Tele | 2.31E-06 | Anschütz et al., unpublished | |||
| Meso | 5.05E-06 | ||||
| Dino | 4.22E-06 | ||||
| BR | Basal respiration | dl | Syn | ca 5% of the umax | |
| ChlC | Chlorophyll to carbon ratio | gChl (gC)–1 | Syn | 0.042 | |
| Meso | 0.055 | ||||
| Dino | 0.045 | ||||
| Crit_IR | Max time between ingestions of 1 prey cell per SNCM cell to enable max PS | d–1 | Meso | 25 | |
| Dino | 5 | ||||
| Kno3 | Half saturation constant for nitrate | mgN m–3 | Syn | 20.02 | |
| NC | Nitrogen to carbon ratio | gN gC–1 | Syn | 0.133 | Turpin and Miller, 1985 |
| Tele | 0.167 | ||||
| Meso | 0.265 | ||||
| Dino | 0.125 | ||||
| r | Equivalent spherical radius | μm | Syn | 0.98 | Yoo et al., 2017 |
| Tele | 6/2 | ||||
| Meso | 36/2 | ||||
| Dino | 127/2 | ||||
| relMaxPrey | Maximum prey:predator size ratio | dl | Tele | 1/3 | Anschütz et al., unpublished; Yoo et al., 2017 |
| Meso | 5.6/13 | Yoo et al., 2017 | |||
| Dino | 60/78 | ||||
| relMinPrey | Minimum prey:predator size ratio | dl | Tele | 0.9/7.5 | Anschütz et al., unpublished; Yoo et al., 2017 |
| Meso | 3.9/36 | ||||
| Dino | 15/176 | ||||
| relOpPrey | Optimal prey:predator size ratio | dl | Tele | 0.95/6 | Anschütz et al., unpublished; Yoo et al., 2017 |
| Meso | 2.2/60 | ||||
| Dino | 36/127 | ||||
| Umax | Maximum growth rate | N N–1 d–1 | Syn | 0.7 | |
| Tele | 0.85 | Anschütz et al., unpublished; | |||
| Meso | 0.52 | Yih et al., 2004 | |||
| Dino | 0.535 | ||||
| V | Speed of motility | m s–1 | Tele | 5.55E-05 | |
| Meso | 5.00E-03 | ||||
| Dino | 1.04E-04 |
Values of constants used to configure the Synechococcus (Syn), Teleaulax (Tele), Mesodinium (Meso), and Dinophysis (Dino) submodels.
If not listed, the values for the respective organism were not found in the literature, and the value from the
TABLE 3
| Parameter name | Description | Unit | Value |
| critIR_Meso (DSA) | Critical plastid retention time | d | 15; 25 |
| critIR_Dino (DSA) | Critical plastid retention time | d | 5; 15; 30 |
| Opt_CR_Meso | Proportion of prey of optimal characteristics captured by starved Mesodinium | Dimensionless | 0.2; 0.5 |
| Opt_CR_Dino | Proportion of prey of optimal characteristics captured by starved Dinophysis | Dimensionless | 0.2; 0.5 |
| LD | Fraction of day as light | Dimensionless | 0.7 |
Abiotic parameters of the model. Numbers in bold are the values used by default in the simulations (Figures 3–8); others are those tested in the dynamic risk analysis (Supplementary Data Sheet 1 Figure S1; see also Table 4).
