No Place Like Home
Habitat
There are many things that live in the ocean; Pyrocystis
fusiformis is among them. It is not found in many places and
there has not been a large amount of study on this organism
alone. This organism tends to live in coastal waters at depths
between 60 meters and 100 meters. Pyrocystis fusiformis
tends to live in low light areas in order to reduce predation by
using its bioluminescent ability to protect itself
(Foflonker and Cowan 2010).
This species prefers to live in waters that range in
temperature from 18 to about 21 degrees Celsius, in water where
the range of salinity is between 34 and 36ppt which is the average for most oceanic water. Since this
organism prefers to have water with salt in it, you would not be
seeing them in streams, rivers, or freshwater lakes inland
(Encyclopedia of Life 2013).
This organism has been found in a few regions around
the world, but not densely populated. These regions include
but are not limited to the western coast of South Africa, far
off the western coast of Central America, on the western coast
of Spain and Portugal, eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea,
surrounding the coasts of Japan, and on the east coast of Oman
in the Middle East. Since this organism prefers to live in
places where there is darkness, you will not see them in an area
that is too close to the coast where the water is clear and the light can reach all the way
down to the bottom of the ocean floor (Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission
(IOC) of UNESCO).
Pyrocystis fusiformis can be considered to be found in
a variety of areas due to it being found of the coast of
multiple continents. It seems to be very specialized in its
habitat. It is only found in the ocean with rules out many other
water habitats that contain freshwater, and others that have a
much higher salinity level. It is also found only on the coastal
areas, meaning that it will not be found too far out, say in the
middle of the Pacific ocean, but you would not be able to see
them from the shore looking out to the ocean. It is also
unlikely that they will be found at the surface; but mostly they
will be deep enough that they can use the darkness of the
environment to protect themselves when needed. This organism is very
specialized in what type of habitat it can live in, but this
coastal type of habitat can be found around the world. Specifically
it will be found around the warmer areas closer to the equator, but
unlikely to be seen farther north or south due to the frigid
environment.
There are many types of organisms that live in the ocean
ranging from the smallest microbial size to large than life like
many whales out there.
Dinoflagellates in general are very
important in the ecosystem, and because they are widespread in
the ocean, will come into contact with many organisms. One
important species that Pyrocystis fusiformis will come into
contact with are other planktonic species. This is because the
Pyrocystis fusiformis is a
mixotroph, both heterotrophic and
phototrophic, and will eat the plankton (Miller).
The other organisms that this species will come into
contact with are marine animals like
whales and other oceanic species like the
octopus,
squid, and even
Pacific herring. These whales are filter feeding animals
that eat many organisms like Pyrocystis fusiformis and other
dinoflagellates and planktonic species (Miller). One interesting
event called the “Milky Sea” phenomenon has largely been thought
to be caused by the Pyrocystis fusiformis. In the past, ship
logs documented that they had seen large waves of glowing in the
ocean. This has now been proven to be a false assumption and it
has been suggested that this phenomenon is actually caused by a
bacteria call Vibrio harveyi that is also bioluminescent, but
provides a steady glow instead of a blinking intermittent glow
that is caused by aggravation. Since both of these organisms live in coastal waters
of the ocean, it is understandable that the
mix-up was made due to more knowledge about one organism
(Pyrocystis fusiformis) and not a lot about the other (Vibrio
harveyi).
"There is nothing I like better than nice warm water!"
-Pyrocystis fusiformis
Want to know how Pyrocystis fusiformis lives in its environment? Go to Form and Function.
To continue your discovery of various organisms, you can visit other webpages created by Organismal Biology students at MultipleOrganisms.net.
To visit UW-La Crosse's website,
click here.