Analysis of the community structure of planktonic ciliated protozoa relative to trophic state in Florida lakes

Beaver, John R.; Crisman, Thomas L.

doi:10.1007/bf00008155

Cited by 70 publications

(43 citation statements)

References 15 publications

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“…During half of the study years, ciliate biomass in July surpassed that of daphnids, showing that ciliates exerted a major grazing pressure on phytoplankton, not only in spring but increasingly also in summer, given the higher weight-specific grazing rates of the smaller-sized ciliates. In contrast, crosslake comparisons in Florida, Germany and Finland found that decreasing trophic status resulted in proportionally lower ciliate biomass (Bays & Crisman 1983, Beaver & Crisman 1989, Mathes & Arndt 1994 for the spring peak, Zingel et al 2002). However, the relative contribution of ciliates to total zooplankton biomass did not vary with trophic status in a study of Quebec lakes (Pace 1986).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 94%

Ciliate dynamics in response to changing biotic and abiotic conditions in a large, deep lake (Lake Constance)

Gaedke¹,

Wickham²

2004

Aquat. Microb. Ecol.

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From 1987 to 1998, ciliates and their prey and predator communities in Lake Constance (which is large, deep and meso-eutrophic) were intensively studied as the lake underwent reoligotrophication. Ciliate biomass exhibited the bimodal seasonal distribution typical for mesoeutrophic lakes, with high biomass in spring and summer and low biomass in winter and during the clear-water phase. Cluster analysis produced 9 groups of temporally co-occurring ciliate morphotypes with potentially similar ecological characteristics. The clusters exhibited a larger seasonality than found in the size distribution, showing that size alone failed to capture some ciliate seasonal dynamics. Ciliate biomass declined by approx. 30% during the 12 yr of study, i.e. considerably less than daphnids (and total phosphorus). This yielded a significant increase in the ratio between summer ciliate and daphnid biomass as re-oligotrophication progressed, in contrast to previous studies. Few indications for a mechanistic link between phosphorus concentrations (which declined 3-fold during the study period) and ciliate biomass or community composition via group-specific food concentrations were found. The relative contribution of 3 of the 9 clusters changed as re-oligotrophication progressed. Ciliate size distribution was related to re-oligotrophication and daphnid biomass in summer. The smallest and largest ciliates gained importance when daphnids decreased, whereas the biomass of large ciliates declined. Generally, summer daphnid biomass had a greater predictive power for attributes of the ciliate community than the other factors studied (phosphorus, prey biomass, copepod biomass). The extent of bottom-up and top-down control of ciliates appeared to be time-and groupspecific. Overall, the ciliate community exhibited remarkably recurrent seasonal patterns, despite major alternations in abiotic and biotic conditions. KEY WORDS: Ciliates · Long-term observations · Bottom-up control · Top-down control · Eutrophication · Daphnids · Copepods Resale or republication not permitted without written consent of the publisherAquat Microb Ecol 34: [247][248][249][250][251][252][253][254][255][256][257][258][259][260][261] 2004 ton) may be closely linked and subject to external forcing by climate and nutrient changes.In Lake Constance, which is large, deep and mesoeutrophic, intensive investigations of the planktonic ciliate community revealed recurrent seasonal patterns in ciliate abundances and taxonomic community composition from 1987to 1989(Müller 1989. Biomass peaks developed in early spring immediately after the onset of phytoplankton growth, and in summer/autumn after the clear-water phase, during which time ciliate biomass was low. In spring, small algivorous ciliates such as Balanion planctonicum were typical, while the summer community was characterized by a somewhat higher variability in taxonomical composition and feeding types (Müller 1989. Laboratory studies provided insight into ciliate ingestion and production rates, preferred algal...

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 94%

Ciliate dynamics in response to changing biotic and abiotic conditions in a large, deep lake (Lake Constance)

Gaedke¹,

Wickham²

2004

Aquat. Microb. Ecol.

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“…The influence of the trophic state on the protozooplankton has been pointed out for other environments (Beaver & Crisman, 1989;Hwang & Heath, 1997). At the species level, several organisms are considered good indicators of the distinct conditions found between sampling sites.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Protozooplankton characterization of two contrasting sites in a tropical coastal ecosystem (Guanabara Bay, RJ)