Dynamic Sensitivity Analysis
The dynamic sensitivity analysis was performed in the same manner as described by
In silico Experiment Scenarios
The TMD-complex food-web simulator was developed and run within Powersim Studio 101 using an Euler integration routine of step size 0.0625 day–1. Simulations were run with default conditions (unless otherwise noted) of 15°C and surface PFD 500 μmol m–2 s–1. Other abiotic conditions were set as described in Tables 3, 4. Steady-state and dynamic sensitivity analyses were conducted as in the study by
TABLE 4
| Parameter name | Description | Unit | Value | Figure | |||||||||
| N_load | Nutrient load | mg N m–3 | 70 (oligotrophic); 280 (mesotrophic); 700 (eutrophic) | 4 | |||||||||
| Synechococcus (S) Alga (A) Teleaulax (T) Mesodinium (M) Dinophysis (D) | Organism inoculations tested, shown in the format S-A-T-M-D, with initials indicating the species | % of initial DIN (mg N m–3) | S | A | T | M | D | 5 | |||||
| Original | 2 | 2 | 1.5 | 0.1 | 0.01 | ||||||||
| +S | 10 | 2 | 1.5 | 0.1 | 0.01 | ||||||||
| -T | 2 | 2 | 0.5 | 0.1 | 0.01 | ||||||||
| -M | 2 | 2 | 1.5 | 0.01 | 0.01 | ||||||||
| +M | 2 | 2 | 1.5 | 1 | 0.01 | ||||||||
| +D | 2 | 2 | 1.5 | 0.1 | 0.1 | ||||||||
| PFD | Surface light irradiance | μmol m–2 s–1 | 50; 100; 500; 1000 | 6 | |||||||||
| T | Temperature | °C | 5; 10; 15; 20 | 7 | |||||||||
| MLD | Mixed layer depth | m | 1; 10 | 8 | |||||||||
Abiotic parameters of the model were varied in the simulations.
Values in bold are those used by default (i.e., control). In each figure, only one parameter was changed, using the value(s) in plain face. The nutrient load levels (70, 280, and 700 mgN m–3) were the same as in
For most simulations, the mixed layer depth (MLD) was set to 10 m. Dinophysis often forms high-density blooms in thin subsurface layers as a result of stratification (
In most of the scenarios, Dinophysis was not subjected to grazing by a higher predator (i.e., there was no closure function applied to this submodel; cf.
The control (default) scenario was run at eutrophic conditions (700 mgN m–3), 15°C, 10 m MLD, and PFD 500 μmol photons m–2 s–1. In all other treatments, one of these factors was changed (Table 4). Relative changes in peak biomass and changes in bloom duration were calculated with reference to the control. The organisms, namely, Synechococcus sp., generic phytoplankton “Alga,” Teleaulax, Mesodinium, and Dinophysis, were inoculated at biomass abundances equivalent to 2, 2, 1.5, 0.1, and 0.01% of initial DIN concentrations, respectively. The biomasses of all organisms were described in nitrogen biomass units (mg N m–3). The complete list of configurations for each in silico experiment is given in Table 4.
To aid contextual understanding, Dinophysis blooms are expressed as cells L–1 in addition to biomass. For this transformation, cellular (i.e., biomass) carbon was computed from cellular nitrogen assuming cellular C:N as per the Redfield ratio. Then, cellular carbon was converted to ESD using the equations of
Results
Biotic Interactions
To provide a reference point for comparisons between different test scenarios, a summary of results is shown in Figure 3. All simulations shared a common pattern of organism succession where Synechococcus was grazed down early to low residual biomass, followed by growths of “Alga” and Teleaulax which were then followed by Mesodinium (Figures 4–8). The accumulating Mesodinium biomass not only outcompeted these species for nutrients but also exerted grazing pressure on them. The ciliate always generated the highest biomass. Dinophysis growth started during the active growth phase of Mesodinium and then exerted grazing pressure on Mesodinium accelerating its eventual decline. Ultimately, both Mesodinium and Dinophysis declined as their growth rates decreased due to the subsequential loss of their source of acquired phototrophy over time. The top-down control on Mesodinium by Dinophysis would alleviate the grazing pressure of the ciliates on the cryptophytes; this enables the cryptophytes to bloom again.
FIGURE 3

Impact of different abiotic and biotic factors on the simulated TMD-complex bloom dynamics. Left panel, differences in peak biomass relative to the default (control). Right panel, absolute differences in bloom duration from control. “+” and “−” indicate an increase or decrease in the species inoculum, respectively (see also Table 4).
