Importance of ciliates as food for fish larvae in a shallow sea bay and a large shallow lake

Zingel, Priit; Agasild, Helen; Karus, Katrit; Buholce, Linda; Nõges, Tiina

doi:10.1016/j.ejop.2018.10.004

Cited by 37 publications

(29 citation statements)

References 36 publications

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“…From the standpoint of ecological stoichiometry (Mitra and Flynn 2005;Meunier et al 2013;Thingstad et al 2014) this may be expected to render the NCMs as good quality prey for other trophic levels. Indeed, NCM ciliates do appear to provide good feed for higher trophic levels (Bils et al 2017;Stoecker and Lavrentyev 2018;Zingel et al 2019), though whether this reflects a higher visibility to predators such as fish larvae rather than a nutritional factor is not clear.…”

Section: Ecological and Biogeochemical Implicationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Niche separation between different functional types of mixoplankton: results from NPZ-style N-based model simulations

Anschütz

Flynn

2019

Mar Biol

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Protist plankton comprise phytoplankton (incapable of phagotrophy), protozooplankton (incapable of phototrophy) and mixoplankton (capable of phototrophy and phagotrophy). Of these, only phytoplankton and zooplankton are typically described in models. Over the last decade, however, the importance of mixoplankton across all marine biomes has risen to prominence. We thus need descriptions of mixoplankton within marine models. Here we present a simple yet flexible N-based model describing any one of the five basic patterns of protist plankton: phytoplankton, protozooplankton, and the three functional groups of mixoplankton: general non-constitutive mixoplankton (GNCM), specialist non-constitutive mixoplankton (SNCM), and constitutive mixoplankton (CM). By manipulation of a few input switch values, the same model can be used to describe any of these patterns, while adjustment of salient features, such as the percent of C-fixation required for mixotrophic growth, and the rate of phototrophic prey ingestion required to enable growth of GNCM and SNCM types, readily provides fine tuning. Example outputs are presented showing how the performance of these different protist configurations accords with expectations (set against empirical evidence). Simulations demonstrate clear niche separations between these protist functional groups according to nutrient, prey and light resource availabilities. This addition to classic NPZ plankton models provides for the exploration of the implications of mixoplankton activity in a simple yet robust fashion.

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Section: Ecological and Biogeochemical Implicationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Niche separation between different functional types of mixoplankton: results from NPZ-style N-based model simulations

Anschütz

Flynn

2019

Mar Biol

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“…It is well documented from both laboratory and field experiments that ciliates are a valuable, but still not appreciated, food resource for metazooplankton, including rotifers (Arndt 1993;Weisse and Frahm 2001;Ventelä et al 2002;Bielańska-Grajner et al 2011), cladocerans and copepods (e.g. Carrick et al 1991;Sanders and Wickham 1993;Wiackowski et al 1994;Zöllner et al 2003;Wiąckowski and Kocerba-Soroka 2017;Moore et al 2019), and fish larvae (Zingel et al 2019), due to the considerable contents of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) and sterols (Sommer et al 2012;Makhutova et al 2013) as well as nitrogen and phosphorus (Martin-Creuzburg et al 2005). Thus, small ciliates may enrich the diet of consumers even when they constitute only a minor part of the carbon diet (Sommer et al 2012).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ice-on and ice-off dynamics of ciliates and metazooplankton in the Łuczański Canal (Poland)

