By MP

General Information

Chaetoceros debilis is a widely distributed yellow-brown diatom that occurs in cooler, shallow, near-shore waters during late winter and into the spring. The cells are rectangular and connected in spiraling chains. They are photosynthetic and reproduce sexually and asexually. It is thought that they may cause physical damage to fish gills (“Chaetoceros debilis“, 2012). Some tintinnids graze on algal blooms and help prevent further growth of the bloom (Admiraal & Venekamp, 1986).

MelisaPinnowChaetoceroadebilis2

The original photo can be found here: http://images.algaebase.org/algaebase/images/5B7BE95A076ca27F1CNRl2BD3329/eAk45KRy4g35.jpg

Sources Cited

Chaetoceros debilis. (2012). Eoas.ubc.ca. Retrieved 15 May 2016, from https://www.eoas.ubc.ca/research/phytoplankton/diatoms/centric/chaetoceros/c_debilis.html

 

The original photo for the featured Chaetoceros debilis image can be found here:  http://www.seasonsinthesea.com/photos/ocean/chaetoceros-debilis-300.jpg