FIGURE 4

Effect of nutrient loading on TMD dynamics. The nitrogen concentration loads were 70 mgN m–3 (oligotrophic), 280 mgN m–3 (mesotrophic), and 700 mgN m–3 (eutrophic). Cell numbers for Dinophysis (secondary y-axis) were transformed from nitrogen biomass assuming the cell size of D. acuminata; see the “Materials and Methods” section. Legend identifications are as follows: Syne, Synechococcus sp.; Alga, generic phytoplankton; Tele, Teleaulax; Meso, Mesodinium; Dino, Dinophysis; lDON, labile DON; slDON, semi-labile DON. The dashed line indicates the total nitrogen loading under oligotrophic conditions as a reference for the other simulations that have a different y-axis scale. The column labeled “Dinophysis grazer” shows the same simulations as the column “organisms” except now with the closure grazing function applied to Dinophysis. The complete test conditions are listed in Table 4.
FIGURE 5

Effect of initial organism ratios on TMD dynamics. These simulations were conducted as for Figure 4, with different nutrient loads, but now with higher (“+”) or lower (“−”) inocula. The panels labeled “original” are replicated from Figure 4, as default (control). The complete list of conditions and details of the simulations are listed in Table 4 and described in the legend of Figure 4.
FIGURE 6

Effect of surface irradiance on TMD dynamics. The outputs for 500 μmol photons m–2 s–1 replicate the conditions used for Figure 4. Other details as given in Table 4 and in the legend of Figure 4.
FIGURE 7

Effect of temperature on TMD dynamics. The outputs for 15°C replicate the conditions used for Figure 4. Other details as given in Table 4 and in the legend of Figure 4.
FIGURE 8

TMD dynamics in simulated systems of different mixed layer depths (MLD). Simulations were run with an MLD of 10 m or 1 m, the latter simulating a thin layer; Dinophysis is often found in thin layers in stratified water columns where it is much easier to capture its fast prey Mesodinium due to much higher encounter rates. Encounter rates are of the three mixoplankton (Teleaulax, Mesodinium, and Dinophysis) with their respective prey, as shown in Figure 2. Other details as given in Table 4 and in the legend of Figure 4.
Ammonium was used preferentially over nitrate, along with lDON (Figures 4–8). Both lDON and slDON accumulated and ammonium began to increase due to the decomposition of these organic forms. High levels of ammonium later in the simulations could not be used by Mesodinium and Dinophysis because the ultimate source of their chloroplasts, Teleaulax, was depleted and, thus, the two pSNCM species lost their ability to photosynthesize, and therefore, could no longer exploit inorganic nutrients (DIN). Depending on the timing of events within the 90-day simulation period, in some simulations, this collapse of the pSNCM allowed Synechococcus, Alga, and Teleaulax to bloom again.
By the time Dinophysis blooms, nitrate concentrations were already much lower or depleted due to prior use by the other organisms (Figures 3, 4). However, as the (initial) nutrient load greatly affected the bloom development of those earlier organisms, it affected the timing and magnitude of the much later occurring Dinophysis bloom (Figure 4). Also, the earlier plankton activity caused ammonium to accumulate, which Dinophysis can use while it cannot use nitrate. Oligotrophic conditions (i.e., DIN < 5 μM) did not enable any significant growth of Dinophysis nor of any blooms (Figures 3, 4). Teleaulax and Mesodinium consumed the population of Synechococcus. Teleaulax and Alga bloom together and were followed by Mesodinium. Mesotrophic conditions in the same depth gave rise to a bloom of Mesodinium as well as Dinophysis (Figures 3, 4). Inorganic nutrient concentrations declined most rapidly when Mesodinium reached large biomasses. Eutrophic conditions resulted in the highest cell numbers of Dinophysis (Figure 4). More nutrients drove earlier, sharper, and higher peak blooms.
In this study, most of the simulations presented featured no grazing pressure on Dinophysis, in order to focus on the trophodynamics of the TMD complex. In reality, Dinophysis experiences grazing pressure from copepods and other protozooplankton, such as Fragilidium duplocampanaeforme (
The proportions and concentrations of each organism at the start of simulations affected both the maximum cell numbers of all organisms and bloom dynamics in terms of bloom peak and duration to varying degrees (Figures 3, 5). Initial higher proportions of Synechococcus greatly increased the biomass of Teleaulax and to a small extent also that of Mesodinium while it had a negligible effect on Dinophysis growth (Figures 3, 5). Small initial concentrations of Mesodinium in proportion to Dinophysis resulted in the largest biomass of Mesodinium and the smallest biomass of Dinophysis (Figure 3), as Dinophysis could not develop and, in fact, initially declined (died) due to low prey availability. In consequence, Dinophysis could not exert significant grazing pressure on Mesodinium later on in the simulation. In contrast, a high initial concentration of the ciliate promoted a more rapid sequence of events that eventually (because both Mesodinium and Dinophysis blooms crashed) led to a later bloom of Synechococcus that used the available regenerated ammonium. High concentrations of Dinophysis inoculum promoted a quick bloom succession with smaller maximum biomasses of all organisms and no succeeding blooms (Figures 3, 5).
