Diversity and endemism of ciliates inhabiting Neotropical phytotelmata

Dunthorn, Micah; Stoeck, Thorsten; Wolf, Klaus; Breiner, Hans‐Werner; Foissner, Wilhelm

doi:10.1080/14772000.2012.685195

Cited by 43 publications

(62 citation statements)

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“…It remains unknown, however, why this genus seems to be absent from tank bromeliads in the same area ( Vandermeer et al, 1972;Dunthorn et al, 2012). Although Paramecium ciliates are easily eliminated from Heliconia bracts by mosquito larvae (Maguire et al, 1968), our results demonstrate that they may not be readily available for copepods living in these habitats.…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 44%

“…Studies focusing on tropical plant-held reservoirs have recently resulted in many new species and higher-rank ciliate taxa (Foissner et al, 2003;Foissner, 2010Foissner, , 2013Foissner & Stoeck, 2013;Foissner et al, 2014). Molecular analyses carried out on samples from neotropical phytotelmata reveal many unknown and possibly endemic species (Dunthorn et al, 2012). Although factors affecting protozoan distribution and community structure in plant-held waters remain basically unknown, predation is certainly one of the most important.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Selective predation by a harpacticoid copepod on ciliates in phytotelmata: a laboratory experiment

Wiackowski

Kocerba‐Soroka

2016

Hydrobiologia

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Copepods are the most numerous metazoans in water-filled phytotelmata formed by Heliconia and Calathea floral bracts in cloud forests of Cordillera de la Costa, Northern Venezuela. We estimated the potential effect of copepods on ciliate community structure in this habitat with a laboratory experiment. Predation effects of five life stages of a harpacticoid copepod on a mixed culture of five bacterivorous ciliate species were measured during a 48-hour incubation. The predation effect depended on copepod life stage and on ciliate prey species. The abundances of Colpoda inflata, Tetrahymena pyriformis, and Colpidium kleini were significantly reduced, the actual effect strongly depending on copepod developmental stage. No detectable predation was observed on Paramecium aurelia or Tachysoma pellionellum. The results suggest that predation by harpacticoid copepods is an important factor influencing ciliate community structure in phytotelmata.

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Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 44%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Selective predation by a harpacticoid copepod on ciliates in phytotelmata: a laboratory experiment

Wiackowski

Kocerba‐Soroka

2016

Hydrobiologia

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“…Although recently, a substantial number of papers emphasizing the ecology and taxonomy of ciliates have been published (Foissner et al 2003;Foissner 2010;Foissner and Stoeck 2011;Dunthorn et al 2012;Sabagh et al 2012;Foissner 2013;Weisse et al 2013a, b), little is known about some ecological aspects of the community.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Since the beginning of the 20th century, researchers have been investigating the communities of the tank bromeliads and recorded several animal species such as rotifers, oligochaete, arthropods, and chordates (Picado 1912;Thienemann 1934;Inger 1966;Torales et al 1972;Frank et al 1976;Little and Hebert 1996;Reid and Janetsky 1996;Sodré et al 2010;Suárez-Morales et al 2010), as well as microbial eukaryotes such as ciliates (Picado 1912;Laessle 1961;Maguire 1971;Maguire and Belk 1967;Vandermeer et al 1972;Foissner et al 2003;Dunthorn et al 2012).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Rainfall influence on species composition of the ciliate community inhabiting bromeliad phytotelmata

