Researchers from the University of Barcelona in collaboration with a team from the Zoological Station Anton Dohrn (Italy) have analysed the impact of diatom algae in the development of Oikopleura dioica (O. Dioica), a type of marine zooplankton invertebrate that plays an important role in the global dynamics of the marine food webs and the biosphere carbon cycle. The results, published in Communications Biology, show that biotoxins that are produced by these algae at the end of the blooms can affect embryonic development, and therefore the reproduction of O. Dioica, with severe ecological consequences.