Abiotic Interactions
Higher irradiance increased the peak size of blooms of each organism type and also prolonged the bloom duration (Figure 3), but the timing of their blooms did not change (Figure 6). In contrast, temperature increases had a large effect on the outcome of the Dinophysis bloom with the potential to accelerate the appearance of its bloom as well as decrease its duration (Figures 3, 7). In addition, these factors promoted earlier blooms of Dinophysis and shorter growth cycles, but they could also lower the maximum cell numbers. The lower the temperature, the more the peak of Dinophysis was delayed (several days or weeks). The cell numbers of the Dinophysis bloom varied with the phase of the Mesodinium bloom in which Dinophysis began to grow.
In the comparison of the simulations at 10 m MLD vs. 1 m MLD, the maximum biomass of all organisms was lower at 10 m MLD, except Synechococcus which was grazed away early in all instances (Figure 8). The duration of the individual blooms remained broadly similar, but in 10 m MLD nitrate concentrations did not decline to the same low level as in the 1 m depth simulation. The predator-prey encounter rates were higher in 1 m depth. While the encounter rates between Teleaulax and Synechococcus are roughly the same in 1 m and 10 m depths, the encounter rate between Mesodinium and Teleaulax was almost double within the 1 m thin layer simulation. The encounter between Dinophysis and Mesodinium was also higher in 1 m depth and began to increase earlier than in 10 m.
Overall, Teleaulax peak biomass increased under any conditions that decreased the biomass of Mesodinium (Figure 3). While higher temperature increased the peak biomass of Teleaulax, it decreased that of Mesodinium and Dinophysis. Higher irradiance raised the peak biomass of all three organisms. Changes in the peak biomass of Teleaulax and Mesodinium were often coupled with the opposite effect in bloom duration. For example, while lower nutrient concentrations decreased and higher irradiances increased peak biomasses, bloom duration increased and decreased, respectively (Figure 3). In Dinophysis, there was much less variation in bloom duration compared with Teleaulax and Mesodinium.
Discussion
Understanding the bloom dynamics of the TMD complex is greatly complicated by the multitude of biotic and abiotic factors. These include water column stratification, salinity, advection of organisms and nutrients, changes in predator-prey interactions, and the mixoplanktonic nature of the organisms. In this study, we focused specifically on the interaction between the organisms of the TMD-complex itself. Thus, we assumed a simplified mesocosm-like situation to constrain impacts of hydrodynamics and higher predatory activity. We took this approach because, ultimately, blooms of Dinophysis can only develop if the other members of the TMD-complex have already proliferated and are present in the environment. Thus, Dinophysis depends mostly on the availability of Mesodinium at the right time. Likewise, Mesodinium depends on the cryptophyte or similar prey for its acquired phototrophy.