et al. 2014

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Background: In this paper, we verified the changes in species composition of the ciliate community inhabiting phytotelmata of tank bromeliads in response to seasonality (rainfall). Plants were located at several heights of a great rocky wall on the left bank of the Parana River, southern Brazil. We also assessed if the heights of the plants in relation to the river influence the ciliate species composition. Thus, samplings were performed in the dry and rainy seasons, in three layers of the rock walls (lower, middle, and upper), with a total of 72 samples in both periods. Results: A relative high number of species and a predominance of hymenostomatids were observed in the sampled plants. Among the recorded species, about 35% occurred exclusively in the dry season. The detrended correspondence analysis demonstrated that the ciliate community changed substantially due to rainfall. However, there was no distinctness in species composition among the strata. In contrast to expectations, the number of species recorded in the dry season was greater than that recorded in the rainy season, refuting the hypothesis that the precipitation volume favors an increase in the number of species. Conclusions: The rainfall is, undoubtedly, the main factor structuring the community and determining the ciliate species composition in the phytotelmata of the bromeliads. We found that the closeness of the plants with the river is also an important factor for the structuration of the community, due to the dispersion of organisms from the river to the tanks. The occurrence and predominance of planktonic species in the plants at the lower stratum and soil species at the higher stratum indicates a great influence of the neighboring environments on the ciliate community inhabiting the phytotelmata.

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“…Typically, organisms colonizing these ecosystems have a high degree of specificity and endemism (Little and Hebert, 1996;Vieira et al, 2008;Dunthorn et al, 2012) and are mainly represented by immature stages of insects and non-insect invertebrates that find optimal conditions for survival and breeding within phytotelmata (Frank, 1983). Phytotelmata are also important to terrestrial organisms that may use them as foraging sites (Maguire, 1971), refuge against predators (Domingos et al, 2015) and water sources (Frank and Lounibos, 2009).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessing the role of canopy cover on the colonization of phytotelmata by aquatic invertebrates: an experiment with the tank-bromeliad Aechmea lingulata

et al. 2016

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The presence of canopy cover may influence the amount of organic detritus and stored water in bromeliad tanks and, consequently, the colonization of these ecosystems by aquatic invertebrates. The aim of this study was to determine the effects of canopy cover on the colonization of the tank-bromeliad Aechmea lingulata in the restinga, an ecosystem composed of a variety of plant communities in the sandy coastal plains of Brazil. We hypothesized that the taxonomic composition of invertebrate communities would differ between bromeliads covered and not covered by a dense canopy (shaded and unshaded bromeliads). Prior to the beginning of the experiment, bromeliads of similar size were carefully washed to remove all organisms and organic detritus, and their tanks were filled with 1.0 L of spring water. On days 7, 14, 21, 30, 45, 60 and 90, four bromeliad tanks of each shade treatment were sampled to determine invertebrate communities, stored water and organic detritus. Average daily values of water temperature and light intensity were higher in unshaded than in shaded bromeliads. The amount of fine particulate organic matter (FPOM) and stored water did not differ between treatments, but the amount of coarse particulate organic matter (CPOM) was higher in shaded bromeliads. Ostracoda, Hydracarina and Oligochaeta were the most abundant taxa in bromeliad tanks. Among insects, Culicidae, Chironomidae and Ceratopogonidae were the most representative. Invertebrate colonization occurred quickly and values of abundance were higher in unshaded bromeliads compared to shaded bromeliads. The values for biomass and richness did not differ between treatments or colonization times, and the taxonomic composition of invertebrate communities was similar throughout the experiment. Our results showed that canopy cover had a small influence on the colonization of tanks of A. lingulata in restinga, not corroborating the proposed hypothesis. These findings were likely due to the lack of variation in environmental conditions that are relevant to the colonization process, such as stored water and FPOM. However, because the amounts of CPOM were higher in shaded bromeliads, the taxonomic composition of invertebrate communities could have differed if typical shredders were present.

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Diversity and endemism of ciliates inhabiting Neotropical phytotelmata

Cited by 43 publications

References 50 publications

Selective predation by a harpacticoid copepod on ciliates in phytotelmata: a laboratory experiment

Selective predation by a harpacticoid copepod on ciliates in phytotelmata: a laboratory experiment

Rainfall influence on species composition of the ciliate community inhabiting bromeliad phytotelmata

Assessing the role of canopy cover on the colonization of phytotelmata by aquatic invertebrates: an experiment with the tank-bromeliad Aechmea lingulata

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