A bdelloid rotifer living as an inquiline in leaves of the pitcher plant, Sarracenia purpurea

Bateman, L.

doi:10.1007/978-94-009-4059-8_18

Cited by 16 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 6 publications

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“…The densities of algae and ciliates remained stable during the period, suggesting that these communities were relatively unaffected by the increase in bacterial cells or the abundance of rotifers during the course of the experiment. Bdelloids (the dominant rotifer group during this study; data not shown) are potential consumers of protozoa [27] and algae [47], and POM may constitute an important part of their diet [12], [33]. Our findings together with studies on communities inhabiting S. purpurea [11], [13], [14], [27], [48] show that the feeding activity of mosquito larvae greatly alters the prey community structure.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 51%

Are Algae Relevant to the Detritus-Based Food Web in Tank-Bromeliads?

et al. 2011

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We assessed the occurrence of algae in five species of tank-bromeliads found in contrasting environmental sites in a Neotropical, primary rainforest around the Nouragues Research Station, French Guiana. The distributions of both algal abundance and biomass were examined based on physical parameters, the morphological characteristics of bromeliad species and with regard to the structure of other aquatic microbial communities held in the tanks. Algae were retrieved in all of the bromeliad species with mean densities ranging from ∼102 to 104 cells/mL. Their biomass was positively correlated to light exposure and bacterial biomass. Algae represented a tiny component of the detrital food web in shaded bromeliads but accounted for up to 30 percent of the living microbial carbon in the tanks of Catopsis berteroniana, located in a highly exposed area. Thus, while nutrient supplies are believed to originate from wind-borne particles and trapped insects (i.e., allochtonous organic matter), our results indicate that primary producers (i.e., autochtonous organic matter) are present in this insectivorous bromeliad. Using a 24-h incubation of size-fractionated and manipulated samples from this plant, we evaluated the impact of mosquito foraging on algae, other microorganisms and rotifers. The prey assemblages were greatly altered by the predation of mosquito larvae. Grazing losses indicated that the dominant algal taxon, Bumilleriopsis sp., like protozoa and rotifers, is a significant part of the diet of mosquito larvae. We conclude that algae are a relevant functional community of the aquatic food web in C. berteroniana and might form the basis of a complementary non-detrital food web.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 51%

Are Algae Relevant to the Detritus-Based Food Web in Tank-Bromeliads?

et al. 2011

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“…Miller, personal communication), the detritus that forms as a result of the larval feeding activities of the pitcher plant midge Metriocnemus knabi Coq. The only rotifer found in the pitchers from our field site is the pitcher plant form of the bdelloid rotifer Habrotrocha rosa Donner (Bateman 1987, Cochran-Stafira 1993, although additional species have been reported from other locations (Addicott 1974;D. Bacteria, fungi, and mixotrophic algae utilize nutrients from this detritus and make up the basal trophic level (I in Fig.…”

Section: Study Systemmentioning

confidence: 91%

“…Bacteria, fungi, and mixotrophic algae utilize nutrients from this detritus and make up the basal trophic level (I in Fig. The precise role of H. rosa in the pitcher community is unclear since it has been described as both a bacterivore (Plasota et al 1980) and an omnivore that filter-feeds on small protozoa, algae, and bacteria (Bateman 1987). Grazers such as rotifers and protozoans form the intermediate level (II), and feed on bacteria and small protists as well as fine detritus particles.…”