In our simulations, abiotic factors, directly and indirectly, shaped the timing and magnitude of Dinophysis blooms as they influenced the development of the Mesodinium bloom from which Dinophysis itself started to proliferate. The effects of the initial conditions accumulate over time and lead to, sometimes, counter-intuitive results. The collective interactions of the organisms of prey and predator and competitors for nutrients alongside nutrient regeneration all impacted the dynamics. Consistent with
The organisms in this model were configured as Teleaulax amphioxeia, Mesodinium rubrum, and Dinophysis acuminata as those were the TMD-complex species with the most physiological data available in published literature. However, the model can be configured to represent any species of the genus Teleaulax, Mesodinium, or Dinophysis, provided there are available data. The dynamic risk analysis showed the model to be sensitive to variations in the maximum growth rate (which is sensitive to temperature) as well as the pSNCM maximum plastid retention time (crit_IR) and the optimal prey capture rates (Supplementary Data Sheet 1 Figure S1). Different species of Dinophysis are known to vary in their physiology and ecology and toxin production (Table 2 and Supplementary Data Sheet 1 Table S1;
Apart from physiological and morphological variations, species of Dinophysis differ in seasonality, geographical distribution (Figure 1), and the hydrodynamics that support their proliferation (
Predator-Prey Ratio Within the Teleaulax-Mesodinium-Dinophysis-Complex
Above all else, the ratio of encounters between the constituents of the TMD-complex affect the dynamics. Unlike CM (which may not need to feed regularly, if at all) or generalist non-constitutive mixoplankton (GNCM; which need to feed very frequently), pSNCM species, such as Mesodinium and Dinophysis, need to feed regularly but not necessarily frequently on their plastid donors. The initial ratio of the organisms at the start of simulations had a considerable impact on the subsequent bloom dynamics (Figures 3, 5). The concentrations of Mesodinium in comparison to the other organisms appeared to have the biggest impact on overall bloom dynamics as the ciliate is both an important grazer on Teleaulax as well as being the specialist prey for acquired phototrophy to Dinophysis. However, the results were sometimes counter-intuitive as low initial concentrations of Mesodinium could result in comparatively low biomasses of Dinophysis while the ciliate itself subsequently grew to larger numbers (Figure 3). If the Mesodinium started out in low numbers in comparison to Dinophysis, the dinoflagellate was starved of sufficient plastids to support its population early on. At the same time, Teleaulax could develop larger cell numbers due to a lower grazing pressure by Mesodinium. By the time the cell numbers of Mesodinium increased, the ciliate found itself in perfect conditions with high biomass of its prey Teleaulax and low grazing pressure by Dinophysis. While M. rubrum is considered non-toxic, it is known to form large blooms (red-colored tides) that can, on collapse, lead to oxygen depletion and thus suffocation of other organisms (Yoo et al., 1998). Dinophysis acuminata is thus dependent both on the concentration of M. rubrum as well as the timing of its appearance. Prey availability early on in the growth phase of Dinophysis in the simulations appears to be crucial as the pSNCM will be able to maintain its chloroplasts for a time. In this situation, the relative and absolute amounts of the TMD-complex species are affected by nutrient loading, irradiance, and temperature.
Nutrient Loading
Our results suggest that eutrophic conditions increase the potential for Dinophysis blooms because these conditions prepare the system for larger Mesodinium blooms which then increase the potential for Dinophysis blooms (Figures 3, 4). The importance of prey abundance for Dinophysis has been observed in the field (
With the exception of the simulations at different nutrient loads shown in Figure 4, the simulations were run without grazing on Dinophysis to focus on the effect of the interactions of Teleaulax, Mesodinium, and Dinophysis on their respective bloom dynamics. In the field, Dinophysis is subjected to grazing by protists (e.g., Fragilidium;
Irradiance
Our simulations indicate that light is not a major factor affecting bloom duration, but it did affect the peak height (Figure 3) and thence, the overall dynamics. The model by
Higher irradiance has been found to decrease the time that Dinophysis can retain functional kleptochloroplasts in the absence of reacquisitions (
Temperature
Temperature has a significant effect on the frequency of and extent of Dinophysis blooms (
Mixed Layer Depth and Advection
The MLD affects the way that light, nutrients, organism abundance, and temperature impact plankton ecology. The model simulated average biomass levels, while in reality, both Mesodinium and Dinophysis form aggregations that will affect encounter rates. Dinophysis often aggregate in very high abundances in thin layers (
Simulations of conditions in a narrow band at depth (Figure 8) show how the formation of hydrodynamic conditions conducive to the formation of Dinophysis layers has the potential to mimic the consequences of bulk-water eutrophication in raising in situ predator-prey encounters. Mixoplanktonic activity provides a route to compensate for a lack of photosynthate in especially eutrophic conditions where the high biomass simultaneously shades light and provides high abundances of potential prey. Both the pSNCM species (Mesodinium and Dinophysis) encountered much more prey in the simulated 1-m thickness layer. For Mesodinium and especially Dinophysis, this led to a much higher biomass yield.
