Tóm tắt
In this paper, the taxonomy of the dinoflagellates found in Australian
waters is given, and the species concept as applied to the group is discussed.
It is suggested that the Linnaean species concept cannot be strictly applied to
a group which has, as a whole, no known sexual process and of which the vast
majority of forms has not been cultivated.
The seasonal variation and fluctuations of dinoflagellates in Australian
waters are considered. It is found that, as usual, the greatest number of
species occurs in warmer waters.
Dinoflagellates are regarded as excellent indicators of water masses, and
in one example, i.e. west of Tasmania, subtropical dinoflagellates led to the
postulation of a subtropical current flowing east from Cape Leeuwin to King
I. This has recently been confirmed by the finding of warm-water turtles on
the west coast of Tasmania.
Dinoflagellates are not as important as diatoms or tropical blue-green
algae in productivity, except on rare occasions, but do serve as food for certain
groups, e.g. salps, tintinnids, etc. Some are halophytic, some holozoic, and some
facultative.
No single factor or set of factors can be adduced to explain dinoflagellate
maxima. There is some evidence of a rhythm, which may be tidal, in Goniaulas
digitale and also in G. catenella.
