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Brigantedinium spp.

Zonneveld, K.A.F. and Pospelova V. (2015). A determination key for modern dinoflagellate cysts. Palynology 39 (3), 387- 409.

 

doral view type 1
photo Karin Zonneveld

dorsal view type 2
photo Karin Zonneveld

 

Field characteristics

Brigantedinium spp. Reid 1977 ex Lentin et Williams 1993

Field characteristics:
Proximate cyst of spherical shape, with a circular outline in dorsal view. The autophragm is brown in colour, thin, with a smooth to microgranulate surface. Archeopyle is intercalary. No other indication of tabulation.

Dimensions: cyst body diamater: 29 to 53 µm.
Motile affinity: numereous species that are most probably heterotrophic
Stratigraphic range: Miocene to Recent.

Comparison with other species The only character on which you can recognise differential species in this species complex is by their archeopyle form. Often the cysts are folded and you can’t determine the species though.

Geographic distribution

Geographic distribution based on :
Zonneveld et al., 2013. Atlas of modern dinoflagellate cyst distribution based on 2405 datapoints. Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology, v. 191, 1-197

Brigantedinium spp. species complex can be considered cosmopolitan.
Distribution:
Brigantedinium spp. is recorded in 91% of the studied samples. It has a global distribution and can form up to 99% of the association. It can dominate the association from coastal regions to the central parts of the Oceans and is observed in oligotrophic to eutrophic and brackish to hypersaline environments.

Environmental parameter range:
SST: -2.1 - 29.8°C (winter - summer), SSS: 6.7 - 39.4 (summer - autumn), [P]: 0.1 - 2.1 μmol/l, [N]: 0.01 - 30.6 μmol/l, chlorophyll-a: 0.01 - 21.8 ml/l, bottom water [O2]: 0.01 - 8.2 ml/l.
These ranges represent the full ranges for the parameters considered in this Atlas. Since high relative abundances of Brigantedinium spp. may occur anywhere, within these ranges environmental gradients do not seem to limited the distribution of this taxon.

Comparison with other records:
So far Brigantedinium spp. has been reported from all studied regions, from the tropics to regions permanently covered by sea ice (de Vernal et al., 1998; references in Marret and Zonneveld, 2003). In sediment trap studies increased cyst production occurs during or just after increased phytoplankton production due to increased nutrient/trace element availability; for instance as a result of upwelling, frontal activity or input of river and/or melt waters (e.g. Montresor et al., 1998; de Vernal and Hillaire-Marcel, 2000; Zonneveld and Brummer, 2000; Fujii and Matsuoka, 2006; Pospelova et al., 2010; Zonneveld et al., 2010). In the central Strait of Georgia and Saanich Inlet (Canada) as well as the Omura Bay (Japan) the production of diatoms and cyst production of Brigantedinium spp. clearly correlate (Fujii and Matsuoka, 2006; Pospelova et al., 2010; Price and Pospelova, 2011). In the upwelling region off NW Africa enhanced cyst production correlates to enhanced fluxes of diatom valves, calcium carbonate and total organic carbon suggesting that the production of cysts is related to the presence of more than one food source (Zonneveld et al., 2010). This seems logical as Brigantedinium spp. can be produced by a number of heterotrophic dinoflagellate species that are likely to have differential food preferences.