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P. lunula is an example of a dinoflagellate -- a single-celled organism that cannot move on its own.

During the day, those dinoflagellates cast a rusty hue across the ocean — often called a “red tide” — which sky cameras on Tuesday captured around the Santa Monica Pier.

Although microbes of all kinds flourished in the bottles, in-water measurements taken around the same time showed that dinoflagellates—a type of plankton associated with harmful algal blooms—were benefiting disproportionately.

To keep working, the dinoflagellates within the materials need periodic cycles of light and darkness.

This includes green algae and other types of microalgae that also associate with coral reefs called dinoflagellates.