Red tide

prefLabel
  • red tide
definition
  • Sea water which is covered or discoloured by the sudden growth of algal bloom or by a great increase in single-celled organisms, dinoflagellates. Red tides are often fatal to many forms of marine life and, in some cases, can result in human deaths because the dinoflagellates are eaten by clams and mussels which concentrate the paralysing toxins which they produce.
inScheme
broader