Marine prymnesiophytes

Teece M. A., Getliff J. M., Leftley J. W., Parkes R. J., and Maxwell J. R. (1998) Microbial degradation of the marine prymnesiophyte Emiliania huxleyi under oxic and anoxic conditions as a model for early diagenesis long chain alkadienes, alkenones, and alkyl alkenoates. Org. Geochem. 29, 863-880. 

Framvaren has a well documented history of environmental change from fjord to lake and then back to a fjord. Sediment cores from both oxic and anoxic past environments contain organic carbon contents of 6-18% and reveal complex distributions of lipid compounds, the dominant classes being n-alkanes, n-alcohols, sterols and long-chain alkenones (Ficken Farrimond, 1995). The alkenones, which are predominantly produced by marine prymnesiophyte algae, are most abundant in the fjord facies of both cores, but are also detectable in the lacustrine sediments, albeit in much lower concentrations. The dramatic increase in abundance of these compounds is interpreted to record the change in environment from lake to fjord. 

Schmidt, L.E. and Hansen, P.J. (2001). Allelopathy in the prymnesiophyte Chrysochromulina polylepis Effects of cell concentration, growth phase and pH. Marine Ecology Progress Series 216 67-81. 

The toxin production of the prymnesiophyte Prymnesium parvum has been known for 60 years it has been shown that the alga excreted the toxin extracel-lularly [151-152]. The alga has caused fish deaths in brackish fish ponds and other brackish habitats and lately in a large marine fjord system [153]. 

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