Preliminary Observations on the Growth of a Naked Marine Ameba

Naked amebae are probably ubiquitous in the marine environment, yet little, if anything, appears to be known of their significance in the food web. This paper describes some preliminary studies of growth and efficiency of food conversion with a member of this group isolated from a dispersing red tide on the west coast of Florida. The organism has been established in monoxenic culture and is maintained on a diet of diatoms. Attempted feeding with unicellular green and red algae and a dinoflagellate was unsuccessful. An acceptable synthetic medium has yet to be found.