Kalinowska

Karpowicz

2020

Aquat Ecol

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The ciliate–metazooplankton trophic coupling is well documented from both laboratory and field experiments. The knowledge about these relationships during winter ice-covered periods is very scarce. The abundance and composition of planktonic ciliates, rotifers and crustaceans were studied during the ice-covered and ice-free periods in the Łuczański Canal (Masurian Lakeland, Poland). We hypothesised that in winter, rotifers play a major role in the top-down control of ciliates and that ciliate–metazooplankton relationships differ not only between the ice-covered and ice-free periods, but also between ice-covered months. Our study showed that ciliates formed a significant part of zooplankton biomass during the winter ice-covered period when crustaceans occurred in very low abundances. Despite cold water temperature and the presence of ice cover, time was probably a cue that initiates zooplankton development. The ciliate, rotifer and crustacean numbers and biomass, as well as chlorophyll a concentrations, were lower in February than in ice-free periods. In the winter month with ice cover, bottom-up control by resources was more important than top-down control by zooplankton grazing in regulating ciliates. In the spring month with ice cover, crustaceans and rotifers may include ciliates as an important part of their diets. In April, the studied groups of organisms were not related to each other in contrast to the summer, when zooplankton communities were closely related to each other. In autumn, rotifers may play an important role in controlling ciliates. The abundance, composition and ciliate–metazoan relationships can vary considerably not only across seasons, but also across ice-covered months.

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“…In particular, tintinnine ciliates are conspicuous due to the diversity of loricae produced by their cell propers. Tintinnines have been of great interest in the field of protistology because they (i) display distinct patterns of diversity and biogeography [6] [7]; (ii) serve as bioindicators of water quality and hydrological circulation [8][9] [10] [11]; (iii) are prey for fish larvae and other small metazoans [12] [13]; and (iv) can leave fossilized loricae that are useful in evolutionary studies [14] [15].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Three Redescriptions in Tintinnopsis (Protista ：Ciliophora: Tintinnina) from Coastal Waters of China, with Cytology and Phylogenetic Analyses Based on Ribosomal RNA Genes

Bai

Wang

Song

et al. 2020

Preprint

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Background: The taxonomy of tintinnine ciliates is vastly unresolved because it has traditionally been based on the lorica (a secreted shell) and it has only recently incorporated cytological and molecular information. Tintinnopsis, the most speciose tintinnine genus, is also the most problematic: it is known to be non-monophyletic, but it cannot be revised until more of its species are studied with modern methods.Results: Here, T. hemispiralis Yin, 1956, T. kiaochowensis Yin, 1956, and T. uruguayensis Balech, 1948, from coastal waters of China, were studied. Lorica and cell features were morphometrically investigated in living and protargol-stained specimens, and sequences of three ribosomal RNA (rRNA) genes were phylogenetically analyzed. The three species show a complex ciliary pattern (with ventral, dorsal, and posterior kineties and right, left, and lateral ciliary fields), but differ in lorica morphology, details of the somatic ciliature and rRNA gene sequences. Tintinnopsis hemispiralis is further distinguished by a ciliary tuft (a ribbon of very long cilia originating from the middle portion of the ventral kinety and extending out of the lorica) and multiple macronuclear nodules. Both T. kiaochowensis and T. uruguayensis have two macronuclear nodules, but differ in the number of somatic kineties and the position of the posterior kinety. Two neotypes are fixed for T. hemispiralis and T. kiaochowensis to stabilize the species names objectively, mainly because of the previous unavailability of type materials. By phylogenetic analysis and comparison with closely-related species, we infer that the ciliary tuft and details such as the commencement of the rightmost kinety in the lateral ciliary field are synapomorphies that may help clarify the systematics of Tintinnopsis-like taxa.Conclusion: The redescriptions of three poorly known Tintinnopsis species, namely T. hemispiralis, T. kiaochowensis, and T. uruguayensis firstly revealed their ciliary pattern and rRNA sequences. This study expands knowledge and database of tintinnines and helps in identifying potential synapomorphies for future taxonomic rearrangements.

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Importance of ciliates as food for fish larvae in a shallow sea bay and a large shallow lake

Cited by 37 publications

References 36 publications

Niche separation between different functional types of mixoplankton: results from NPZ-style N-based model simulations

Niche separation between different functional types of mixoplankton: results from NPZ-style N-based model simulations

Ice-on and ice-off dynamics of ciliates and metazooplankton in the Łuczański Canal (Poland)

Three Redescriptions in Tintinnopsis (Protista ：Ciliophora: Tintinnina) from Coastal Waters of China, with Cytology and Phylogenetic Analyses Based on Ribosomal RNA Genes

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