‘One of the
characteristics typically used to identify dinoflagellates was size,
but the size range among these was incredible. The largest were almost ten
times bigger than the smallest.’
‘Another
characteristic of dinoflagellates was that each species had a disitincitve
shape, yet all the organisms she was looking at were barely configured. “They
look like the same thing, only miniature or bigger.”’
‘In the days that
followed, Cecil Hobbs was so discouraged that he considered calling Dr.
Burkholder and Noga, telling them what had happened, and dropping the project
entirely. But he didn’t and it was
something in the back of his mind that wouldn’t let him give up just yet. It was as if he was waiting for a sign—and then
it came, the thought that if this organism could spread so easily from one tank
to another, perhaps it was hardy enough to survive on the empty walls of an
empty tank.’
‘Left alone, this
microscopic alga seemed content to rest in a dormant state on the sediment at the bottom of an aquarium,
encrusted in a scaly shell, where it appeared to thrive on photosynthesis, as
you would expect from vegetation. But as
soon as fish were introduced into the water, it somehow sensed their presence,
and a bizarre series of transformations was initiated that turned a harmless
little cyst into a veritable sea monster. Bursting out of its shell, a swimming
cell propelled itself through the water by means of two whiplike tails, or
flagella. Then, as it rose through the water column and approached a fish, it
apparently unleashed a powerful neurotoxin that at first stunned and eventually
suffocated its prey, evidently due to muscular paralysis. This toxin also
seemed to have a corrosive effect on fish skin, which, as the victim died,
would slough off. At this point the dinoflagellate adopted yet another form,
enlarging in size to accommodate the growth of a tonguelike absorption tube,
called a peduncle, which the dino attached to fish flesh and fed at a leisurely
pace.’
These quotes are
from the parts of the text where Burkholder found that this particular dinoflagellate
was different from others when it comes to size and shape. The third quote references Hobbs’ successful
attempt to coax the dino back to life when his daughter poured out the water
that contained it. The last quote is the
description of what Burkholder discovered when Hobbs mastered taking photos
with the scanning electron microscope.
