Testate amoebae (Protozoa: Rhizopoda) are common inhabitants of peatlands. Strong relationships between community composition and substrate moisture in Sphagnum‐dominated peatlands have made them particularly useful as hydrological proxies in environmental and palaeoenvironmental research. However, stability of these relationships in geographical space is important for widespread applicability. In this study, we compared testate amoeba communities inhabiting Sphagnum‐dominated peatlands of the Great Lakes and Rocky Mountain regions of North America. Our primary objectives were to describe patterns of community composition in the two regions, develop hypotheses to explain differences, and determine if taxa occupy similar ecological niches with respect to substrate moisture in both places. Our results indicated that testate amoeba communities are relatively different in the two regions, and these differences are probably caused by differences in climate and peatland trophic status, although other factors may also play a role. However, many taxa do occur in both regions and these taxa had comparable moisture preferences in each region, suggesting that the ecological niches of taxa with respect to substrate moisture are similar even within communities of relatively different composition.
We investigated the potential of testate amoebae (Protozoa: Rhizopoda) for reconstructing past climate changes in the Rocky Mountain region. Our specific objectives were to determine environmental controls on modem testate amoeba distribution in Sphagnum-dominated peatlands of the region, reconstruct past temporal changes in testate amoebae from a Sphagnum-dominated peatland in southwestern Yellowstone National Park, and assess relationships between climate variability and testate amoebae for the past century. Our results indicate that substrate moisture is the dominant control on modem testate amoeba distribution in the region, consistent with studies from other regions. Temporal changes in testate amoebae reconstructed from a floating peat mat in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem show considerable variability during the past several hundred years, and variability during the past century was correlated with the instrumental record of drought at decadal timescales. The patterns suggest that sensitive paleoclimatic reconstructions are possible from floating mats in the region, and perhaps elsewhere. Testate amoebae from peatlands in the Rocky Mountains show great potential for reconstructing past climate variability, corroborating and extending records inferred from other proxies.
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