Prymnesium Parvum

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About Prymnesium Parvum:

It is a microscopic, single-celled alga with four morphologically distinct forms.
Three of the forms are scaled, bi-flagellated, and have a flexible, non-coiling, needle-like filament called a haptonema and the fourth form is a scaled, non-motile, siliceous cyst.
It inhabits a variety of water bodies including rivers, lakes, estuaries, fjords, coastal oceans, and ponds, including eutrophic, alkaline, and brackish waters.
It can reproduce rapidly and form a nearly monocultural bloom by releasing toxins into the water that immobilize or kill zooplankton and other phytoplankton to increase available food sources.
It can survive in a range of water temperatures, from 5°C to 35°C, with blooms increasing between 10°C to 27°C.
It is mixotrophic, supporting its growth with autotrophy (photosynthesis) or heterotrophy if nutrients are scarce.

Key facts about River Oder

It originates in the Czech Republic and flows through western Poland.
It constitutes the boundary between Poland and Germany before reaching the Baltic Sea via a lagoon north of the Polish city of Szczecin.

Q1) What is an Algae?

Algae are defined as a group of predominantly aquatic, photosynthetic, and nucleus-bearing organisms that lack the true roots, stems, leaves, and specialized multicellular reproductive structures of plants.

Source: Oder river ecological disaster that killed hundreds of tonnes of fish in 2022 was human-made: Report