Diarrhetic shellfish poisoning events are often associated with the physical transport of Dinophysis populations by wind-driven advection and coastal counter-currents (
Conclusion
While our study shows the importance of prey availability for the growth of Dinophysis, it also shows that the timing of prey availability has a significant effect on the spatiotemporal dynamics of the TMD-complex. Simulations of the mixoplanktonic activity of these mixoplankton, configured in this study against data for D. acuminata and its prey M. rubrum, both with their special needs for acquired phototrophy, play an important role in the dynamics of bloom formation. Both high M. rubrum to D. acuminata ratios and the growth phase in which D. acuminata encounters M. rubrum are expected to affect cell abundances of D. acuminata in subsequent blooms. Even though they are not simulated in this study, it is very likely that these effects extend to other species from the genera Mesodinium and Dinophysis that share a similar relationship within cryptophyte-MD-complex. Monitoring programs for Dinophysis could, therefore, benefit from including Mesodinium in their routine observations; this has the advantage that Mesodinium appears in much larger numbers making it easier to detect than the cryptic Dinophysis. The disparity between monitoring and research efforts expended on just the terminal end of the TMD-complex (i.e., on Dinophysis) is notable. The other critical components, namely, Mesodinium and Teleaulax, receive far less attention (Figure 1) and yet their success and timing set the scene for blooms of the toxigenic species.
The dynamics shown by the simulations will perhaps act to prompt more attention in monitoring these other species. For aquaculture, it is not only important to know when the blooms will occur but also their duration. While the main reasons for the decline in Dinophysis blooms are often linked to dispersion (Velo-Suárez et al., 2010), grazing (
The in silico food-web simulator we used in this study may help to test sensitive parameters of different species and theoretically explore their behavior and inspire future experiments. The TMD-complex provides an interesting and closely coupled example of successional interactions, and our model, thus, provides a tool to explore reasons for differences in bloom dynamics between species. As a nitrogen-based model, this simulator is also suitable for implementation in larger nitrogen-based ecosystem models and, therefore, exploration of TMD-complex dynamics and impacts in a larger context. The model presented in this study cannot replace a hydrodynamic model and on its own is not sufficient as a predicting tool for Dinophysis blooms occurring in the field. It is, however, the first biological model featuring Teleaulax, Mesodinium, and Dinophysis. This model could deliver useful results in combination with a hydrodynamic model that can account for stratification and Dinophysis input via currents from the outside (from offshore or up the coastline).
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Statements
Data availability statement
The original contributions presented in the study are included in the article/Supplementary Material, further inquiries can be directed to the corresponding author.
Author contributions
AM and KJF conceived the original idea. A-AA ran the simulations under the supervision of KJF and AM. All authors contributed to the construction of the models, analysis of the results, and writing of the manuscript.
Funding
This research was undertaken within the MixITiN project. This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Program under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Grant Agreement No. 766327. AM was supported by MixITiN and Sêr Cymru II WEFO ERDF Programme MixoHUB 82372.
Conflict of interest
The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.
Supplementary material
The Supplementary Material for this article can be found online at: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2021.799358/full#supplementary-material
Footnotes
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Summary
Keywords
mixoplankton, harmful algal blooms, HABs, systems dynamics modeling, predator-prey, TMD-complex, trophic dynamics
Citation
Anschütz A-A, Flynn KJ and Mitra A (2022) Acquired Phototrophy and Its Implications for Bloom Dynamics of the Teleaulax-Mesodinium-Dinophysis-Complex. Front. Mar. Sci. 8:799358. doi: 10.3389/fmars.2021.799358
Received
21 October 2021
Accepted
01 December 2021
Published
10 February 2022
Volume
8 - 2021
Edited by
Manuel F. G. Weinkauf, Charles University, Czechia
Reviewed by
Daniel Alan Lemley, Nelson Mandela University, South Africa; Mengmeng Tong, Zhejiang University, China
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© 2022 Anschütz, Flynn and Mitra.
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*Correspondence: Aditee Mitra, MitraA2@Cardiff.ac.uk
This article was submitted to Marine Biology, a section of the journal Frontiers in Marine Science
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