Acanthoecid choanoflagellates from the Atlantic Arctic Region − a baseline study

Abstract

The examination and statistical analysis of loricate choanoflagellate material collected from Greenland waters during the period 1988–1998 represents a de facto baseline study of heterotrophic nanoflagellates from the Atlantic Arctic Region. The geographic sites sampled are Disko Bay (West Greenland) and the high-arctic North-East Water (NEW) and North Water (NOW) polynya. The analyses encompass close to 50 taxa. Some of these are described as new species, i.e. Acanthocorbis glacialis, A. reticulata and Diaphanoeca dilatanda. Two distinct clusters of species that are separated in time and space occur at all three sampling sites. A PCA analysis of NEW and NOW data points to that one community is linked to e.g. an early season high nutrient and low phytoplankton biomass scenario, whereas the other is predominant when nutrient levels are exhausted and the phytoplankton biomass high or declining. The material additionally allows for a comprehensive examination of e.g. the Cosmoeca ventricosa morphological variability encountered, as well as puts on record bimodal size variability within a number of species.

Does size really matter in biogeography? Patterns and drivers of global distribution of marine micro‐ and meiofauna

“…Notably, according to Nitsche (), the polar regions in both hemispheres were clustered together, as was the case in our data. A recent global analysis of loricate choanoflagellate morphospecies distribution (Thomsen & Østergaard, ) also revealed a fairly distinct separation among ‘cold’ and ‘warm’ waters from both hemispheres, and the ‘cold’ group included both Arctic and Antarctic communities. Several authors have compared the temperature tolerances of various flagellate isolates and found strong evidence for local temperature conditions as an important driver of the geographical distribution (Boenigk et al, ; Rodríguez‐Martínez et al, ).…”

Loricate choanoflagellates (Acanthoecida) from warm water seas. II. Bicosta, Apheloecion, Campyloacantha, Crucispina, Calliacantha and Saroeca

“…Based on material from Osaka Bay, Japan, Hara and Takahashi (1987a) presented data on morphology and seasonal occurrence patterns of B. spinifera and B. minor that largely substantiated the findings presented by Manton et al (1980). Thomsen and Larsen (1992) and Thomsen and Østergaard (2017) address Bicosta morphological variability and distributional patterns within Antarctic and Arctic realms, respectively.…”

“…Calliacantha natans is otherwise widely distributed throughout the coldwater regions of the world's oceans, see e.g. Thomsen et al (1990) and Thomsen and Østergaard (2017).…”

“…During the last decades much emphasis has been put on piecing together a comprehensive overview of loricate (Acanthoecid) choanoflagellate species diversity at northern hemisphere middle to high latitudes (see e.g. Booth, 1990;Hara et al, 1997;McKenzie et al, 1997;Menezes, 2005;Thomsen and Østergaard, 2017;Thomsen et al, 1991Thomsen et al, , 2016Tong, 1997a), and at southern hemisphere high latitudes investigating in particular the circum-Antarctic water masses (see e.g. Thomsen et al, 1990Thomsen et al, , 1997.…”

“…The paper concluding the series will make ocean specific warm water community comparisons and also analyze the results in a global context using tools and approaches as in e.g. Thomsen and Østergaard (2017).…”