Inventory of the taxonomical composition of the plankton ciliates in the Curonian Lagoon (SE Baltic Sea)

Abstract

Species composition of plankton ciliates was studied in the Curonian Lagoon in 2007-2008 and compared to long term investigations dating back to the 1980 th . In total, 152 taxa were identified at the level of species or genera. More species (76 species/higher taxa) was found in the estuarine part of the Lagoon due to temporally unstable salinity and the presence of both freshwater and brackish/marine species. Some of the brackish/marine species: Tintinnopsis baltica, Tintinnopsis kofoidi, Cothurnia maritima, Lohmaniella oviformis, Lohmaniella spiralis and Helicostomella subulatum were recorded for the first time in the lagoon. The ciliate community at the freshwater sites was less diverse, containing 63 species/higher taxa in the central stagnant part of the Lagoon and 47 -in the Nemunas River avandelta. The comparison of present and past studies revealed that the use of a single live-counting method could lead to underestimation of small nanociliate species, whereas examination of Lugol fixed material provides relatively poor taxonomic information.

Composition of protozoan communities at two sites in the coastal zone of the southern Baltic Sea

“…Generally, their taxonomic diversity is well recognized (e.g. Vørs 1992, Thomsen 1992, Ikävalko & Thomsen 1997, lkävalko 1998, Mironova et al 2009, Grinienė et al 2011, Rychert 2011), but there is still a lack of studies focusing on the quantitative importance of protozoa. In a review on planktonic communities in the Baltic Sea, Arndt (1991) expressed the need for studying all three of the most important protozoan groups simultaneouslyheterotrophic ciliates, dinoflagellates, and nanoflagellates.…”

Microplankton community structure in the subtropical Mlalazi estuary.

“…Characteristics of ciliates include very high metabolic rates, short generation times, broad geographic distribution, and rapid response to changing environmental factors. Because of these characteristics, ciliates are a valuable tool for indicating hydrological conditions and trophic status, and some species are used as water quality bioindicators (Basuri et al, 2020;Polat et al, 2019;Sivasankar et al, 2018;Grinienė et al, 2011;Pfister et al, 2002). For example, in oligotrophic regions, tintinnids are dominant and are the main consumers of primary production, greatly influencing the planktonic assemblage (Noman et al, 2019).…”

“…Microplankton (phytoplankton and ciliates) community structure (composition, abundance, and biomass) respond rapidly to changes in the aquatic environment, making them good bioindicators of aquatic ecosystem health (Grinienė et al, 2011;Paerl et al, 2009;Blanco et al, 2008;Pfister et al, 2002). Despite the global increase in the water quality degradation of estuaries (Paerl and Scott, 2010), accompanied by harmful algae blooms, only a few studies in South African estuaries (most of which are already degraded systems) have evaluated the phytoplankton community and assessed the effects of physical and chemical water properties on the community (e.g., Lemley and Adams, 2020;Lemley et al, 2018Lemley et al, , 2017Kotsedi et al, 2012;Van Niekerk and Turpie, 2012).…”

“…In addition to water quality properties, ciliates play an essential role in grazing, nutrient regeneration and secondary production in estuarine ecosystems (Anderson and Harvey, 2019;Grinienė et al, 2011;Urrutxurtu et al, 2003) which are one of the most productive on Earth. Phytoplankton (primary producer) as a food source has been shown to control the abundance and biomass of ciliates (Nche-Fambo et al, 2016;Grinienė et al, 2011;Carrasco and Perissinotto, 2012;Urrutxurtu et al, 2003) and changes in the ciliate biomass (carbon) in an estuary influences the biomass of other organisms such as rotifers, cladocerans, and copepods (Azémar et al, 2007;Urrutxurtu et al, 2003), and other higher trophic level organisms. Assessing the spatial and temporal changes in the ciliate community structure (composition, abundance, and biomass)…”