Haptophyte

A single-celled eukaryotic alga in the phylum Haptophyta, typically bearing two flagella and distinctive microscopic scales or a haptonema.

Haptonema: A slender haptophyte appendage, distinct from a flagellum, used chiefly for attachment and prey handling. This characteristic appendage helps distinguish many haptophytes from other flagellated algae.
Emiliania huxleyi: A widespread coccolithophore species that forms blooms and produces calcite plates. Its blooms make haptophyte ecology and ocean-scale effects especially visible.
Haptophyta: A phylum of mostly marine, single-celled algae that includes coccolithophores. Haptophyte is the common name for a member of this phylum.
Coccolithophore bloom: A large increase in coccolithophore abundance, sometimes visible as a bright patch in satellite images. Blooms of haptophyte coccolithophores can alter light reflection at the sea surface.
Coccolith: A microscopic calcite plate produced by coccolithophores and arranged around their cells. In calcifying haptophytes, these plates form the cell’s conspicuous external covering.
Coccolithophore: A planktonic alga that surrounds its cell with calcite plates called coccoliths. This haptophyte subgroup is a major producer of marine calcium carbonate.
Coccolith fossil record: The geological record of coccoliths preserved in marine sediments and rocks. These durable plates provide a long record of calcifying haptophytes.
Ocean acidification: The decline in ocean pH caused chiefly by seawater absorbing atmospheric carbon dioxide. Changing carbonate chemistry affects calcifying haptophytes and their coccolith production.
Fucoxanthin: A brown accessory pigment that absorbs blue-green light and occurs in several algal groups. This pigment contributes to the light-harvesting systems of many haptophytes.
Biological carbon pump: The transfer of carbon from surface waters to the deep ocean by biological activity. Haptophyte production and sinking particles help move carbon into ocean depths.

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