Section: Study Systemmentioning

confidence: 99%

Integrating Bacteria into Food Webs: Studies with Sarracenia purpurea Inquilines

Cochran-Stafira¹,

Ende²

1998

Ecology

159

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Predation can have both direct and indirect effects on the population dynamics and community structure of freshwater plankton communities, but its effects on the bacterial component of aquatic systems are less well known. We used a series of laboratory reconstructions of the detritus-based food web in the leaves of the northern pitcher plant Sarracenia purpurea to test the hypothesis that interactions at higher trophic levels could control bacterial densities and community structure. The typical pitcher community is composed of a basal-level bacterial assemblage, bacterivorous protozoa and rotifers, and larvae of the pitcher plant mosquito Wyeomyia smithii.Using organisms isolated from natural pitchers, we constructed food webs comprising 1-4 consumer species (all possible combinations of the presence and absence of Colpoda, Cyclidium, Bodo, and Wyeomyia larvae) along with a constant bacterial species pool in a factorial design experiment. Bacterial community structure was modified by the direct effects of grazing by protozoa and mosquito larvae, by the indirect effects of competitive interactions among the three protozoans, and by the cascading effects of predation by mosquito larvae. Each combination of grazers/predators produced a different, species-specific pattern of bacterial species relative abundances. Changes in nutrient supplies and other abiotic characteristics of the microcosm environment resulting from the feeding activities of Wyeomyia and the protozoa also had indirect effects on bacterial species profiles. We found an apparent trophic cascade that was mediated by the species composition and relative abundances of the intermediate-level protozoan grazers.Our data support the hypothesis that Wyeomyia smithii serves as a keystone predator in the pitcher community. Mosquito larvae were responsible for the overall architecture of the pitcher food web and the subsequent interactions among grazers and the basal-level bacterial community. At low densities, mosquito larvae controlled patterns of coexistence among protozoan species by modifying competitive interactions, while at normal field densities, Wyeomyia rapidly drove the two ciliates to extinction but permitted continued existence of heterotrophic microflagellates. Wyeomyia larvae also played a dominant role in structuring the bacterial assemblage. Bacterial species profiles in food webs containing Wyeomyia were more similar to each other than to the patterns observed in webs without mosquito larvae.Our results suggest that the interactions among members of microbial communities are just as complex as those observed in plant and animal communities and require study at the species level. Because interactions among higher trophic levels can cascade down to the microbial level, it is therefore appropriate to consider the microbes as integral parts of the entire ecosystem, not merely as decomposers or food resources, but as fully interacting members of the community.

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“…In northern Florida, it frequently includes larvae from two dipterans, the mosquito Wyeomyia smithii and the chironomid Metriocnemus knabi, both obligate pitcher-plant inquilines. The bdelloid rotifer Habrotrocha rosa (Bateman 1987) can be very abundant in pitchers and has been shown to be important for nutrient dynamics within pitcher communities (Bledzki and Ellison 1998). The bdelloid rotifer Habrotrocha rosa (Bateman 1987) can be very abundant in pitchers and has been shown to be important for nutrient dynamics within pitcher communities (Bledzki and Ellison 1998).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of Community Structure on Invasion Success and Rate

Miller

Kneitel

Burns

2002

Ecology

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Although invasion has long been recognized as an important ecological process, there are very few experimental studies of invasion in natural communities and virtually no studies that determine how trophic structure affects the probability of invasion. We introduced novel protozoans and rotifers into the natural communities found in the water-filled leaves of the pitcher plant Sarracenia purpurea. The communities were manipulated in a factorial design of removal of predators (larvae of the mosquito Wyeomyia smithii) and addition of resources (dead insects). Three of the six protozoan species successfully established populations when introduced into pitchers, suggesting that these species are migration limited. The other three protozoans and a rotifer did not successfully invade established communities, although all four are naturally found in these inquiline communities. Of the three successfully invading protozoans, two were more likely to invade when resources were added and one of those even more frequently when predators were removed. Invasion by the third was unaffected by these experimental manipulations. Similar effects of predators and resources were found on population sizes of these three species. This study is one of very few that have addressed invasion experimentally; its results suggest that a variety of factors, including migration, predation, and resource availability, can have different influences on invasion by fairly similar protozoans.

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A bdelloid rotifer living as an inquiline in leaves of the pitcher plant, Sarracenia purpurea

Cited by 16 publications

References 6 publications

Are Algae Relevant to the Detritus-Based Food Web in Tank-Bromeliads?

Are Algae Relevant to the Detritus-Based Food Web in Tank-Bromeliads?

Integrating Bacteria into Food Webs: Studies with Sarracenia purpurea Inquilines

Effect of Community Structure on Invasion Success and Rate

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