Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-fbnjt Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-13T00:45:26.175Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Variations in the community structure of biofilm-dwelling protozoa at different depths in coastal waters of the Yellow Sea, northern China

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 November 2017

Mamun Abdullah Al
Affiliation:
Laboratory of Microbial Ecology, Ocean University of China, Qingdao, China
Yangyang Gao
Affiliation:
Laboratory of Microbial Ecology, Ocean University of China, Qingdao, China
Guangjian Xu
Affiliation:
Laboratory of Microbial Ecology, Ocean University of China, Qingdao, China
Zheng Wang
Affiliation:
Laboratory of Microbial Ecology, Ocean University of China, Qingdao, China
Henglong Xu*
Affiliation:
Laboratory of Microbial Ecology, Ocean University of China, Qingdao, China
Alan Warren
Affiliation:
Department of Life Sciences, Natural History Museum, London SW7 5BD, UK
*
Correspondence should be addressed to: H. Xu, Laboratory of Microbial Ecology, Ocean University of China, Qingdao, China email: [email protected]

Abstract

Biofilm-dwelling protozoa are a primary component of microbiota and play important roles in the functioning of microbial food webs such as the mediation of carbon and energy flux from plankton to benthos in marine ecosystems. To demonstrate the vertical pattern of the protozoan communities, a 1-month baseline survey was carried out in coastal waters of the Yellow Sea, northern China. A total of 40 samples were collected using glass slides as artificial substrates at four depths: 1, 2, 3.5 and 5 m. A total of 50 species were identified, comprising seven dominant and eight commonly distributed species. Species richness and individual species abundances showed a clear decreasing trend down the water column from 1 to 5 m, although the former peaked at a depth of 2 m. Multivariate approaches revealed that protozoan community structure differed significantly among the four depths, except for those at 2 and 3.5 m. Maximum values of species richness, diversity and evenness generally decreased with depth although they peaked at either 2 or 3.5 m. These results suggest that water depth may significantly shape the community patterns of biofilm-dwelling protozoa in marine ecosystems.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 2017 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Footnotes

Co-first author (M. Abdullah Al & Y. Gao).

