The Adventures of Keiko Haubjed

Starring Keiko in

Dinoflagellates

By Tsunami_Holmes

12-year-old Keiko watched as the water crashed on the tiny sailboat. Her father, Ben, cast his fishing line over the edge. The sun shone as if it was here on earth itself. The heat made both Keiko and her father sweat, but they didn't mind. they were having a good time.

"So, what did you do then?" Keiko asked her beloved father, who was in the middle of telling a story about caving, also known as spelunking.

"I said to the hobo, 'hey, what are you doing camping in a freezing cave?' And you know what he said back?" Ben waited for an answer.

Keiko though for a moment, then confessed, "I don't know."

"'I thought was was winter outside.' That's what he said! And I replied, 'No, it's hot as summer!' And that was that! He packed up his things and left!" Keiko laughed with her father. The hours passed on the boat, and soon it was dark.

"We should get back," Ben decided. As he was getting ready to go, Keiko stared at the stars. Wow, she thought, God is amazing! Then, she peered down at the water. Shock and amazement hit her like a bullet.

She ran to her dad, who was pulling up the sail, and tugged on his arm, "Dad! Dad! Look! The waters glowing!" Ben glanced down and his jaw dropped. Their boat was floating in the middle of a glowing red ocean.

"Wow! Keiko, do you know what these are?"

"No," Keiko answered, "what are they?"

"They are little microscopic creatures called Dinoflagellates. They are part of Kingdom Protesta. They use little tiny whip-like hairs called flagella to propel themselves through the water,"

Keiko gaped, "so their actual creatures?"

"Yes! Half of the species of Dinoflagellates are predators, eating bacteria and algae, the other half use photosynthesis to make their own food."

"So, they glow?" Keiko asked.

"Yes, but not all of the dinoflagellates do, most, but not all. They use luciferin to make them glow, this is called bioluminescence," Keiko's father explained.

"Like a firefly?"

"Like a firefly. And see how their red?"

"Yes," Keiko stated.

"That means that the food has increased, they aren't red always. They are blue most of the time. Right now, it is warm," her father paused to let Keiko feel the heat even after the sun had went down, "warm means food for Dinoflagellates. Food for Dinoflagellates means a beautiful red tide for us."

"Red tide? What's that?" Keiko questioned, confused.

Her father appeared embarrassed, "forgot to tell you. A red tide is what's happening right now. When the food increases in number. Because of food increase, Dinoflagellates multiply, creating a large field of glowing red water. Would you believe me if I told you that if I filled a bucket with one liter of water from this red tide, it would contain over twenty million Dinoflagellates in it?"

Keiko stared, "twenty million?"

"Yes. Amazing, isn't it? Now, we better get going." Ben finished preparing the boat for sailing. The wind caught the sail and the sailboat started to move. As Keiko was examining the Dinoflagellates, she saw the ones closest to the boat, glow brighter.

"Dad, why are they glowing brighter?" she asked.

"Oh! They do that when they become agitated. So until we reach the end of the red tide, all the dinoflagellates we touch or move will brighten."

"Cool!" Keiko exclaimed.

Ben glanced at the fish and sighed.

"What?" Keiko asked, noticing the grief.

"It's just, the Dinoflagellates are toxic to humans, and my fish probably are toxic to now that they have been in the red tide."

"But, they just swam in it, didn't they?"

"No, fish eat the Dinoflagellates and the Dinoflagellates will swim inside of them. My fish are useless now. We can't eat them,"

Keiko put her arm around his shoulder, "I'm sorry dad."

"It's okay, at least we got to see a once in a lifetime experience!" Ben exclaimed.

"Yeah! And there's always tomorrow for fishing!" Keiko added.

Father and daughter held each other as they looked out upon the red field of

Dinoflagellates.