Stained with fluorescent primulin dye and viewed under a microscope, cysts of the algae Alexandrium fundyense and Alexandrium tamarense
stand out in yellow and bright green from organic matter and sediments
collected from the Gulf of Maine. Alexandrium fundyense can cause paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP) in humans who consume shellfish that have eaten harmful algae.
(Photo by Kerry Norton, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)[back]
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