References

REFERENCES

Anderson, M.J., Gorley, R.N. and Clarke, K.R. (2008) PERMANOVA+ for PRIMER. Guide to software and statistical methods. Plymouth: PRIMER-E.Google Scholar
Cairns, J. Jr. and Henebry, M.S. (1982) Interactive and noninteractive protozoa colonization process. In Cairns, J. Jr. (ed.) Artificial substrates. Ann Arbor, MI: Ann Arbor Science Publishers, pp. 2370.Google Scholar
Cairns, J. Jr., Lanza, G.R. and Parker, B.C. (1972) Pollution related to structural and functional changes in aquatic communities with emphasis on freshwater algae and protozoa. Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia 124, 79127.Google Scholar
Clarke, K.R. and Gorley, R.N. (2015) PRIMER 7; user manual/tutorial. Plymouth: PRIMER-E.Google Scholar
Coppellotti, O. and Matarazzo, P. (2000) Ciliate colonization of artificial substrates in the Lagoon of Venice. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 80, 419427.Google Scholar
Franco, C., Esteban, G. and Téllez, C. (1998) Colonization and succession of ciliated protozoa associated with submerged leaves in a river. Limnologica 28, 275283.Google Scholar
Früh, D., Norf, H. and Weitere, M. (2011) Response of biofilm-dwelling ciliate communities to enrichment with algae. Aquatic Microbial Ecology 63, 299309.Google Scholar
Geesey, G.G., Mutch, R., Costerton, J.W. and Green, R.B. (1978) Sessile bacteria – important component of microbial-population in small mountain streams. Limonology and Oceanography 23, 12141223.Google Scholar
Hausmann, K. (2002) Food acquisition, food ingestion and food digestion by protists. Japanese Journal of Protozoology 35, 8595.Google Scholar
Ismael, A.A. and Dorgham, M.M. (2003) Ecological indices as a tool for assessing pollution in EI-Dekaila Harbour (Alexandria, Egypt). Oceanologia 45, 121131.Google Scholar
Jiang, Y., Xu, H., Hu, X., Zhu, M., Al-Rasheid, K.A.S. and Warren, A. (2011) An approach to analyzing spatial patterns of planktonic ciliate communities for monitoring water quality in Jiaozhou Bay, northern China. Marine Pollution Bulletin 62, 227235.Google Scholar
Kathol, M., Fischer, H. and Weitere, M. (2011) Contribution of biofilm-dwelling consumers to pelagic-benthic coupling in a large river. Freshwater Biology 56, 10171230.Google Scholar
Kathol, M., Norf, H., Arndt, H. and Weitere, M. (2009) Effects of temperature increase on the grazing of planktonic bacteria by biofilm-dwelling consumers. Aquatic Microbial Ecology 55, 6579.Google Scholar
Kchaou, N., Elloumi, J., Drira, Z., Hamza, A., Ayadi, H., Bouain, A. and Aleya, L. (2009) Distribution of ciliates in relation to environmental factors along the coastline of the Gulf of Gabes, Tunisia. Estuarine, Coast and Shelf Science 83, 414424.Google Scholar
Kiørboe, T., Grossart, H.P., Ploug, H., Tang, K. and Auer, B. (2004) Particle associated flagellates: swimming patterns, colonization rates, and grazing on attached bacteria. Aquatic Microbial Ecology 35, 141152.Google Scholar
Kralj, K., Plenković-Moraj, A., Gligora, M., Primc-Habdija, B. and Sipoš, L. (2006) Structure of periphytic community on artificial substrata: influence of depth, slide orientation and colonization time in karstic Lake Visovačko, Croatia. Hydrobiologia 560, 249258.Google Scholar
Lind, O.T., Doyle, R., Vodopich, D.S., Trotter, B.G., Limon, J.G. and Davalos-Lind, L. (1992) Clay turbidity: regulation of phytoplankton production in a large, nutrient-rich tropical lake. Limnology and Oceanography 37, 549565.Google Scholar
Liu, Y., Zhang, W. and Xu, H. (2014) Colonization dynamics of periphytic diatoms in coastal waters of the Yellow Sea, northern China. Acta Oceanologica Sinica 33, 160165.Google Scholar
Mieczan, T. (2010) Periphytic ciliates in three shallow lakes in eastern Poland: a comparative study between a phytoplankton-dominated lake, a phytoplankton-macrophyte lake and a macrophyte-dominated lake. Zoology Studies 49, 589600.Google Scholar
Morin, S., Duong, T.T., Dabrin, A., Coynel, A., Herlory, O., Baudrimont, M., Delmas, F., Durrieu, G., Schäfer, J., Winterton, P., Blanc, G. and Coste, M. (2008) Long-term survey of heavy-metal pollution, biofilm contamination and diatom community structure in the Riou Mort watershed South-West France. Environmental Pollution 151, 532542.Google Scholar
Morin, S., Pesce, S., Tlili, A., Coste, M. and Montuelle, B. (2010) Recovery potential of periphytic communities in a river impacted by a vineyard watershed. Ecological Indicators 10, 419426.Google Scholar
