| Summary: | Although the phenomenon of compensatory growth has been documented in someanimals and higher plants, little information is available on its manifestation in marinemicroalgae. We have conducted the first study on the compensatory growth of the red tide causative dinoflagellate <i>Prorocentrumdonghaiense</i> after its recovery from different nitrogen concentrations.The results showed that NaNO<sub>3</sub> concentrations of 0 and 7.5 mg l<sup>-1</sup> significantly reduced thegrowth of <i>P. donghaiense</i>, as compared to 37.5 and 75 mg l<sup>-1</sup>. When the microalgal cells were returned to 75 mg l<sup>-1</sup>, they exhibited subsequent compensatory growth. The most significant compensatory growth was found in those cells previously experiencing 0 mg dm<sup>3</sup>, followed by 7.5 mg dm<sup>3</sup>, indicating thatcompensatory growth depended on the extent of nitrogen stress they had been subjected to. Our results suggest thatcompensatory growth can be induced in the marine microalga <i>P. donghaiense</i> after its recovery from nitrogen fluctuation, and that this should be taken into consideration in the prevalence of <i>P. donghaiense</i> blooms in coastal waters.
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