Vapor–liquid equilibria (VLE), heat capacities, densities, and viscosities of mixtures of water and 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium acetate ([EMIM]­[OAc]) and mixtures of water and diethylmethylammonium methane sulfonate ([DEMA]­[OMs]) were measured in the temperature range T = (293.15 to 353.15) K. VLE measurements were carried out by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy in a dynamic cell, and the experimental VLE data were correlated to the nonrandom two-liquid (NRTL) model. Measurements of the heat capacity were conducted via differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The density was measured with a pycnometer and the viscosity with a falling-sphere viscometer.

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Ciliate diversity was investigated in situ in freshwater ecosystems of the maritime (South Shetland Islands, mainly Livingston Island, 63 degrees S) and continental Antarctic (Victoria Land, 75 degrees S), and the High Arctic (Svalbard, 79 degrees N). In total, 334 species from 117 genera were identified in both polar regions, i.e. 210 spp. (98 genera) in the Arctic, 120 spp. (73 genera) in the maritime and 59 spp. (41 genera) in the continental Antarctic. Forty-four species (13% of all species) were common to both Arctic and Antarctic freshwater bodies and 19 spp. to both Antarctic areas (12% of all species). Many taxa are cosmopolitans but some, e.g. Stentor and Metopus spp., are not, and over 20% of the taxa found in any one of the three areas are new to science. Cluster analysis revealed that species similarity between different biotopes (soil, moss) within a study area was higher than between similar biotopes in different regions. Distinct differences in the species composition of freshwater and terrestrial communities indicate that most limnetic ciliates are not ubiquitously distributed. These observations and the low congruence in species composition between both polar areas, within Antarctica and between high- and temperate-latitude water bodies, respectively, suggest that long-distance dispersal of limnetic ciliates is restricted and that some species have a limited geographical distribution.