Norf, H., Arndt, H. and Weitere, M. (2009a) Effects of resource supplements on mature ciliate biofilms: an empirical test using a new type of flow cell. Biofouling 25, 769778.Google Scholar
Norf, H., Arndt, H. and Weitere, M. (2009b) Responses of biofilm-dwelling ciliate communities to planktonic and benthic resource enrichment. Microbial Ecology 57, 687700.Google Scholar
Pfister, G., Auer, B. and Arndt, H. (2002) Pelagic ciliates (Protozoa, Ciliophora) of different brackish and freshwater lakes: a community analysis at the species level. Limnologica 32, 147168.Google Scholar
Risse-Buhl, U. and Küsel, K. (2009) Colonization dynamics of biofilm-associated ciliate morphotypes at different flow velocities. European Journal of Protistology 45, 6476.Google Scholar
Scherwass, A., Fischer, Y. and Arndt, H. (2005) Detritus as a potential food source for protozoans: utilization of fine particulate plant detritus by a heterotrophic flagellate, Chilomonas paramecium, and a ciliate, Tetrahymena pyriformis. Aquatic Ecology 39, 439455.Google Scholar
Sonntag, B., Posch, T., Klammer, S., Teubner, K. and Psenner, R. (2006) Phagotrophic ciliates and flagellates in an oligotrophic, deep, alpine lake: contrasting variability with seasons and depths. Aquatic Microbial Ecology 43, 193207.Google Scholar
Wang, Z., Xu, G., Zhao, L., Gao, Y., Abdullah Al, M. and Xu, H. (2017) A new method for evaluating defense of microalgae against protozoan grazing. Ecological Indicators 77, 261266.Google Scholar
Wey, J.K., Norf, H., Arndt, H. and Weitere, M. (2009) Role of dispersal in shaping communities of ciliates and heterotrophic flagellates within riverine biofilms. Limnology and Oceanography 54, 16151626.Google Scholar
Xu, G. and Xu, H. (2016) Use of body-size distinctness of biofilm-dwelling protozoa for marine bioassessment. Ecological Indicators 64, 152157.Google Scholar
Xu, G., Xu, Y. and Xu, H. (2016) Insights into discriminating water quality status using new biodiversity measures based on a trait hierarchy of body-size units. Ecological Indicators 60, 980986.Google Scholar
Xu, H., Zhang, W., Jiang, Y. and Yang, E.J. (2014) Use of biofilm-dwelling ciliate communities to determine environmental quality status of coastal waters. Science of the Total Environment 470–471, 511518.Google Scholar
Xu, H., Zhang, W., Jiang, Y., Zhu, M., Al-Rasheid, K.A.S., Warren, A. and Song, W. (2011) An approach to determining the sampling effort for analyzing biofilm-dwelling ciliate colonization using an artificial substratum in coastal waters. Biofouling 27, 357366.Google Scholar
Yang, Z., Xu, Y., Xu, G. and Xu, H. (2016) Temporal variation in taxonomic distinctness of biofilm-associated diatoms within the colonization process in the coastal ecosystems. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 96, 11191125.Google Scholar
Zhang, W., Liu, Y., Warren, A. and Xu, H. (2014) Insights into assessing water quality using taxonomic distinctness based on a small species pool of biofilm-dwelling ciliate fauna in coastal waters of the Yellow Sea, northern China. Marine Pollution Bulletin 89, 121127.Google Scholar
Zhang, W., Xu, H., Jiang, Y., Zhu, M. and Al-Rasheid, K.A.S. (2012) Influence of enumeration time periods on analyzing colonization features and taxonomic relatedness of periphytic ciliates communities using an artificial substratum for marine bioassessment. Environmental Science and Pollution Research 19, 36193627.Google Scholar
Zhang, W., Xu, H., Jiang, Y., Zhu, M. and Al-Rasheid, K.A.S. (2013) Colonization dynamics of periphytic ciliate communities on an artificial substrate in coastal waters of the Yellow Sea, northern China. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 91, 9196.Google Scholar
Zhong, X., Xu, G. and Xu, H. (2017) Use of multiple functional traits of protozoa for bioassessment of marine pollution. Marine Pollution Bulletin 119, 3338. doi: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2017.03.043.Google Scholar
Zhong, X., Xu, G., Wang, Y. and Xu, H. (2014) An approach to determination of functional species pool for community research. Ecological Indicators 46, 7883.Google Scholar
Supplementary material: File

Abdullah Al et al supplementary material 1

Supplementary Table

Download Abdullah Al et al supplementary material 1(File)
File 24 KB