Community composition, abundance and biomass of tintinnids (Ciliata: Protozoa) in the Western Harbour, south-eastern Mediterranean Sea, Egypt

Abstract

Seasonal variations in species composition, abundance and biomass of tintinnids (Protozoa: Ciliata) were investigated in the Western Harbour, seasonally during 2012. There were remarkable seasonal variations in environmental parameters, phytoplankton concentrations and abundance and biomass of tintinnids: highest in spring and lowest in autumn. Annual average abundance and biomass of tintinnids were 8.435 ind. l(-1) and 3.725 μg C l(-1), respectively. A total of 29 species of tintinnids belonging to 11 genera was identified. Of which, Tintinnopsis was the most abundant genus in terms of number of species (9), but Favella was the best quantitatively (89% of the total tintinnids). The overall mean abundance and biomass were highest (mean 24.415 ind. l(-1) and 10.355 μg C l(-1), respectively) during spring than the remaining seasons. Due to significant positive relationship between the total biomass of tintinnids and phytoplankton concentrations, food supply is not a problem for tintinnids harbouring in the Western Harbour. Hence, predation loss by meso- and macrozooplankton might be the possible reasons for the estimated low biomass of tintinnids in the present study. Some of the seasonal environmental factors as water salinity, nitrite, dissolved oxygen and pH values exert an influence on the species composition, abundance and biomass of tintinnids.

An updated checklist of tintinnids (Order: Choreotrichida)in the north western coast of the Red Sea at Hurghada

“…Dolan (2000) recorded a total of 90 tintinnid species of which 27 are recorded in the present work [10]. Heneash et al (2015) recorded 29 species of which 14 species are collected during the present study [19]. Moreover, a total of 87 species were recorded by Zakaria et al (2018) [28], of which 32 are found in the Red Sea.…”

Spatial and temporal variations of tintinnids (Ciliata: Protozoa) in the Bay of Mersin, Northeastern Mediterranean Sea

“…In the present study, the species composition and abundance of tintinnids showed clear spatial and temporal variations. While the number of species in Mersin Bay was lower than that reported for the Lebanese coastal waters by Abboud Abi Saab (2008), it was higher than those reported for the Ionian Sea (Sitran et al, 2007), the Tyrrhenian Sea (Sitran et al, 2009), the Gulf of Naples (Modigh & Castaldo 2002), Adriatic Sea (Krsinic & Grbec, 2006;Bojanic et al, 2012;Monti et al, 2012), the Tunisian coast (Hannachi et al, 2008;Rekik et al, 2015) and the Egyptian coast (Heneash et al, 2015) (Table 5). Abboud Abi Saab (2008) reported that while the abundance of tintinnids displayed little variation from the east to the west, the number of species and genera increased.…”

“…However, while the increase in the number of the species Tintinnopsis in summer conditions is an exception in most of the studies conducted, it has been reported that the Tintinnopsis species could be found throughout the whole year (Abboud Abi Saab et al, 2012;Dolan & Pierce, 2013). Heneash et al (2015) reported that the distribution and abundance of tintinnids are influenced by biological factors such as predation and food supply and physicochemical factors such as temperature, salinity, and the amount of oxygen. Thompson et al (2001) reported that the abundance of tintinnids is influenced by abiotic factors rather than the food supply.…”

“…Tintinnids, belonging to the ciliate protozoans, are ubiquitous and significant component of microzooplankton in marine systems (Dolan, 2010;Rakshit et al, 2017). They are the best-known group of ciliates because of their hard loricae (Heneash et al, 2015). In oligotrophic regions dominated by pico-and nano-planktonic fractions, tintinnids are one of the main consumers of the primary production (Zohary et al, 1998;Sitran et al, 2007), and they can ingest food particles up to 40-45% of the oral diameters of their loricae (Laybourn-Parry, 1992).…”

“…The previous studies conducted on tintinnids were particularly concentrated in the western and central Mediterranean Sea, such as, in the Bay of Villefrance (Cariou et al, 1999;Gomez & Gorsky 2003); the Gulf of Naples (Modigh & Castaldo, 2002); the Catalan Sea (Dolan & Marrase, 1995); the Tyrrhenian Sea (Sitran et al, 2009) and the Ionian Sea (Sitran et al, 2007). In the eastern Mediterranean Sea, previous studies were performed in the Lebanese coastal waters (Abboud Abi Saab et al, 2012), the Tunisian coastal waters (Hannachi et al, 2008;Rekik et al, 2015), the Egyptian coastal waters (Heneash et al, 2015), the Aegean Sea (Mihalatou & Moustaka Gouni, 2002), and the Adriatic Sea (Krsinic & Grbec, 2006;Monti et al, 2012;Bojanic, 2001;Bojanic et al, 2012). Local studies on tintinnids in Turkish coastal waters are also available (Koray & Özel, 1983;Polat et al, 2001Polat et al, , 2003Balkıs, 2004;Balkıs & Toklu-Alıçlı, 2009;Yurga, 2012).…”