A checklist of epibiotic ciliates (Peritrichia and Suctoria) on the cladoceran crustaceans

Abstract

Despite the growing awareness of the ecological importance of epibiont-host associations, detailed inventories for planktonic hosts are rare. Here, we provide an updated checklist of the peritrich and suctorian epibiont ciliates (Ciliophora) on the cladocerans (Crustacea: Cladocera). Thirty-nine species of peritrich ciliates (of which 34 are assigned to species) and three species of suctorian ciliates are found to be epibionts on the Cladocera. Fifty-eight cladoceran taxa are known to be hosts of the ciliate epibionts, 33 of these hosts (57%) are planktonic. Seven taxa were determined to the level of genus. Complete species designations were geographically biased (38 of 51 species) towards European sites, suggesting poor taxonomic knowledge beyond Europe. Also, the recently discovered continental endemism of cladoceran hosts could indicate that associated ciliates are more diverse than previously appreciated.

Epizoic Rotifers and Microcrustaceans on Bivalves of Different Size and Behavior

“…However, data on rotifer epizoon of mollusks are rare. The reports on epizoic microcrustaceans in freshwaters are also very few [4].…”

Passenger for millenniums: association between stenothermic microcrustacean and suctorian epibiont - the case of Eurytemora lacustris and Tokophyra sp

“…Most of the studies on the epibiontic relationship between protozoa and microcrustacea available in the literature focus on peritriche ciliate 2,8,9 , while suctorians have been less often investigated 10,11 . Filter-feeding epibiontic peritriche are found at all latitudes and various habitats, and predator suctorians that live in interaction with microcrustaceans are usually detected in deep lakes, estuaries, and oceans 2,9 . Some features of crustaceans, such as color, texture, smell, or taste, can serve as a signal to an epibiont to identify its host location 3 .…”

“…The apparent diversity of the microcrustaceans allows the epibionts to interact with the species appropriate for them, sometimes resulting in close interactions. Although the majority of epibionts are not host-specific, certain species have been observed to favor some microcrustaceans 9,12 . When a host organism encounters environmental stress associated with hypoxia or mechanical damage, or caused by the presence of pollutants or toxins, it becomes an inappropriate basibiont, and in such cases, the epibiont species must have a similar range of environmental tolerance as the host.…”