A quantitative review of the lifestyle, habitat and trophic diversity of dinoflagellates (Dinoflagellata, Alveolata)

This study reviews the trends in the lifestyle, habitat distribution and trophic diversity of the 2377 described species of dinoflagellates (Dinophyceae). Most of the dinoflagellates inhabit marine waters, whereas 17% of the total species have colonized continental waters. Dinoflagellates are dominated by planktonic species, while benthic forms represented 8% of the species. From the total number of species, 49% are heterotrophic (devoid of plastids), while 51% of the species have been reported with plastids (that does not strictly imply autotrophy). All the basal dinoflagellates (ellobiopsids, Duboscquodinida, Syndiniales) are heterotrophic, with the exception of a few Noctilucales (Spatulodinium). The continental waters are highly dominated by plastid-containing species (88%), while in marine environments there is a slight dominance of heterotrophic species (58%). Most of the dinoflagellates are free-living forms; only 7% of the total species are parasites. The dinokaryotic parasites appear in separate clades, and about 40% of them contain plastids. The beneficial or mutualistic symbionts (21 species, 1%) are photosynthetic species dispersed into at least three clades. Key words: benthicbiodiversityDinophyceaefreshwater Dinophytaheterotrophyparasitesymbiosessyndineans Acknowledgements F.G. is supported by the contract JCI-2010-08492 of the Ministerio Español de Ciencia y Tecnología. Associate Editor: Elliot Shubert