Using “bryophytes and their associated testate amoeba” microsystems as indicators of atmospheric pollution

Meyer, Caroline; Gilbert, Daniel; Gillet, François; Moskura, Mélanie; Franchi, Marielle; Bernard, Nadine

doi:10.1016/j.ecolind.2011.05.020

Cited by 30 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 50 publications

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“…Testate amoebae are a polyphyletic assemblage of freeliving single-celled shelled eukaryotes . Molecular phylogenetic studies based on ribosomal RNA and protein gene sequences show that these organisms belong to the three supergroups Amoebozoa (Nikolaev et al, in peatlands (Beaulne et al, 2018), as a tool for monitoring restoration success Valentine et al, 2013), and as indicators in ecotoxicology (Amacker et al, 2018;Meyer et al, 2012). They have also been applied as trace evidence in forensic science (Swindles and Ruffell, 2009), and for defining post-mortem intervals (Seppey et al, 2016;Szelecz et al, 2014).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessing the ecological value of small testate amoebae (<45 μm) in New Zealand peatlands

McKeown

Wilmshurst

Duckert

et al. 2019

European Journal of Protistology

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Methodological advances are essential for robust ecological research. Quantitative reconstructions of environmental conditions using testate amoebae rely on sound taxonomy. While the taxonomy of large species is relatively well resolved, this is not the case for most small taxa (typically <45 m long). In New Zealand, peatlands contain a diversity of both cosmopolitan and characteristic large southern endemic taxa, but also have a high abundance of small taxa. The latter are often lumped into morphotypes reducing their value as ecological indicators. In this study, we demonstrate how (a) lumping small taxa versus splitting them into unique types, and (b) including or excluding them from community analysis influenced their ecological inference. We assessed testate amoeba composition in six peat bogs from New Zealand, three that were moderately-to-highly impacted, and three that were non-impacted. Environmental variables were measured at each sampling site and the surface testate amoeba community patterns and community-environment relationships compared. We found a clear division between impacted and non-impacted sites. Several distinct small taxa were more strongly related to water-table depth and conductivity, while the larger taxa were more correlated to pH. These results show that improved taxonomic resolution of small taxa can provide more informed environmental assessment.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessing the ecological value of small testate amoebae (<45 μm) in New Zealand peatlands

McKeown

Wilmshurst

Duckert

et al. 2019

European Journal of Protistology

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“…In the last decade, interest in testate amoebae as bioindicators and paleoenvironmental indicators has been growing (Meyer et al, 2012;Qin et al, 2013;Swindles et al, 2015). One characteristic that makes this group of organisms very useful is the high diversity of their test morphologies, which enables their identification down to the species level (Escobar et al, 2008).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ecological drivers of testate amoeba diversity in tropical water bodies of central Mexico

et al. 2018

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Testate amoebae are unicellular organisms characterized by a shell-like test. Due to their potential use as bioindicators (and paleoindicators), these organisms have been increasingly studied in the last decade, particularly in temperate latitudes. This study's objective was two-fold: to identify the testate amoeba communities sampled from 29 water bodies in Mexico and to determine if their presence and distribution also made them suitable bioindicators for tropical latitudes. A total of 40 taxa were recorded within 12 genera, and six significant variables -oxygen, pH, depth, temperature, conductivity, and total alkalinity -that explained testate amoeba distribution within and among the water bodies were identified through a canonical correspondence analysis. The Q-mode clusters rendered five assemblages, each named after their respective dominant species: 1) Centropyxis aculeata strain "aculeata" assemblage, 2) Difflugia oblonga strain "bryophila" assemblage, 3) diverse assemblage, 4) Cucurbitella tricuspis assemblage, and 5) Difflugia protaeiformis strain "acuminata" assemblage. We found that Cucurbitella tricuspis and the Difflugia protaeiformis strain "acuminata" have similar ecological preferences to those reported previously for temperate lakes, with the former identified as an indicator of eutrophic environments and the latter as an indicator of low oxygen levels. On the other hand, Centropyxis aculeata strain "aculeata" and Arcella vulgaris seem to indicate adverse conditions, but the source of this environmental stress apparently differs from that reported in temperate latitudes. Although this stress source could not be identified in all cases, our study nonetheless demonstrates that testate amoebae in the water bodies of central Mexico could reveal the presence of environmental stress.

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“…The use of arcellaceans as quantitative paleoenvironmental indicators is most developed in peatland research where they have been used in conjunction with other testate amoebae taxa in the reconstruction of hydrological change (cf. Tolonen, 1986;Mitchell et al, 2001;Swindles et al, 2007Swindles et al, , 2009Swindles et al, , 2010Elliott et al, 2011) and as pollution indicators (Gilbert et al, 1999;Payne, et al, 2010;Meyer et al, 2012). Arcellaceans have also been widely reported from lakes (Ellison, 1995;Dalby, et al, 2000;Roe and Patterson 2006) where variation in their community assemblages has been used to qualitatively infer parameters such as impact of land use change and forest fires, pH, oxygen, temperature, metal contamination and nutrient fluctuations (Patterson, et al, 1985;McCarthy et al, 1995;Reinhardt et al, 1998;Kumar, 2000a, 2000b;Reinhardt et al 2005).…”

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confidence: 99%

Development of an Arcellacea (testate lobose amoebae) based transfer function for sedimentary Phosphorus in lakes

Patterson

Roe

Swindles

2012

Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology

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Using “bryophytes and their associated testate amoeba” microsystems as indicators of atmospheric pollution

Cited by 30 publications

References 50 publications

Assessing the ecological value of small testate amoebae (<45 μm) in New Zealand peatlands

Assessing the ecological value of small testate amoebae (<45 μm) in New Zealand peatlands

Ecological drivers of testate amoeba diversity in tropical water bodies of central Mexico

Development of an Arcellacea (testate lobose amoebae) based transfer function for sedimentary Phosphorus in lakes

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Using “bryophytes and their associated testate amoeba” microsystems as indicators of atmospheric pollution

Cited by 30 publications

References 50 publications

Assessing the ecological value of small testate amoebae (<45 μm) in New Zealand peatlands

Assessing the ecological value of small testate amoebae (<45 μm) in New Zealand peatlands

Ecological drivers of testate amoeba diversity in tropical water bodies of central Mexico

Development of an Arcellacea (testate lobose amoebae) based transfer function for sedimentary Phosphorus in lakes

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Assessing the ecological value of small testate amoebae (<45 μm) in New Zealand peatlands

Assessing the ecological value of small testate amoebae (<45 μm) in New Zealand peatlands