et al. 2007

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A B S T R A C TMuch time and resources have been invested in understanding plankton dynamics in Guanabara Bay (Brazil), but no attention has been devoted to the protozooplankton. To fulfill this lacuna, abundance and composition of protozooplankton were investigated from January to December -2000 in fortnightly surface water samplings at two distinct water quality sites (Urca -closer to the bay entrance, more saline and cleaner waters; Ramos -inner reaches, hypereutrophic waters). The density at Urca (10 3 -10 5 cell.l -1 ) was one to three orders of magnitude lower than at Ramos (10 4 -10 5 cell.l -1 ). A seasonal trend for nanoplankton and protozooplankton was more evident at Urca, but both sites had lower densities during the colder period. Small heterotrophic dinoflagellates (20-30 µm) were dominant in over 50% of the samples. The protozooplankton abundance and composition reflected the distinct trophic conditions states found at the bay. During the wet-warm season, non-oligotrich ciliates were representative of Ramos site with Gymnodiniaceae dinoflagellates, while tintinnids and heterotrophic dinoflagellates were predominantly found at Urca mainly during the dry-cold season. This first descriptive study towards the understanding of the intricate relationships among the microbial food web components reveals that protozooplankton can be a good indicator of water quality conditions at the bay. R E S U M OMuito tem sido investido para entender a dinâmica do plâncton da Baía de Guanabara (Brasil), estuário tropical com sérios problemas ambientais, mas pouco se sabe sobre o protozooplâncton. Preenchendo esta lacuna, a composição e abundância do protozooplâncton (ciliados, flagelados heterotróficos) foram investigadas em 2000, por meio de amostragens subsuperficiais, quinzenais, em dois locais com qualidade distinta de água (Urca -entrada da baía, águas mais salinas e limpas; Ramos -região mais interna, águas hipereutróficas e menos salinas). A densidade na Urca (10 3 -10 5 cel.L -1 ) foi inferior à de Ramos (10 4 -10 5 cel.L -1 ), com sazonalidade para o nanoplâncton e protozooplâncton mais evidente, menores valores durante o período mais frio (abril a agosto). Pequenos dinoflagelados (20-30 µm) dominaram mais de 50% das amostras. A abundância e composição refletiram o distinto estado trófico na baía (análise fatorial de correspondência: 56%). Ciliados não oligotríqueos (Vorticellidae, Dysteriidae, Didiniidae) e Gymnodiniaceae foram representativos de Ramos na estação quente-úmida (outubro -março), enquanto tintinídeos (Codonellopsidae, Metacyclididae, Tintinnidae, Undellidae) e dinoflagelados (Oxyphysaceae, Ebriidae, Protoperidiniaceae, Noctilucaceae) representativos da Urca, principalmente na estação fria-seca (abril -setembro). Este primeiro estudo descritivo, fundamental para o entendimento das relações na teia alimentar microbiana, revelou o protozooplâncton como bom indicador das condições da qualidade da água da baía.

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“…are very common. They can be found at any time of the year, and in oligotrophic as well as in eutrophic lakes (Pace 1982, Beaver & Crisman 1989, Foissner et al 1991, Miiller et al 1991. Small oligotrichous ciliates eat bacteria and autotrophic picoplankton, while ingestion of larger food particles appears to be rare (Simek et al 1996).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ciliate bacterivory in epilimnetic waters

Stabell¹

1996

Aquat. Microb. Ecol.

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Simultanous measurements of bacterial production (3~-thymidine incorporation) and ciliate bacterivory (uptake of fluorescently labeled bacteria, FLB) were carried out on samples from the epilimnion of 17 lakes in eastern Norway. On average, bacteria equivalent to 19% (range: 0.8 to 62%) of the bacterial production were consumed by ciliates. The most important bacterivorous ciliates were small (c30 pm) oligotrichs; Halteria grandinella and Strobilidium spp. These ciliate taxa were found to have average clearance rates of 183 and 103 nl cell-' h-' respectively, corresponding to specific clearance rates of 0.5 and 0.9 X 10' cell volumes h-' In addition, Vorticella sp., a peritrich ciliate that was attached to colonies of the cyanophyte Anabaena flos-aquae, was found to be important in several lakes. On average, these 3 ciliate taxa alone accounted for >80% of total ciliate bacterivory. Speciesspecific clearance rates did not vary much between lakes, indicating that the ciliates were always food limited. These results confirm other recent studies, showing that pelagic ciliates can be significant grazers on bacterioplankton.

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Analysis of the community structure of planktonic ciliated protozoa relative to trophic state in Florida lakes

Cited by 70 publications

References 15 publications

Ciliate dynamics in response to changing biotic and abiotic conditions in a large, deep lake (Lake Constance)

Ciliate dynamics in response to changing biotic and abiotic conditions in a large, deep lake (Lake Constance)

Protozooplankton characterization of two contrasting sites in a tropical coastal ecosystem (Guanabara Bay, RJ)

Ciliate bacterivory in epilimnetic waters

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