Culturing of freshwater dinoflagellates

Abstract

For proper species identification, a pure culture is often a great help, as it provides unlimited material for detailed examinations, often a necessity for unarmored species, which deteriorate very quickly under the microscope. A culture may also provide helpful information on phenotypic plasticity, although it may also lead to culture artefacts. Ideally identification should be based on both field and cultured material. For studies on life cycle, pigment composition, autecology, and to some extent molecular characteristics, a culture is essential. In the following, a brief introduction is given to one of the most common isolation methods used for dinoflagellates, and to some culture media used successfully for culturing of freshwater dinoflagellates. For more comprehensive information on algal culturing methods the reader should consult Andersen et al. (2005), and for dinoflagellates in particular Guillard & Keller (1984), which also includes an excellent historical account of dinoflagellate culturing.