Seasonal succession of ciliates in lake constance

Abstract

We found a recurrent seasonal pattern in abundance and composition of planktonic ciliates in Lake Constance, FRG, over a three-year period. Abundance peaks occurred in early spring and summer/autumn, while ciliate numbers were low in late spring (clear-water phase) and winter. Prostomatida and Oligotrichida dominated in early spring. They responded immediately to the phytoplankton spring bloom, while Haptorida, Peritrichida, and large Scuticociliatida (Histiobalantium) were delayed by 1 to 2 weeks. The spring community broke down at the onset of the clear-water phase.Pelagohalteria viridis containing symbiontic algae appeared shortly after this event. A highly diverse community was recorded in summer/autumn. Peritrichida, small Oligotrichida, and large Scuticociliatida reached their maxima during this season. Small Scuticociliatida were rare throughout the year and contributed moderately to total ciliate numbers only during the cold season. The observed seasonal sequence of pelagic ciliates in Lake Constance is discussed in relation to simultaneously collected data on potential food organisms and grazers.

Spatial and temporal patterns of ciliate species composition (Protozoa: Ciliophora) in the plankton of the Upper Paraná River floodplain

“…Furthermore, Müller et al (1991) attribute the small Prostomatida (Urotricha and Balanion genera) as among the most important species in the studied lakes. Song (2000) considers Cyclidium spp.…”

“…Oligotrichida frequently compose the most diverse group of ciliates in the pelagic compartment (Müller et al, 1991;Song, 2000;Mieczan, 2007). The frequent presence of organisms from this order is due to their filtering feeding habit and their high adaptability to inhabiting the water column.…”

“…According to Finlay and Esteban (1998), the predation of protozoans on the other microorganisms stimulates the microbial community, and increases the nutrients cycling that would otherwise remain in the bacterial biomass. Considering the seasonal succession of the plankton community, the ciliates are efficient predators of the phytoplankton (Schweizer, 1997), acting as competitors to the rotifers and microcrustaceans, though these protozoans are also consumed by these predators of larger body size (Müller et al, 1991).…”

Intra-annual variation in planktonic ciliate species composition (Protista: Ciliophora) in different strata in a shallow floodplain lake

“…However, as opposed to temperate regions, where temperature is the main factor structuring ciliate communities (Graham et al, 2004;Müller et al, 1991), in floodplain habitats of tropical regions the hydrological regime constitutes the major force influencing those protists (Pauleto et al, 2009). This temporal alteration of the hydrological regime provides the occurrence of species that are adapted to this condition, which is facilitated by mechanisms to persist in the environment during unfavorable periods (Lytle & Poff, 2004).…”

Abundance and size structure of planktonic protist communities in a Neotropical floodplain: effects of top-down and bottom-up controls

“…Ciliates can also have strong impacts on the heterotrophic flagellate community through predation (Auer et al, 2004). Furthermore, ciliates act as competitors in relation to rotifers and can be consumed by them and other larger predators, such as cladocera and copepoda (Agasild et al, 2013;Müller et al, 1991).…”