Abstract

Dinoflagellates are the second largest group of eukaryotic algae, with 2,000 species already described to date [1] just behind the diatom group which has 100,000 species [2]. Both groups are the basis of many food chains. Besides the species diversity, dinoflagellates feature various forms, habitats and nutrition. According to Wojciechowski et al. [3] these organisms are distributed in diverse aquatic, marine, freshwater or estuarine environments and are usually dominant in the summer. Some of the species in this group can be found on ice sheets and are called cryophile. Although most species are planktonic, dinoflagellates have some representatives from marine benthic and epicontinental habitats. Zooxanthellae are also part of the group, which are symbolic species responsible for the high productivity in coral reef systems.