Dinoflagellate Cysts in Recent Marine Sediments from SW India

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
During the period February–June 1996, dinoflagellate cysts were sampled and examined from surface sediments from two different estuaries and three different offshore sites around Mangalore, SW India. Forty-three different types of cysts were recorded in the sediment, of which 38 cysts belonged to the orders Gonyaulacales, Gymnodinales and Peridiniales. Five cyst types could not be identified. Five types of cysts recorded belonged to the potentially toxic genera of Alexandrium Halim emend. Balech and Gymnodinium Stein. The toxic species Gymnodinium catenatum Graham was studied, for the first time, in Indian waters. The cyst flora from SW India is compared to earlier studies on cyst biodiversity and biogeography from the tropics. To our knowledge this is the first study of dinoflagellate cysts in recent coastal sediments from Indian waters.