DINOTOX – Potentially Toxic Dinoflagellates on the Atlantic Iberian Margin: Distribution and Ecology, Present and Past

Summary

This 3-year funding has allowed me to continue the work I have been doing in recent years on the composition, distribution and ecology of dinoflagellate cysts along coastal environmental gradients in the Iberian Atlantic margin. I use dinoflagellate cysts accumulated in sediments as the main tool for investigating marine ecosystems, both modern and ancient. Cysts are resistant resting stages that play a key role in the dispersal and survival of many microalgae, including toxin-producing species responsible for harmful algal blooms along the Iberian Atlantic coast. Because of their excellent preservation potential, dinoflagellate cysts are also powerful indicators of past environmental change, yet they remain comparatively under-used in Spanish palaeoecology laboratories. Building on my postdoctoral work with research groups in Portugal and Germany, I am now developing an independent research line in marine palynology within the Marine Environmental Geology group (Geoma, CIM, University of Vigo), focusing on the Ría de Arousa — a region where the diversity, distribution and ecology of dinoflagellate cysts remain almost entirely unstudied.

Objectives

Contribute new data on the ecology and distribution of dinoflagellate cysts in modern and ancient sedimentary environments, focusing on the Ría de Arousa (NW Iberia), a region with very limited data of this kind.

• Characterise the current diversity, distribution and ecology of dinoflagellate cysts in the Ría de Arousa.
• Reconstruct past (palaeo)environmental and palaeoceanographic conditions from dinoflagellate cyst records in dated sediment cores.
• Detect potential reservoirs of harmful/toxic microalgae cysts in ría sediments, in support of marine environmental monitoring.
• Provide baseline knowledge to help design informed, effective strategies for coastal biodiversity management and conservation.

Tasks

• 1Set-up of the marine palynology laboratory and sampling campaign design
• 2Sediment sampling in the Ría de Arousa; sub-sampling and laboratory processing
• 3Deep-sediment sampling; sub-sampling and laboratory processing
• 4Microscopic analysis of dinoflagellate cysts from ría samples; preliminary interpretation
• 5Sub-sampling and processing of additional stratigraphic samples from the NW Iberian margin
• 6Microscopic analysis of dinoflagellate cysts from deep-sediment samples
• 7Interpretation of results and preparation of graphs and maps
• 8Manuscript writing and submission
• 9Scientific dissemination and outreach activities

Main Outputs

Publications

• •García-Moreiras, I., Amorim, A., Pospelova, V., et al. (2025). Progress, challenges and future directions in marine organic-walled dinoflagellate cyst research: New insights from an international workshop. Marine Micropaleontology 201, 102502. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marmicro.2025.102502
• •García-Moreiras, I., Vila Costas, S., García-Gil, S., Muñoz Sobrino, C. (2023). Organic-walled dinoflagellate cyst assemblages in surface sediments of the Ría de Vigo (Atlantic margin of NW Iberia) in relation to environmental gradients. Marine Micropaleontology 180, 102217. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marmicro.2023.102217

Datasets

• •García-Moreiras, I., Vila Costas, S., García-Gil, S., Muñoz Sobrino, C. Organic-walled dinoflagellate cyst counts in surface sediments of the Ría de Vigo (Atlantic margin of NW Iberia). PANGAEA. https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.969060

For the complete list of my publications and conference communications, please visit the Publications and Conference Communications pages.